# don't buy styrofoam! Get it for free!



## thelub

I've posted this on other forums, but I thought I'd pass along the resource here as well:

I have worked in the retail furniture industry for the last 5+ years and one thing we have always had in excess is STYROFOAM. LOTS AND LOTS. I hate seeing literally hundreds to thousands of cubic yards of the stuff get thrown into a landfill every year (some call me a tree hugger :icon_roll). I've always wanted to find a useful way to recycle the stuff and it just occurred to me this could be a small way to do that. We handle all kinds of sizes and densities. EVERY retail furniture store will have this stuff coming out their ears (I've actually coughed the stuff out of my lungs before) and would be more than happy to give it away for free.

I think its absolutely ridiculous that people have to pay for the stuff when its so readily available for free. If you want some, just go to your nearest furniture retailer (Ashley, Macys, Furniture Row, mom and pop shops, etc) and ask them where their warehouse is located. A lot of stores will warehouse in-house or have one close by that you could visit and take some off their hands. I regularly handle sheets as large as 4' square and up to 1" thick as well as bricks and oddball shapes. Some is quite dense too.

So if you're looking for a place to find free background material (that's why we DIY right?) ask your local furniture store and I'm sure they would gladly fill your car up with the stuff. 

If anybody is in Eastern WA (Tri-cities, Spokane or even NE Oregon) I could personally hook you up. Just PM me and I can arrange to get pretty much whatever you'd need.


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## sejoy

Excellent idea! I hope many people are able to take advantage of this, I also hate the idea of the stuff floating around the earth for the foreseeable future!


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## driftwoodhunter

This is where I learned to make 3D backgrounds, on their DIY forum. I bet they would love to read this tidbit too! Do you mind if I copy & paste it there?

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/index.php


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## thelub

Go for it. Spread the word! I hate to see this stuff going to landfills and I see this as my tiny contribution to help recycle. You can even point them to me to contact if anybody in my area wants some.


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## driftwoodhunter

Thanks! I'll spread the word!


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## Acro

Thank you for posting this! I would have never thought of that and I have been looking to buy some, now I don't have to! It's so good to reuse and recycle!
Thanks!


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## Sookielee

I so wish this had been posted the first weekend of January, it would have saved us a bundle I bet. Thanks for posting this information. When I get around to doing the background for the 45 I will definitely be taking a ride to one of the furniture stores. Thanks!


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## acitydweller

i have been using foam that video cards and other electronic devices are shipped in for my planted deliveries. i think they are great for cushioning packages as well as reinforcing the insullation inside the boxes.


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## shift

does the Styrofoam release any chemicals into the water or do you guys seal it some how?


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## thelub

you have to coat the styrofoam background in some form of sealant. Most guys create the BG they want then cover it in quickcrete cement then coat the cement in an aquarium safe sealer. There are a couple sites that specialize in DIY backgrounds using various forms of styrofoam.


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## GraphicGr8s

thelub said:


> you have to coat the styrofoam background in some form of sealant. Most guys create the BG they want then cover it in quickcrete cement then coat the cement in an aquarium safe sealer. There are a couple sites that specialize in DIY backgrounds using various forms of styrofoam.


I know people cover it in kwikcrete as a background but is that to seal the styrofoam or just for the look? What if they styrofoam were to be used just to build up rockwork. In a 55 I have empty I am doing a river biotope. There will be a rock waterfall leading into a pool area. For weight consideration and that I want to hide the piping for the filter I want to build up behind and under the rock with styrofoam. Will that need to be sealed or not?


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## hydrophyte

I understand that styrofoam can release endocrine-disrupting chemicals, so it is probably not a very good idea to keep it in an enclosure with livestock intended for breeding.


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## GraphicGr8s

If you were using it this way what would you coat it with other than crete?


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## lochaber

I've personally used and had decent results with sand mixed into epoxy resin.

You can usually find small kits of pour-on type epoxy resin at big hardware stores in the paint section, or craft stores in the sculpting/mold section.

just mix up a bit in a disposable container, and then add in some sand. application can be a bit messy, since you can't really brush it on, just glop it on and smear it around.
I usually would put a dusting of dry sand over top of it, and then rinse this off after it was cured, just to cut down on the gloss (wouldn't be an issue for an underwater background, but I was building a paludarium)

You could try brushing it on, and then just sprinkling sand over it, but it wouldn't be quite as durable, and would eventual get rubbed off - especially if you have any sort of rasping fish.


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## Acro

Once coated (in either way) does it sink or stay floating?


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## driftwoodhunter

When making backgrounds, I coat mine with Drylock. But if the foam wouldn't be visible, I don't see why you couldn't simply coat it in silicone (aquarium silicone or any pure silicone)
And foam always wants to float. You can coat it and silicone it to your tank glass - whether the back for a background, or the bottom for rocks/added mass.


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## Acro

Actually, I want it to float. I'd like to shape some styrofoam and coat it with that hard cement stuff and paint it. Then place it in my (soon to be built) indoor turtle pond so they can climb out of the water and bask on it. Thoughts?


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## thelub

Acro said:


> Actually, I want it to float. I'd like to shape some styrofoam and coat it with that hard cement stuff and paint it. Then place it in my (soon to be built) indoor turtle pond so they can climb out of the water and bask on it. Thoughts?


That might work. If you can source out a dense piece it would float better with the added covering on it. If you go with my source for styrofoam, see if they have anything that is used to protect the ends of leather sofas. Its often VERY dense and I think it would be the ideal piece to work for your project. They're usually big bulky pieces so you would have lots to work on and experiment with.


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## GraphicGr8s

How are you guys cutting it? Knife or hot wire?


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## lochaber

when I did my epoxy/sand pieces, they wouldn't have a problem floating, but then the water only came up about ~1/2 way on them. The sand did add quite a bit of weight. If you want it to sink, you could hollow out some of the excess styrofoam after the expoxy resin has cured.

For the turtle island, I'm not sure if floating would be appropriate for a rock  also, it may make it harder for the turtles to crawl on if it's not anchored. If it doesn't float, you could always put some supports in. or use a big piece of exposed driftwood.

I don't imagine it would be very easy to coat something with silicone, but I think it's a pretty common technique with the dendroboard folks.


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## esteban

Very cool idea. Hadn't thought of shaping/using for 'rocks.' 

Slightly off topic, but Earth Day is coming up...:biggrin: next time you get something that's overpackaged (i.e., USB drive in a 16" tall plastic shell) please write that manufacturer and ask them to stop. Same goes for the styrofoam. I know with VERY bulky items, it's sometimes the best thing to cushion with. But there's no reason to package a DVR or a smaller item like that in EPS anymore. Reusing it is great; encouraging them to not make it in the first place is even better!

[steps down from soapbox]


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## kamikazi

Latex based drylok with quikrete liquid color pigments to get the earth tones, is used alot. Seals the foam, doesn't effect pH and hardness like cement can and is fish safe once it cures/dries (I'd give it a full day or two)

This is what you want if you go the drylok route
http://www.lowes.com/pd_41348-96-27...=drylok+latex+masonry+waterproofer&facetInfo=


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## WheeledGoat

esteban said:


> Very cool idea. Hadn't thought of shaping/using for 'rocks.'
> 
> Slightly off topic, but Earth Day is coming up...:biggrin: next time you get something that's overpackaged (i.e., USB drive in a 16" tall plastic shell) please write that manufacturer and ask them to stop. Same goes for the styrofoam. I know with VERY bulky items, it's sometimes the best thing to cushion with. But there's no reason to package a DVR or a smaller item like that in EPS anymore. Reusing it is great; encouraging them to not make it in the first place is even better!
> 
> [steps down from soapbox]


let me first state that I absolutely agree with your sentiment, even if I've never written a letter about usb drive packaging.

I would very much enjoy your reaction to some of the packages I open at work. We do outpatient oncology, and are involved in many drug trials. Money seems to be no issue for some of them, and "overpackaged" is an understatement. We will get a box that's >50lb, 30" x 30" x 30", with layer upon layer upon layer of ice bricks, boxes inside of boxes Russian-doll style, for a single ml of drug. I am not exaggerating one bit. (and 1ml isn't much - 5ml = 1 teaspoon. 15ml = 1 tablespoon.) Every time we get a shipment we either laugh or groan, but we always mock the company. It never gets old because it's SO ridiculous.


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## Asphalt Art

I answered a Craigslist ad last month for styrofoam sheets, and I ended up at a local trucking company. They told me to take everything I wanted, and that I could come back anytime and get more. I ended up filling my entire 2000 hi-top conversion van to the roof. I now have probably 50 4'x8' sheets of 1" styrofoam. I was going to use it as some cheap insulation for a few of our dog houses, but ended up using a 8x10 shed for their shelter. Now I have a metric ********* of styro haha. I will find a use for it sooner or later I guess. Either way I won't find it floating in the water or clogging a landfill.


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## thelub

Please don't use styrofoam for insulation. It is SUPER flamable and highly toxic when it burns. Not to mention it turns into napalm when it catches fire. I had a freecycle "ad" posted to give away styrofoam and a ton of people wanted to use it for cheap insulation. I'd love to see it be used for a free insulation, but it is just too dangerous.


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## Asphalt Art

thelub said:


> Please don't use styrofoam for insulation. It is SUPER flamable and highly toxic when it burns. Not to mention it turns into napalm when it catches fire. I had a freecycle "ad" posted to give away styrofoam and a ton of people wanted to use it for cheap insulation. I'd love to see it be used for a free insulation, but it is just too dangerous.


I am fairly aware of this, as my wife is a full-time Firefighter. The furniture in your house does the same thing, as does poly carpet and linoleum. A couch fire can pretty much take down an entire room under 5-6 minutes, and the gases produced have already filled the rest of the house inevitably killing anything requiring oxygen. 1400 deg F doesn't play around.


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## Neptoon'd

I am glad I came across this again. My BF just bought a used Winnebago and we are going to need styro to fill in places on walls where we have taken rotten wood out! I knew I'd read something somewhere about where to source free styro from and couldn't remember the details. But now...Yay! Now I can remember that its furniture stores that we need to check with before we look to buy! TY for the tip! I know it's got nothing to do with fish, but helpful all the same.


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## Rodneywt1180b

Very nice tip. I'm thinking about seeing if I can get enough to cut it up and insulate my shop with it. I like green and I like free. 
Try some epoxy on a scrap peice of styrofoam first to make sure no unfortunate reactions like the styrofoam melting occur before using it on your background. It seems like I've heard of epoxy melting thru styrofoam cups before when they were used for mixing. I'm not sure if this was due to a chemical reaction or due to the fact that epoxy throws off a lot of heat when it cures.
Rodney


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## lochaber

Rodneywt1180b said:


> Very nice tip. I'm thinking about seeing if I can get enough to cut it up and insulate my shop with it. I like green and I like free.
> Try some epoxy on a scrap peice of styrofoam first to make sure no unfortunate reactions like the styrofoam melting occur before using it on your background. It seems like I've heard of epoxy melting thru styrofoam cups before when they were used for mixing. I'm not sure if this was due to a chemical reaction or due to the fact that epoxy throws off a lot of heat when it cures.
> Rodney



I'm pretty sure epoxy does generate some heat when it cures, but I doubt it's enough to melt a styrofoam cup. However, epoxy is frequently thinned with acetone, which I think could cause the cup to melt. I've done quite a few setups involving epoxy and styrofoam, and haven't had melting be an issue (but what's enough to deform a cup may not be noticeable in a background).

Be careful with the shop insulation though, make sure it's protected from fire, it can produce some pretty nasty smoke if it burns, and it can burn pretty readily.


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## thelub

Rodneywt1180b said:


> Very nice tip. I'm thinking about seeing if I can get enough to cut it up and insulate my shop with it. I like green and I like free...





thelub said:


> Please don't use styrofoam for insulation. It is SUPER flamable and highly toxic when it burns. Not to mention it turns into napalm when it catches fire. I had a freecycle "ad" posted to give away styrofoam and a ton of people wanted to use it for cheap insulation. I'd love to see it be used for a free insulation, but it is just too dangerous.


...


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## kirk

Just thought i might add... there are large foam blocks available at tractor supply. They use them to ship their trailers. I've asked for them before and they will give them away.

They are about 12"x12"x20" or something like that. A rectangular block. Probably be good for carving, albeit messy. Could make some filler block with them and silicone them in place to keep them down. I like the idea of silicone to seal the exposed surface. Just be sure to use silicone WITHOUT fungicide.

I hope this helps

Kirk


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## MkKeller.com

Hi
Your post is just a blessing Ive been looking for it for a while but cant find it. im going to macys today and Ill let you know. i wish I was living close to you to get some help but im in fort lauderdale FL. Thank you, Marsha


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## katrinaweltch

*styrorfoam*

need styrofoam for my son 2 do target practice 32x32 ?


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## suzannemarie

have medical issues. need piece of very (hard to break) styrofoam. approx. 5ftx6ft. to lay flat in pool. i can always sew a cover for it, but needs to not break in half under my 145lb. body weight. cannot use inflatables. too much play in the spine. no support. please & thank you? Suzanne


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## ichy

another source for big 1'x1'x1' blocks is Northern Tool. They will give you all you want, they are used to ship utility trailers.


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## thelub

suzannemarie said:


> have medical issues. need piece of very (hard to break) styrofoam. approx. 5ftx6ft. to lay flat in pool. i can always sew a cover for it, but needs to not break in half under my 145lb. body weight. cannot use inflatables. too much play in the spine. no support. please & thank you? Suzanne


I've come across some that could hold someone in a pool but it's very rare. The only ones that might be able to hold you up might be TOO buoyant.


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## lmaodank

thelub said:


> I've posted this on other forums, but I thought I'd pass along the resource here as well:
> 
> I have worked in the retail furniture industry for the last 5+ years and one thing we have always had in excess is STYROFOAM. LOTS AND LOTS. I hate seeing literally hundreds to thousands of cubic yards of the stuff get thrown into a landfill every year (some call me a tree hugger :icon_roll). I've always wanted to find a useful way to recycle the stuff and it just occurred to me this could be a small way to do that. We handle all kinds of sizes and densities. EVERY retail furniture store will have this stuff coming out their ears (I've actually coughed the stuff out of my lungs before) and would be more than happy to give it away for free.
> 
> I think its absolutely ridiculous that people have to pay for the stuff when its so readily available for free. If you want some, just go to your nearest furniture retailer (Ashley, Macys, Furniture Row, mom and pop shops, etc) and ask them where their warehouse is located. A lot of stores will warehouse in-house or have one close by that you could visit and take some off their hands. I regularly handle sheets as large as 4' square and up to 1" thick as well as bricks and oddball shapes. Some is quite dense too.
> 
> So if you're looking for a place to find free background material (that's why we DIY right?) ask your local furniture store and I'm sure they would gladly fill your car up with the stuff.
> 
> If anybody is in Eastern WA (Tri-cities, Spokane or even NE Oregon) I could personally hook you up. Just PM me and I can arrange to get pretty much whatever you'd need.


hello i need some styrofoam balls thx \^0^/ for my school project, i live in canada still able to hook me up?


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## libbylibby

Hi there! I need styrofoam for a halloween costume! two very large rectangular pieces! I am in vancouver, wa! Do you know where I could go?!


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## cambria16

*don't buy Styrofoam! Get it for free!*

Hello, I'm a new member so I'm a bit lost here. I just want to know where and how do I go about getting free Styrofoam. I need quite a bit of it. I own and manage a cover band and I want to sound proof a room so as not to disturb my neighbors when we practice. We are a fairly new band so we really don't have the funds to buy this so when I ran into this site online I was very happy. I need this as soon as possible so we can continue practicing. Can someone email me and let me where to go and pick it up? I live in McAllen, TX. Thanks.


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## Sorcerer

thank a lot for all this infos !!!


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## pardallroad

I know BoxGiver.com has free styrofoam sheets that people donate. Hope this helps!


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## Joe_epperson

is anyone giving any styrofoam away?


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## rockefeller

> For the turtle island, I'm not sure if floating would be appropriate for a rock  also, it may make it harder for the turtles to crawl on if it's not anchored. If it doesn't float, you could always put some supports in. or use a big piece of exposed driftwood.


Very cool idea. I thought of using rocks.


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