Drylok has gotten really expensive. Alternatives?

[WhistlingBadger]

I really want to build a floating veggie platform for this Inle biotope-aquaponic garden I want to try. My standard go-to for stuff like this is blue insulation foam painted with tinted Drylok Original. Works great. But nobody carries it in quarts anymore, and gallons are going for at least $35, which is a bit much.

I haven't figured out a good alternative yet. The things that make Drylok so nice for such projects are that it's textured (so it isn't too slippery for plants and critters), and it sticks to blue foam permanently, and it looks natural, and you can make it just about any color you want with concrete pigment, and it's chemically inert (aquarium safe) once it's cured.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. If anybody has ideas on alternatives that can do all of the above, by all means let me know!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I am not real certain about what you are trying to do, but is sounds like it may be whats is called a kinon. This is a floating mat which has all sorts of life especially plants. If I am right you may want to take a look at this thread on Planetcatfish:
New 33 gallon long (4 foot) tank with waterfall and kinon

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I am not real certain about what you are trying to do, but is sounds like it may be whats is called a kinon. This is a floating mat which has all sorts of life especially plants. If I am right you may want to take a look at this thread on Planetcatfish:
New 33 gallon long (4 foot) tank with waterfall and kinon

Interesting. Yes, that's a bit like what I'm trying to accomplish. These floating veggie gardens are a huge part of the ecosystem on Lake Inle (and the axolotl's native habitat in central Mexico--I might end up going that way instead). I thought that would be fun to recreate in a 30g. But for the sake of space, I want to make an artificial, floating platform to support the plants.