# New 3D BG 55g Mbuna



## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

Here are some pictures of my new 3D BG in my 55. I always wanted to make one but I didn't have the time and didn't think it would turn out like I wanted. I purchased this online and shipped it was only $133, very reasonable compared to the price it costs do DIY. The rock is Black Obsidian that I got from a local landscaping place. I bought a couple larger chunks and broke it up into the pieces you see in the pictures. Seems to match the BG pretty well, BG has been installed for a couple weeks and rocks were just put in yesterday. I'm leaving the lights on longer than usual so I can get some algae growth on the rocks and BG.

Here's how I hid my intake and heater (must be too powerful for this tank because the tank is 82 but heater is set at 74)









Here you can see where I cut holes so water can flow to the filter intake. I used some gutter guard to keep the fish out. I wish I would have been able to make more natural looking holes but no one I've showed the tank to even notices the holes until I point them out.









For my return I made a DIY spraybar for my Odyssea CFS500 that fits over the back of the BG. I glued all joints except where the tube with the holes connects to the 90 so I can adjust the angle when needed. I've noticed a lot of waste buildup on the sand so I'm going to get a circulation pump in the next couple weeks. I still need to paint it black...









Here's some pictures of the BG itself.

























Current stock is 3 Rusty's and 5 Yellow Labs, going to add 15 Demasoni in the next week or two.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Adding the Dems to that mix will be a lot of fish for a 55, better add quite a few more rocks. Tank looks nice as it is!


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

Thanks! I'm going to add more rocks along with an aquatop cf500 and a powerhead. It's going to be a lot of fish but I'm removing a couple of the labs once I can conform their sex (1m 2 or 3 fm) same for the rusty's.


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

I would have painted the spray bar black, but everything looks great!


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## UNIDEKE (Apr 15, 2012)

Looks really good, I like the mix...they look great against the background. Dems will be a nice addition, as mentioned previously, maybe a few more rocks...where did you get the background? The intake cuts look fine IMO. :thumb:

Deke


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

UNIDEKE said:


> Looks really good, I like the mix...they look great against the background. Dems will be a nice addition, as mentioned previously, maybe a few more rocks...where did you get the background? The intake cuts look fine IMO. :thumb:
> 
> Deke


Designsbynature.net is where I purchased it, so far it's the cheapest place I've found for 3d backgrounds.


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

Added more rocks and painted spraybar.


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## AulonoKarl (Mar 9, 2012)

Looks great! How thick is that background? I wanted to add one to my 55 a while back, but couldn't find one that I liked that was slimline enough. I didn't want to take up too much of my width.


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

AulonoKarl said:


> Looks great! How thick is that background? I wanted to add one to my 55 a while back, but couldn't find one that I liked that was slimline enough. I didn't want to take up too much of my width.


It's about 3" thick, slightly more slightly less at certain spots. It's just thick enough to where I can fit my intake and heater inside it (see the cutout I made). If it was much thinner I would have to have the intake and heater infront of it which would defeat the purpose of me buying it since I wanted to hide that stuff. I'll add a side shot for you once I get home so you can see how much space it takes.


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## UNIDEKE (Apr 15, 2012)

treym563 said:


> AulonoKarl said:
> 
> 
> > Looks great! How thick is that background? I wanted to add one to my 55 a while back, but couldn't find one that I liked that was slimline enough. I didn't want to take up too much of my width.
> ...


As long as you're taking pictures, will you get another one of the cut out area, looking to do the same thing with my heater and intake. No worries if you don't get to it.


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## Dawg2012 (May 10, 2012)

Looks pretty cool!

Couple of questions -

1) Does your tank have a middle support piece going across the top? If so how did you get the BG in the tank.

2) In the first picture - does the foam only go down a couple of inches? In other words, is the BG mostly hollow - or did you have to remove material around the heater and intake?


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

Dawg2012 said:


> Looks pretty cool!
> 
> Couple of questions -
> 
> ...


1) It does have a middle support, I had to cut the BG into 3 pieces to fit it in the tank. About a foot and a half in from the left side you can see a big crevice-like detail on the BG, I chose to cut along that so it kind of blended in. On the left side about a foot in a made another cut. I also had to trim off the bottom a few inches because the BG is premade to fit either a 55, 75, or 90g so it was 48" x 24" (my tank is only 21" tall). It was very easy to cut, I used a jigsaw.
2) The BG is solid foam with a harder layer on the outside where the rock detail is. I had to carve out where I wanted my heater/intakes. I planned ahead and made a second cut-out along the left side incase I wanted to add another filter, which I wanna do in the near future. I made a DIY spraybar for the filter return that fit over the top of the BG.

Here's a few pictures showing the cutouts and a different setup with the rocks as well as how much of my tank the BG takes up. I'm getting my 15 demasoni and 2 female rusty's tomorrow, pretty pumped I'll post pics when they are all settled in.


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

nice, not a fan of the 3d backgrounds but nice


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## cichlid4life2012 (Feb 17, 2012)

Stunning!!!!!


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## treym563 (Apr 23, 2011)

Here's a little update video showing my new fish. Thanks for the comments!


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## 4RSo (Aug 13, 2011)

I love the rock, this is exactly what i've been looking for. And I love the background; everything is so cohesive and the subtlety of the green and grey is perfect. You mentioned in your video that the rock was obsidian? Do you remember what the name of the place you got the rock from was? I would love to get my paws on some of that stuff. Also, how much per lb. did this landscaping company ask for?


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## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

Great looking tank! I have to check out that background place. I'd like a nice rock background for my new 75G tank.


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## UNIDEKE (Apr 15, 2012)

Bought a similar background and really like it! Great pics, thanks for the updates!


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## DNK (Jun 8, 2007)

The tank looks very good from the front but there doesn't seem to be a very big foot print when looking at the side view. 
I think I'd only consider a chunky background on a tank that was at least 20" front to back.


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