# Exo Terra Terrarium Background?



## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

Has anyone ever used this background in their tank? They claim that its safe for fish tanks and I have found it on several online fish stores, but I was wondering if anyone had ever used it and how it would look in the aquarium compared to the BTN and AquaTerra backgrounds.

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/background.php


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

is it any cheaper than the others?


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

Yes, a lot cheaper. Its about $15 for a 24 in. x 24 in. panel. They have bigger sizes too, but I couldn't find them anywhere online so far other than their site (I haven't looked that hard either yet).


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

interesting......i hope its safe, i might have to get two 24x24 pieces for my 75.........


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

They sell these at my LFS, but I was leery of them due to being "Lizard stuff". I should be able to check them out tomorrow and see what info I can find.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

I've used it with no problems.

there were 2 problems I had, first of it is incredibly buoyant, getting it to stay underwater (without siliconing it in) was hard.

secondly the polystyrene beads are quite big, so if it gets damaged slightly it leaves quite large holes. however the Polystyrene was black, so the holes didnt show up as obviously as they would if they were white.


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

how long have you had them in your tank?


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

How easily do they get damaged? Also, I was thinking about siliconing it into the tank. Did you drill any intake holes for your filter system?


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

Hoosier Tank said:


> They sell these at my LFS, but I was leery of them due to being "Lizard stuff". I should be able to check them out tomorrow and see what info I can find.


Couldn't get there today, Honey-Do list was too long, I'll try later in the week. I got a 10g setting empty I have been thinking about moving my Occies into so they can breed without the Calvus snatching up the fry.
Might be a nice experiment.


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

Yeah, let me know if you decide to do it and how it goes.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

I didnt have them in the tank long, just 2-3 months. still got them, however had to strip the tank down (came back from holiday and had to do an emergency waterchange cause the person looking after them had overfed, and the filter blocked up. and it smelt stagnant (not fun at 2-3am, when you spent 7 hours in the car...) had a group of liverbearers in there, and they are still ok now.

as for how easily damaged, pretty easily IMO, but its about the same as standard poly sheets.

heres an old photo of the tank









dimension wise the tank is odd, its only around 7-8gallons total 50cm by25cm by30cm (20"by10"by12")


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

so there were no ill affects from them?


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

Looks pretty good. For the price, it might be worth it to just get some panels and try it out.


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

Do you think covering the background with a layer of quikrete keep it from getting so easily damaged?


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

for 15 bucks a sheet, i'd probably just buy new ones when i needed to, rather than muck about concreting them.


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## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

I just contacted Hagen who make this because I thought about getting hold of one. Here's their response.



> It would not be advised to use this background in your aquarium. Your fish may pick at the background it is only foam and over time it may deteriorate. This partiuclar background is not designed to be completely submerged in water. Some people do use the background in that application but it is not advised. Hope this information is helpful.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

it wasnt the fish that damaged them, they were just very fragile.

they work ok (but are horribly buoyant) and are cheaper than the otehrs, its a toss-up.

notice they never mentioned any ill effects. they'd rather sell their in tank backgrounds for that.


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## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn said:


> notice they never mentioned any ill effects. they'd rather sell their in tank backgrounds for that.


Fair point. I still might give them a go. Before I lived in the States I used have Juwel tanks and liked their simple textured black backgrounds. I know they do a more extensive range now. Might get a family member to send me one over.


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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

not a fan of the juwel ones, heard bad stories about the more "picture like" ones (rubbing in the box and looking awful as soon as their opened) though the "structure" ones are ok, but are boring and repetitive,

personally think your probably better off making your own or buying VERY expensive ones...


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

hmmm. i'm gonna give them a go in my new tank, i'll put pics up after the weekend.


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

I look forward to seeing the pictures. What size tank are you putting the background in?


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

55g, so i'm thinking 2 of the 24 x 18 sheets? rather than having to cut down the 24 x 24? i'm gonna use fishing line to tie it to the egg crate, to hold it down at the bottom of the tank, and i'm hoping the hob filter etc will hold it back at the top.


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## CRich2084 (Nov 15, 2007)

What about using silicone to secure it? One of the posts earlier said it was pretty buoyant and they had a hard time keeping it submerged.


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

i didn't want to do anything permanent in case it sucks, thats why it thought of attaching it to the egg crate, which will have about 100lbs of rock on it, so not going anywhere! lol then if i use my rocks to wedge it against the back, it shouldn't float away.


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## Robchester_2000 (Nov 8, 2008)

okay, picked up a 50 instead of a 55, here are the pics, my tank is still kinda cloudy from the sand sorry!
































i found the backgrond sheets in a forgotten corner of the lfs, one was a 24 by 24, the other a 16 x 16, the 24 had a chip on the edge so i asked for a discount, she took ten percent off. 
price for the two sheets, $15.  
cut the 'chipped edge' off when taking it down to 18x24, so a bargain! 
they are really buoyant, but i tucked them under the black rim of the top of the tank and they have held fast, especially with the two large rocks in front.
i think they look pretty good, especially for the price, though the join is pretty ugly, so i put some rock and plan in the way, i'm thinking of putting some moss on the background, to hide it a little in the rough spots.


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## t0rns0ul (Dec 27, 2008)

You can get these at petsmart.com in store or online... Very inexpensive!!


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Trust me, over time the paint leaches and fades and creates funny algae and black slime like algae on the BG.

Dont bother with them if you are going to fully submerge them in water.

Even in a more wet type terrarium I had problems with them.


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## fishnmaine (May 29, 2008)

JWerner2 said:


> Trust me, over time the paint leaches and fades and creates funny algae and black slime like algae on the BG.
> 
> Dont bother with them if you are going to fully submerge them in water.
> 
> Even in a more wet type terrarium I had problems with them.


Are you talking about just Pet Smart backgrounds or any kind.....I hate to see if this pertains to Aquaterra backgrouds or Pangea...Like to know if this happens to do this over time with any 3D backgrounds


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

The Exo Terra as per topic of discussion.


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