# 38L DIY Background (in progress)



## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

*What do you think so far?*​
That's ......different....?920.45%Sweet. I like it.2659.09%Not my style. but good idea.920.45%


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

So this is my first attempt at a DIY background and I wanted to try something a little different. Originally I wanted to imitate texas holey rock and decided getting the look and coloring would be too difficult. With that out of the picture, I decided to try to copy a tank on youtube that had a black lavarock look set up in a shelf style layout. And this is the current result. With the black background I will contrast it with a white sand and throw some silk plants in. There's also going to be a hidden powerhead (in the upper right) pushing water through an undergravel jet system.

On another note: one side is cracked (bought it that way) but when I got it, it was holding water with no leaks or problems. So I'm just gonna cover it up.

Let me know what you all think. Also, I'm a very busy student with 18 credits of classes, 20 hours/week at work and a wife.....and 7 aquariums....lol So needless to say, progress will be slow. Thanks for being patient.

**Current as of 10/13/08**









*^ How it looked when I got it home.*


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

Well you got my interests perked, so I look forward to the finished result when it eventually arrives opcorn: And if you can, explain your steps taken too.

D


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

Oh, btw, can you post the link to the tank you saw on YouTube?


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## balachel (May 24, 2008)

im interested to see what this will look like


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Ok, so I got a little more done today between class and work.

General steps (I've taken so far):
1. Obviously, you need a design in mind. I just made a list of things I wanted in it and just jumped into it. I was too indecisive to make up full plans.
2. Get supplies like some quickcrete, GE Silicone 1, 3/4" blueboard, cheap paint brushes for concrete, knives/saws for shaping and cutting, markers
3. Clean tank. I used alcohol.
4. Check and reseal any bad seals.
5. Silicone in back piece.
6. Start cutting out shapes and make sure to give them layers and depth. After making shapes, take them apart and silicone together. I used toothpicks to hold pieces together before siliconing. (also: allow for heater, filter and any powerhead or other hardware you'll put in)
7. Mark out the footprints on the back wall piece.
8. Mix any coloring into some water and then mix up your concrete.
9. Concrete back wall piece (minus footprints) and shapes individually.
10. Silicone in shapes and finish with more concrete.

A couple quick notes:
-I got little 10lb bags of quickcrete (yellow bag) and they have some larger rocks in there that make it difficult to spread if you don't sift them out. (duh...i know) Maybe I'll leave them in during the later stages though for texture.
-If you use the blue foam and don't rough it up a little, you may see some chipping in the early layers and problems getting the concrete to stay without pooling (if its pretty thin).









*^Poor results with the quickcrete with the rocks still in it. Notice the footprints on the back wall piece.*








*^Much better after being sifted.*
















*^Nothing really new with the actual pieces. Like the little cave I made with leftovers on the bottom right?*

Instructions for little concrete cave:
1. Roll up a thin piece of cardboard.
2. Toothpick it down to your awesome blueboard workstation.
3. Cover with any extra concrete after doing a layer on your BG.
4. Ta Da!

Here's the inspiration for the BG, but good luck trying to get a reply from him...


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Got a little more done last night. One more coat for the back wall, then onto the side, then to getting pieces in and final coatings. Yay!









*^Powerhead assembly for UGJ*
















*^Not much more on pieces.*








*^Dry background*


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## a_c_arnold (Mar 7, 2008)

Just some words of warning. When making structures that stick out its a good idea to dow rod them or at least use tooth picks as well as silicone or great stuff to glue them together. I don't care how much cement you put on that styro, it's going to be very bouyant. I would also recomend sealing the concrete with Drylok. The Drylok will make your background much more durable and you can vary the shades of browns and greys to make it look more realistic.

Here's a pic of one that I did with cement and Drylok:


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Thanks a_c_arnold. I planned on keeping the toothpicks I used for the mock up and a good amount of silicone.

On another note: I hope this isn't too hard to clean....or get fish out of.....:?


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## a_c_arnold (Mar 7, 2008)

If it's anything like mine, it will be a nightmare to net fish.


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## loogielv (Nov 10, 2008)

updates? i'm interested in this sucker...


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I dont see anything wrong with it at all. opcorn:

I am interested to see how the jets work out.


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Ok, I should be getting more done today since its dead week and I don't have my tuesday morning class. Sorry its been so long. Projects and reports plague the end of the semester unfortunately.


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Ok, so I hope I can get this done before Christmas because I have to consolidate some tanks before I leave for Texas for a couple weeks. So here is the long awaited update that I've been meaning to get to. I just got done putting another layer on the pieces, so enjoi!









^Right Side Wall








^Back Wall


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

So I didn't get this done before Christmas, but I did get a lot of work done on the individual pieces during finals. Next step is to silicone them in and do finishing concrete. I'll get pictures up when I'm at home next. We're spending time with the wife's parents for the next few days. So I'll do what I can, when I can. Thanks for being patient everyone!


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

So here are some pictures from before christmas that I just now could put up. I'll get more done tomorrow hopefully. Thanks again for the patience!


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## DNAagram (Jan 5, 2009)

wow, crazy stuff, I cant wait to se it all complete in water! :thumb:


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Hey all,
the long awaited final mock-up. Not quite what I was hoping for, but we'll see how it all goes. The fit isn't as good as it was before concrete, but its to be expected to a certain extent. After this is posted I'll get to siliconing and after it dries some I'll do concrete work tonight. On another note, I tested the UGJ system and its pretty weak. Sad. But here's the picture, lemme know what you think. Thanks.


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

So all the pieces are glued in now. And the bottom three are cemented in. With such a 3D background it really adds complication to the equation. I couldn't just glue in all the pieces at once, because there would be places I couldn't get my hand into to concrete. So if you're doing something similar, keep that in mind. So here are some more pics. Enjoi!


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Ok, so it now has water in it. Just the first filling to check for bad spots and leech some of the ph out of the concrete. The pictures aren't great, but you get the idea. I think the texture and color layering came out much better than I thought it would. Soon we'll see how the fish like it!


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

This is the final product minus any plants I may put in. I'm thinking about putting in some hearty grass I got from a friend. Right now I just have a few guppies and a synodontis in to test out the water conditions. Africans to come. How do you like it?


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## non_compliance (Dec 4, 2008)

Looks pretty good... I can't say I would have done better, that's for sure! Looks like that might be hard to do. I'm planning my own background before too long here... not sure how I'll do it, but I sure like seeing other people's tries...

Get us some more pics when the :fish: are in!


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Hey all,
What do you think?

ps-today I put in some grass I got from a friend. The green really contrasts with the black background and white sand. I hope to start putting in cichlids this weekend.


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## BoostedEJ205 (Sep 23, 2008)

Here's more updated pics. Enjoi!


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## SirPsycho (Feb 2, 2009)

Looks good mate, very similar to what Im trying to do at the moment! (My first decent aquarium)

Will post up some pics of mine when *** made a bit more progress.


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