# Filter & heater question for custom background



## ShinyCard255 (Jul 7, 2011)

Kinda new to the hobby and might not know the proper terminology. I have a 15 gallon at the moment and love it.

So I recently just picked up a 60 Gallon (48x12x24) tank and have been seeing what others have done with their aquarium backgrounds. I love what a lot of people have done and want to make one for my aquarium.

Anyway, to get to the point, I have a Aquaclear power filter (70 gallon) for the tank but I don't know how I can hide the tube that goes into the tank to suck the water in the filter. Also, I don't know where I can hide my heater as well since I don't have an air stone to help circulate the water past the heater.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Design the background around the filters and heater. You want to create holes in the background so the HOB intakes can circulate water. After you design the background, cover the holes with either using a clear pipe from an old python siphon hose or plastic tubing that you can find at any home improvement store. Paint the holes black paint then cover them with screen mesh. Crazy glue or silicone 1 works well. Rubberband the mesh screen to the tube to keep in place while the adhesive dries. 
Then, carve your Styrofoam background so it overhangs the holes for your HOB intakes. For the heater placement, design it to sit beneath the return of the HOB so that new water is constantly running over the heater. In order to achieve that, carve long, vertical crevices and cover with screen mesh so the fish don't get behind the background. Again, use the same design principle of overlapping rocks and black paint to disguise the crevices. Does that all make sense?

The return from the HOB will cascade down the face of the background and the heater should efficiently keep the water a constant temperature. Just keep the height of your background and waterline level. You don't want the background lower than the waterline because fish will get behind it.


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## ShinyCard255 (Jul 7, 2011)

DanniGirl,

Sorry, this all sounds like mumble jumble to me. Why do I have to cover up the holes that I made for the HOB intake with a clear pipe? Is it just to cover up the exposed styrofoam? Also, I'm assuming I'm covering up the holes with the screen mesh so that no fish can get back there, right? So, I'm putting the screen mesh on the styrofoam or the clear plastic? Am I replacing the intake for the HOB with a new clear pipe?

Sorry, I'm confused and new to this


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

No need to be sorry.

It's much easier to attach the screen mesh on the tubing rather than to attach it on the Styrofoam. Attach one end of the tubing to a piece of PVC (inside the hole you carved in the Styrofoam) and then you can attach the other end to the AC intake. That way, no debris will get trapped behind the background; rather it will travel straight into the intake.

Yes, you're covering the holes with mesh so the fish don't get behind the background.

Here is a quick side view: 









Also, you're going to have to carve a space within the back of the Styrofoam so you can easily remove the AC intake and plastic tubing for maintenance.

Top View:


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## ShinyCard255 (Jul 7, 2011)

Diagrams are so much easier to understand! You are a BIG help!

Also, now looking at your diagram, since my tank is so big, I was reading that with bigger tanks, it's harder for the water to circulate with a HOB filter. So what I was thinking of doing was getting like 6' of clear tubing. Connecting it like you have in the diagram, but then running it along the back of the tank (behind the background) so it grabs water from once side but then dumps it on the other side. Would this be a good idea?


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

ShinyCard255 said:


> Diagrams are so much easier to understand! You are a BIG help!
> 
> Also, now looking at your diagram, since my tank is so big, I was reading that with bigger tanks, it's harder for the water to circulate with a HOB filter. So what I was thinking of doing was getting like 6' of clear tubing. Connecting it like you have in the diagram, but then running it along the back of the tank (behind the background) so it grabs water from once side but then dumps it on the other side. Would this be a good idea?


You could do that, however it is much easier to do two things. Add a powerhead to one side of your tank to create a water current. And add a second HOB filter, one being on each side of the tank. The more filtration the better.


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

DanniGirl said:


> No need to be sorry.
> 
> It's much easier to attach the screen mesh on the tubing rather than to attach it on the Styrofoam. Attach one end of the tubing to a piece of PVC (inside the hole you carved in the Styrofoam) and then you can attach the other end to the AC intake. That way, no debris will get trapped behind the background; rather it will travel straight into the intake.
> 
> ...


Thats a great diagram. :thumb:


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## ShinyCard255 (Jul 7, 2011)

Chunkanese said:


> ShinyCard255 said:
> 
> 
> > Diagrams are so much easier to understand! You are a BIG help!
> ...


What if I were to only put in 1 HOB on the left side of the tank and then the powerhead on the right side. Would that be enough water circulation? Do you think I should add a 2nd HOB, wouldn't 1 be enough?


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Chunkanese said:


> ShinyCard255 said:
> 
> 
> > Diagrams are so much easier to understand! You are a BIG help!
> ...


+1 *Chunkanese*!

*ShinyCard255*, you could add a powerhead on one side of the tank and have your AC on the other and that would be enough circulation. However, if you did add another AC, you'll get the twice the filtration. If you want to go a different route, you could also add another powerhead. Totally up to you. Either way, I would differently add a powerhead and fix it with plastic tubing.

It would be the same design as the diagram (room for you to get your hand down into the space to remove the powerhead, a rock overhang, etc...) except no screen over the returns. 
You can play with it and figure out the best location for the powerhead. 
Depending on the size of the powerhead, you could create a setup (behind/within the background) similar to the one provided in the link: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ug_jets.php


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Chunkanese said:


> Thats a great diagram. :thumb:


Haha, thanks. :wink:


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