# My DIY Background



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

so i started my diy background a few days ago. i got my ideas from the batcave background.

the background is going to hide my diy overflow and intake. i know thati need to coat the foam in cement. is thehre any other sealers i need to put on it?

Give me some ideas. let me know what you think.


----------



## Wvack (Aug 31, 2008)

Looking good so far :thumb:


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

heres some more pics. almost ready for the cement.


----------



## SoDakJeep (Mar 21, 2009)

I really think you add just a lil more depth into the middle area. When you coat the with cement you will lose a lot of your texture and grooves.

It looks really good though so far. I built my own but only did a little one about half tank high. I really wish I would have made it teh full length.

Can not wait to see it finished. opcorn:


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

thanks


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

few more updates. i put the lines to come into the tank. i used 3/4 pvc. let me know what you think.


----------



## lapp211 (Aug 12, 2009)

Nice set up keep the pics coming


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

ok i started cementing it now. i still dont know how i should seal it or if i need to. can anyone help me out there?

heres some more pics.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

so no suggestions on the cement sealing?


----------



## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

Some people like to seal it, others just let it cure until it stops leaching (or rather until the resultant pH is not objectionable).

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


----------



## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

If you're not planning to remove the bg (without destroying it), and you do choose to seal it, you may want to wait until it's in the tank, that way you can touch up the joints between the pieces with extra concrete before sealing.

Looking good!

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who's only styrocrete background attempt so far did not turn out near so nice as yours)


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

Rick_Lindsey said:


> If you're not planning to remove the bg (without destroying it), and you do choose to seal it, you may want to wait until it's in the tank, that way you can touch up the joints between the pieces with extra concrete before sealing.
> 
> Looking good!
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist, who's only styrocrete background attempt so far did not turn out near so nice as yours)


yes thats what i was planning. i just dont know what i can seal it with


----------



## Stickzula (Sep 14, 2007)

marine epoxy resin like west systems, sweetwater, etc. It needs to be epoxy resin not polyester resin. Bondo 'fiberglass' resin is a polyester base so it isn't what you want. Marine epoxy is 100% waterproof and will hold up to being continuously submerged, whereas polyester resin is water resistant, but will eventually allow water to pass through. So, polyester is ok if you are not intending to use it as a "sealer". Both should be fish safe. HTH


----------



## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

What sort of fish are you planning to keep? If they're african rift lake or central american fish that want hard water, if you're patient you can just let the concrete cure awhile, with no need to seal. Low level leaching from the concrete will just keep your water hard and your pH high . If you're keeping south americans, african riverine, or other soft water cichlids you might want to seal it with something like epoxy. There was a thread recently with a guy that sealed his, but i don't remember what he sealed it with.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

so how long would it take to leach the ph if i dont seal it? will it kill the fish if i put them in to soon? also i have convicts right now.


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

BangMx said:


> so how long would it take to leach the ph if i dont seal it? will it kill the fish if i put them in to soon? also i have convicts right now.


If you do not seal it, submerge it in water and do frequent water changes, then keep testing your PH level until you have the level desired. Obviously, you are not gonna be able to go too low because of the leaching but you can always add wood to the tank to stabilize or bring down the PH.

I just put my background and I just added water yesterday, I kept doing water changes until my PH was at 8.2. I added a fish today as a "lab rat", is he makes it through the night then I will add the rst of my fish tomorrow. :thumb:


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

wow that looks great. let me know how it goes


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

ok so now i am having trouble making it look natural. mostly having trouble blending the 2 cement colors together. any suggestions?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Okay, first, you are going to coat the whole thing with the base color, that would be the darker one. You will let that dry for 24 hours, then you will use the top coat, that will be the lighter one and apply it little by little, you will need a spray bottle to spray that with water. As you apply the top coat spray it with water immediately and then brush it to blend it. You can either brush it with the same brush that you are applying the top coat with or you can brush it with a clean brush. If you are blending with a clean brush, make sure you are soaking it in water each time after you use it and at the same time run it through a piece of cloth as to remove excessive water from it before blending. I hope that makes sense.

Oh and here is my tank all done...


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

Alright ill give that a shot. It made perfect sense to me  your tank looks awsome. I hope I get results like you did


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks, I am glad I can help.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

ok i kinda got busy for a while so it just sat around. i finally got around to it and its almost done. heres some pictures.

i didnt calculate the stupid tank center support into my plans so i had to smash up the top to make it fit. i just cemented it when it was in the tank. its in my tank and ready for water now.

i also ran air lines down the side so they are completely hidden.

let me know what you think


----------



## MiteyWitey (Oct 30, 2009)

I think it looks really good!


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Yeah, looks great! Wait until its under water and it starts to grow algea...then its going to look even better!


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

ya im going to fill it tonight. i cant wait. how long did it take you to leech your ph?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

given that it is a 110 gallon...like 3 hours with buckets. But I only had to empty the tank about 3 times


----------



## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Very cool--it would be fun to see the fishes reactions. I like the naturalistic backgrounds, but I also really like that people are getting more creative too. Your caves are neat.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

i will have more pics comming as i set it up. hopefully by monday it will be done. thanks to all of you guys for your thoughts. i really appreciate it.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

so i started filling it today and water leaked to the back of the background. is this normal?


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

It happens to all of mine...never had any problems with that.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok good. So I filled it the other day and it seems to be ok. Also added a goldfish to test it. Seems fine. I'm adding my fish this afternoon. Hopefully ill have some pics up tomo.


----------



## bcpits (Sep 4, 2009)

k, so iÃ¨m just starting mine. I was also wondering about water soaking up the back side of the diy background. So if this is what happens, then that means need to use the cement on the back side on the back ground as well? 
back ground is looking great so far BangMx, can't wait to see it stocked


----------



## john73738 (Sep 22, 2009)

Love the look, the pipes you have in the BG are they intake or output?? Starting mine this week, (been saying that for the last couple weeks) but I want to imbed draw pipes in the BG around the tank and create a light bottom current to push the poop and other junk off the bottom to the sides/back to be ejected into my sump.


----------



## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

Alright so I finally got some pics of the background in the tank. It has a lot of algea growth. My fish seem to be happy. Let me know what you think.


----------



## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Nice!


----------



## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

Great Job :thumb: 
Unless that is what you were going for it seems to lack a bit of depth towards the center and doesn't seem to blend.
It is still awesome looking especially with the algae, this is a great post thanks for sharing I will definitely refer back to this when building my own.


----------



## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

Looks Great! I like the dimension and darker color scheme

Bang, Please post a pic on this thread

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=206914

I'm trying to get all the best BG's on one thread
THX


----------



## smichael (Feb 1, 2010)

Looks great, love the algae growth


----------



## Uknowho (Feb 2, 2010)

Nice =D>


----------

