# How Do I Attach Homemade Stone Background



## Aquarius14 (Aug 16, 2003)

I want to use ledger stone to create a background wall. I've read that silicone will not stick to acrylic very well and I would also like to use something that could be cleaned up and removed if I ever decided to take it down. What can I used to adhere the stones to an acrylic tank. The wall will look something like this but with more spaces.

http://bourgetbros.com/product/three-ri ... ne-veneer/


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You might find attaching a real stone background will make the tank too heavy to move, even when empty.

I would use something else as a backing rather than attach the stones to the tank.


----------



## Aquarius14 (Aug 16, 2003)

I'm not too worried about moving it. They weigh about 30lbs total.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

So maybe silicone them to slate tiles. If the stones are so small that 30 pounds covers the whole back, the silicone should hold well enough.


----------



## Aquarius14 (Aug 16, 2003)

I weighed them yesterday and it came up to 44 lbs. The pieces are between 1/4" thick with a few at 3/4" and very lenghts. Silicone was my first choice but will break down over time against the acrylic and if I attached them to slate tiles I run into the same problem. How do I now attached the slate to the back?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I have glass and I find my in-tank backgrounds attached by silicone stay pretty well. Since 2005 so far. IDK about acrylic.

But some people clip the backgrounds in or just prop/wedge them in.

Are you going to attach directly to the back surface? I'd think an even coat of silicone across each tile would work. Maybe you could extend the pieces over the edges of the slate so they will interlock in front and disguise any seams.


----------



## Aquarius14 (Aug 16, 2003)

Maybe I'm missing something. The problem is not attaching the rocks to slate, silicone will definitely work for that. The problem is getting the rocks or the slate tile to stick to "ACRYLIC". So whether they're attached to slate or not they both will need to be attached to the back. Also using slate will just add more weight.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What about clips? Like the tank dividers they sell at the LFS, a springy metal (or other material) clip that goes over the top edge of your tank?

Or wedging the background in place?

Or slots. You could attach little acrylic bars (a pair on each side of the tank, far enough apart to just fit the edge of the slate) and slide the slate edge into the slot you made.

From Google it seems that acrylic is bonded by melting the two pieces together by a solvent rather than using an adhesive. I did not find anything that seemed like it would work for attaching stone directly to acrylic.

If you don't get any helpful responses here in Decoration, you might want to try the DIY forum.


----------



## ratbones86 (Jun 29, 2012)

I would have attached the slate to a sheet of styrpfoam coated in drylok then siliconed the styro to the tank. Cut the styro sheet to fit the back of tank and to hide equpiment. Paint the sheet of styro the same color as the slate material so it blends in. then attach the slate to it and then the rocks to the slate. Would be something to think about or try.


----------

