# Another DIY Background



## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

New member here - been lurking for about 2 weeks. After seeing all the lovely artwork, I decided to try my hand at a DIY 3D background. But, the styrofoam/concrete method seemed too tedious, problems with floating issues, etc. I thought about just doing real rock (like slate), but I wasn't fond of the weight issue with so much real rock. So, I went another route...

I came across plastic rock formations in the pond/garden center at HomeyD. These are the same as the preformed liners, but these are for making waterfalls. HomeyD Waterfall - they are manuf. by Beckett Becket Water Course. I bought 2 of the 34in and connected together. I trimmed all the excess, and fit it to the tank (a 55gallon). My cutting skills aren't perfect, and so I used black expanding pond foam to help with the sides where fish might wander around to the back and get stuck, lost, etc. :wink: I used several of the 'left-overs' from my cutting to make 'covers' for places I drilled holes so that there would be waterflow from behind to the front, since I'm hiding the heater and canister filter inlets/outlets back there.

So here's some pics of the progress:

The Waterfall
This is one of the 2 pieces my local HomeyD had on hand. I cut off the plain basin at the bottom on each piece, and that's where I started making the two connect. I overlapped them and used aluminum rivets at top and bottom to hold together in order to get a "fit" to the tank. Then I cut the top and bottoms off (the wavy sides) to get more rectangular shape to the piece.









The Undergravel Jet/Eggcrate









Backside of Background
You can see where my powerheads are attached to the background in the corners - there will be black foam filters protruding out the front for the UGJ system. The brown patches are plastic canvas from the craft store I siliconed over large holes to keep fish out. I later decided it was much easier to just drill small holes rather than try to cover a large hole with plastic canvas! 









Frontside - Powerhead
Here you can see the powerhead sticking out through the front corner - a black foam will be filter attached here, and probably be hidden with plants.









Hidden Caves & Water Access
Here you can see how I siliconed a 'leftover' on top to hide places where water flows from back to front. From a frontal view, you can't see the silicone. Some may be large enough to serve as hiding spots for fish!









The Center Seam
Here is a shot at where the center seam is - I again used 'leftovers' and siliconed on top of the seam where it's not seen - there have been holes drilled under these 'covers' as well for more waterflow. If you look closely, you can just see a few spots of silicone I didn't see before it dried  









Oh NO! A Gap!
My perfect cutting skills left me with a 1/4in gap at one side - so I carefully placed a line of black expanding foam pond sealer on the glass at this point so no fishies could 'escape' behind the background. You can also see in this shot that my brace has been cut - the prevoius owner of the tank tried metal halide lights, and subsequently melted the brace  It has been great - much easier to work with one large piece and nothing in the way - I will correct with a piece of plastic and a few plastic screws.









Well - that's it for now. I know - want to see a full installed shot - me too! But, things must dry before I can go further. Sounds to me like an excuse to go eat! :thumb:


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh my, different indeed!

:thumb: Good luck.

I saw some hard plastic rocks for landscaping and I also saw these squares of some type of hard plastic covers for around the garden that look like the Pangaea backgrounds at K-Mart and thought about using those two items in a tank but when I went to look for a price I found they were very expensive!

Isnt it expensive to use that mold?


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Not expensive at all. So far, I've got two molds at $18 each, 2 tubes of silicone at $5 each, and 1 can of black expand pond foam at $12. Then, the PVC and elbows were about $8 total, and two sheets of egg crate at $11 each. All total so far, $80 :thumb:

Sad part is, the 55g tank, black pine stand, black pine canopy with lights, Fluval 403 canister filter, 2 Maxi-Jet 1200 powerheads, and a Stealth heater came all together from a Craigslist ad for $80! Gotta love a motivated seller on Craigslist :thumb:

The good part - no waiting for weeks of concrete curing time, no coloring concrete, no floating, no diningroom full of styrofoam bits, and vitually no weight.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Sorry - should be in the DIY section  
Can a mod please move?


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Wow. I dont know 80$ is still a lot.

Really creative and I cant wait to see it finished but I'll stick to the foam and concrete 

I have been wanting to do a black background that resembles obsidian for a while. I wonder how yours will turn out.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

JWerner2 said:


> Wow. I dont know 80$ is still a lot.


Well, the styrofoam is cheap granted ($10), the cement and coloring is gonna run you another $20. $12 for expanding foam, and assuming you use rock salt to help cure the cement, another $10. You've spent $50 already. But - how many water changes do we have to do during the curing of the concrete? Unless you're on a well, water ain't cheap anymore! My waterbill runs $80 on a good month, if I used an extra 500 gallons to cure concrete, I'd easily add another $30 to my water bill.

Plus, time is money. I'll be finished in 24 hours work time (3 days), and I can go straight to cycling - I'll have fishes in another 10-14 days.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

It really dont cost that much at all and it can be even cheaper if you know where to find things.

You also dont need the expanding foam and the rock salt can be bought way, way, WAAAAAY cheaper than that. The cement dont cost that much at all either. The cement and dye should cost half of that. I also didnt see anyone with problems curing it.

I got everything needed sitting here waiting for me to get around to it except the dye cause Im undecided and so far it cost me way less than 20$ but I have got some stuff like Styrofoam for free but I got loads of it from someone giving it away on craigslist and from the apartment building the added to my complex late last summer.

Im not saying anything is wrong here I really wanna see this thing but Im just saying I would rather do the concrete and save.
:thumb:

Any updates?!!!!! 8)


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

JWerner2 said:


> Im not saying anything is wrong here I really wanna see this thing but Im just saying I would rather do the concrete and save.
> :thumb:


Oh, I know - no foul, no harm taken - the only "stuff" I have laying around here is Camaro parts - thus the screen name :wink: , so I had to start from scratch.

Nothing further at the moment - been working too much to play  Have off Sunday & Mon - hope to be done and progress to the cycling stage by then


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## milazzo (Mar 26, 2009)

how do you plan on keeping the back ground in place to keep it from moving around


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

milazzo said:


> how do you plan on keeping the back ground in place to keep it from moving around


Oops - forgot that part didn't I? I used plastic zip-ties though small holes in the bottom, and attached to the egg crate (that was fun - my hands too big to get down in there). At the top, I'm attaching same way through the small lip on the inside top of the tank. And remember, the powerheads are also attached to the background, which adds a good amount of weight as well. And, the entire thing was a pretty snug fit to begin with - I only had a small 1/4" crack on one side where I filled in with the black expanding foam, and that was only at the top - the bottom was a snug fit in that area. When I put it in the tank, I have to just slightly squeeze inwards to get it in, and it stays where I put it, even without the zip-ties.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Update....

Set it up, filled with some sand and water. Hard to really see anything much, I had no idea until today that the lights in the canopy were blue :roll: Not my fav. I used simple playsand from Lowes - they carry Quikcrete brand playsand - the bag claims it is precleaned, prerinsed, and redried. And I must say, it was really clean - I tried rinsing in a bucket, but got very little dirty water - mostly just finer sand grains that were easily stirred under the hose pressure, so I dumped it in. The sand seems to be a very light tan color. The tank is a little cloudy (I imagine - hard to tell with a black background and blue lights). Tomorrow I'll get some better lighting installed.

Tested my ph today from the tap it's 7.8 - and I need some more sand as well (that's only 50 pounds) - think I'm gonna add 40 pounds of the Caribsea aragonite sand - it'll help the ph and lighten the look a bit as I'd prefer a whiter sand, but too tight budget to fill the entire tank with high dollar stuff. Filters and powerheads running now - will cycle for a week or two. I stole several of the wife's old curlers and stuck them in my established 29g community tank to start collecting bacteria for this tank. A few rocks and plants here and there to hide jets and add caves and character, and soon I can add some fish!.

*View of completed background in tank and on stand*










*Playsand put in and watered up*










*Canopy on, lights on*


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## tlspmm (Feb 1, 2009)

Very interesting! I think that once your tank is established and algea is growing on the back it will be more natural. The plastic used is very glossy so is their any glare? I really like your approach , you found something that really replicates real rockwork. Very cool . LOL . Hey post more pics later w/ fish . Also I bet if you used a 500 grit sandpaper and lightly sanded background you would be able to paint it w/ krylon spraypaints and achieve a natural look w/out needing the algeas help.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I cant wait to see close ups after he rocks are dropped in and you get some real lighting.

What rocks are you using for decor? I say you do some in black if possible.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Had another day off today, and did some more work. Over the last few days, the tank cleared up pretty well. The equip has been running for 4 days now, and yesterday I dropped in some bacteria (I had BioBalls floating around in my 29g community tank, and also had dropped in a few of the wife's old curlers to collect bact. with).

I also snagged from Craigslist 2 18inch regular white flourescent light hoods with bulbs, 20 pounds of coral gravel, and a box of various other tank junk for $15. The blue lights are a double 24inch flour. from the previous owner's saltwater setup (I'm guessing they are for the coral and such). I moved the double blue's to the back of the canopy, and put the two white 18's up front - I simply ran wood screws through the plastic hoods into the roof of the canopy. I also need to swap out one blue lamp for another white in the very back - then I think I'll have good lighting with 3 whites and 1 blue. Not sure if it will show up in any of my pics (not a very good photogragher here) - but the plastic rock background looks pretty realistic and not glossy at all. It's already started growing some reddish spots on it in various places.

Today, I added a goldfish from my 29g tank, to start a cycle with. Several months ago, I had gotten a 10cent feeder Comet to put in my cat's waterbowl as a joke. But he wasn't interested at all, so I've had this goldfish growing in my community tank ever since - he's the perfect test subject! He's seemed happy all day in there by himself with all that wiggle-room.

Tonight, Slinky (my ferret) and I went to the LFS to get the Aragonite sand to add to the bottom - Slinky just knows I'm making him an indoor swimming hole!. I got the sugar grain, and you could definitely tell it's lighter in color than the playsand. So, in the front of the tank, where you could see the 'layering' of sand, I just stirred it up a bit by waving my fingers around - so it looks uniform color right at the glass. I also added the coral gravel I lucked into, but I put it behind the background simply as an extra buffering agent. Before adding anything, my ph was 7.8 out of the tap, so I'm hoping to be well on my way - I ended up with 40 pounds of playsand, 30 pounds of Aragonite, and 20 pounds of coral. The lighter Aragonite sand will look nice after it settles a bit - it's awful cloudy right now (thus no more pics this post).

I also started some rocks. Went to the local nursery where they had whatever you like for 27 cents a pound - I ended up with 75 pounds for $21 - a mixed up lot. Some had some nice formations in them (not holey rock, but had some character). Some were just flat and dark (almost black). One piece looked like it was missing holes, so I took the hammer and an old screwdriver, and pounded out a few for caves. They were all pretty dark - I scrubbed them and boiled them and scrubbed again - some had lichen on them that stayed on after all that, so I left it - it'll be a good place for some algae to start growing. So, I've got a few in there hiding the jets in the bottom, and a few just for looks. One rock had quite a good sized lip on it, and when rested on part of the bottom of the background, makes a great hidey hole about 2 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Most all of them look almost black when dropped in the tank, but with some coloration that matches well with the sand.

Can't wait for it to clear so I can post more pics!

I'm really happy that I found an alternative to the styro/cement. This has been fun, quite easy, and I'm not even at the 2 week mark yet. There's no way my old impatient self could have tolerated a month-long or greater process! :wink:


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

ha, our Ferret cant stand water. I need to make sure his nails are nice and dull before his baths!

Instead of all those lights if you had a canopy I could have given you my screw in power compact DIY idea. Just retrofit a dual incandescent socket on to the bottom of the lid and screw in the PC's. Looks killer and I bet it would set your tank off nice!

If you haven't or didn't plan on it I would paint the sides. It would help blend that background.

Good luck, Im not sure how well your sand ideas gunna work. Every time I tried something like that with Cichlids they ruined it.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

JWerner2 said:


> Im not sure how well your sand ideas gunna work. Every time I tried something like that with Cichlids they ruined it.


How did they ruin it? I thought the cichlids liked the sand :-? I'm curious to know what part they could/would ruin.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

They are gunna mix it up. It wont stay uniform if thats what you want.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Oh - well mixing it up is fine. :thumb:


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Love your idea!!!!!! I think I'll try it one of these days:wink: I have an empty 10g. tank not in use so that would be perfect to experiment on. I had thought about trying the styrofoam and concrete but this sounds soooooo much easier. I think I'll sand and paint it though. I like to paint anyway and like the other poster suggested, I'll paint the sides of the tank while I'm at it. Thank you so much for sharing your great idea. Can't wait to see the final result with light, rocks, and fish =D> .


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

OK folks ... the BG has been under water for 7 days, and I'm noticing that the silicone isn't holding up. Some of the extra pieces that I siliconed over the crack where I connected the two main pieces together are peeling off - they haven't come totally undone, but close. It seems mainly to be the larger pieces so far - The silicone seems to be holding to the pieces being attached, just not holding to the main BG. At this point, since I'm in middle of cycling right now, I'm not going to try to correct - we'll let it play out.

So it would appear as though silicone is not the way to go here for 'gluing' these pieces of black pond plastic together. Maybe it would work better if the pieces had been really roughed up with sandpapaer or something BEFORE the silicone was put on, but at this point, I'm doubting it.

I'm wondering if there is something in the chemical makeup of the black plastic that keeps the silicone from adhering to it on a permanent basis. With recycling and such these days, plastics are like everything else - not what they once were. I've noticed over the years that "SuperGlue" doesn't hold to very much in the world anymore (except your fingers).

I think a better option would be a two-part epoxy maybe, mixed thick so one wouldn't have to literally hold the pieces in place for so long. I'm going to email the Beckett folks and see if they can offer a better suggestion for adhering pieces together. If anyone has any suggestions for a better adhesive, please chime in!

My UGJ's aren't doing a very good job - there's goldfish poo on the sand. I think I aimed my jets upwards too much, and there's not enough current at the sand surface. rather than making longer jet ends to insert when I realized the depth of my sand, I reboiled the ends and bent them upwards more so the ends wouldn't be buried in the sand. I think this was a mistake, and I need to recut some new jets to flow more horizontally.

I've got 3 feeder Comets in there now for the cycling - everyone seems to be swimmingly happy :fish: I also just dropped in one of the filter cartridges from my other established tank in there to help seeding. My ph is reading a tad higher with the Aragonite sand and the coral gravel I added, currently at 8.0, and there's still only a tad of ammonia - no nitrites or nitrates. I've added some of the rocks I gathered, as well as some extra plastic greenery I had lying around - I'll get some pics up this afternoon.

Even with this snag, I'm still very pleased. I got a larger rock to just lean against the pieces that are coming loose to hold them in place - if all else fails, it'll just stay there. Worst case scenerio - the fishes escape to the land beyond the BG, have fun playing in the dark, and will find their way back out when they get hungry. I suppose one could go back there, and grow over the course of a few days, and not fit back through it's secret passage - but I've never seen a fish stay in one location long enough for this, unless it was a mom protecting her babes, and I assume at that age, the growing is about over.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Found a few el-cheapo plants in the 75% off bin at local Petsmart. And boiled and added a few of my el-cheapo rocks. It's by no means pretty, but it's no longer B&W. Pics a tad blurry - not using flash so there's no bright spot reflection:

*Right*









*Left*


















You can still see the old filter cartridge for the seeding, as well as the Bioballs and the wife's curlers that I used for such :lol: The large rock in the middle is the one leaning against the failing siliconed pieces. But, the feeder Comets are having a blast - especially when they get in front of a UGJ! 

The lovely :roll: blue foam was all I had at the moment for the powerheads - black foam was delivered yesterday just not put in yet.

The BG is so pitch black - it's hard to see any detail in it really, and just how 3D it is. I think I mentioned that in places it sticks out almost 4in from the back glass. I'm going to try and rig a deflector for the lights in the canopy, in an attempt to get some light back in there - one of the places it protrudes so far outwards is at the top, keeping the light out from straight above. You can see the light shining on the top, yet the middle is just stark darkness.

It's by no means a show tank, but for a 1st attempt at a DIY anything aquarium related, it pleases me. I'll update on the silicone demise :?


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Looks good. Try moving the light. If its in the front try moving it back and vice versa.

You could also retro fit incandescent sockets into either a old fluorescent fixture or a wood canopy and use the screw in power compacts. That will brighten things up lots with out a reflector!


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## PR_islander (Mar 26, 2009)

Very impresive, it looks good . Im new to the hobby and I like to do all I can not to save money but to learn .Thank You for this great idea much better than concrete.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

Well, after almost another week, it looks like *the silcone is not going to hold*. The pieces are still in place (kinda), but they've 'peeled' away from the main background enough to allow a huge gap, allowing the fishies to come and go as they plese. But my rock still covers the area where it was obvious that two halves were pieced together, so it still looks decent enough. The two halves won't come apart at all - they are held together with nylon bolts/nuts.

So, in the end I still consider the concept to be a great success! Under $80 for the supplies, no artistic carving, no fussing with concrete, no floating issues, no waiting weeks or more for toxins to leech. I completed the BG in less than a week (someone else could do it in a day I'm sure), and was able to water up the tank within 48 hours of completion. :thumb:

Given that I had another established tank, with filter seeding and a shot of a product called TLC, I was able to have fish within a month of starting the project. :fish: :fish: :fish:

Anyone else that decides to try, just be aware of the silicone issue, and find another substance for 'glue'.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

The silicone should have held no problem. Maybe even a nice sanding on the edges it is applied to will help.


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## Camaro4Me (Mar 27, 2009)

JWerner2 said:


> The silicone should have held no problem.


I would have thought so too. I used the GE Silicone I like I read everyone using. But, it peeled from the main pieces, and the edges are now swaying in the current :roll:

Oh well, what's done is done.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Well, I still want those pics with better lighting


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