# Figure I'll post up my DIY background



## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

This is for a 6', 125 gal mbuna tank. I wanted something like a canyon wall so that is what my unartistic self went for.

Started with 2" styro and silconed two pieces together for a 4" piece then in the middle added a third layer for 6" of depth.

Here's a couple pics

The two pieces before silconing together.









The start of some carving









Third layer









Finished carving









All suggestions are very much appreciated as I have never attempted something like this before. I think I'm going to use drylock on this project, seems to keep a little more detail in the work.

Thanks for looking and your comments.

Steve


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## R-DUB (Jun 3, 2007)

Looks very nice Steve! I would add some even deeper crevices/cracks to the areas that two rocks meet. The seam running from the upper right to the lower left looks a little to "perfect". IMHO. But awesome overall!! :drooling: Good Luck!
:thumb:


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## littlejoenc (Jan 11, 2005)

Looking good..
I agree with R-DUB. deeper crevices will give it more 3D look when you get the water in it and some algae growing on it will make it come alive...


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Well did a little more work today. Worked on the front a little bit to put more detail into the left side, cut out for my filters and my ugj system and put some screen in there so nobody can get in. Here's a few pics.

Here's an in tank shot from what I had before today.








A pic of my cut out for one of the two intakes.









screen over opening to keep out the fish.









I split this background with about a 45 deg. angle to hide the seam better.









Front shot after adding more detail and cutting for my intakes and ugj.









And a couple angle shots of the same.

















Enjoy let me know how I'm doing. 
Went to pick up some drylock and all they had was grey, so off to another HD to get white and have them mix it sand color.

Thanks for any input Steve


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## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

I like the slate look! Very nice, can't wait to see it done.


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## non_compliance (Dec 4, 2008)

lookin good so far!!


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## mel_cp6 (Feb 3, 2009)

looks great so far.
cant wait to see the finish product.
the only thing i would change is the window screen on the filter\
intake. those get cloged very easily and once you are set up, its gonna be 
very difficult to clean. i suggest finding something with a bigger opening.


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## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

I don't think you will have a problem with the screen, it does get clogged up but it doesn't prevent the water from getting in there and it works like a pre filter.


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

If the screen becomes a problem i'll end up removing it and leaving it open. I'm using penguin intake pipes to take the water to my overflow boxes. So don't have to worry about fish getting into there. I'll just drylock the chanels I cut.


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Well drylock is on, did one basecoat. Then went back and hit the cracks and holes with a charcoal tint. Went back and dry brushed the whole background with a little darker brown. Going to let it dry and check it out tommorrow to see how much more I need to do to it.

Here's part of the first piece painted









Full piece done.









Part of the other side









And the whole thing.









Just a little hint, I got the sand colored drylock and it was very light colored. So I picked up some concrete dye in brown. Well it doesn't take a whole lot to change the color to way to dark. This color was achieved with 2.5 cap fulls of dye and .5 gallons of drylock. Also drylock goes a pretty long way. I only used about 1/4 of a gallon for this 71 1/2x21 7/16 background.


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

looks awsome.


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## littlejoenc (Jan 11, 2005)

Way to go dude....Looks great....


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Well background is about 99% finished. Just need to fix where my ugj system goes into the background.

Side shot no flash.









Side shot with flash you can really see my skimmerless overflow boxes here. Thanks Bulldogg7 for the read it really helped.









Full frontal








Another frontal









I chaulked the back in really good and the background actually fits really snug into the tank. I can't wait to do another one of these. I have a 55 gal. upstairs that once empty I just might have to play with. Thanks R-dub for your write up about the drylock it works awesome.Keeps all the details and is super easy to use.

Wondering if anyone with a drylock has bn plecos and how it reacts to them chewing on it. I contacted aquaterra and they said plecos would eat their backgrounds.


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## NewfishBigpond (Sep 24, 2009)

Do you have pics w/ the tank stocked??? Looks great and enjoyed the step-by-step. Hope to post my own shortly. Oh, did you use the drylok, latex masonry waterproofer. I think I am going to go this route, vs quickcrete. Thanks


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## m_compton (Oct 12, 2009)

That looks great!


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Yea used the drylock, no fish in there yet. I have a swap togo to on the 25th thats when i'm getting my fish for this tank. I still need to make my canopy in the next week or two. Thanks for the comments


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

gtphale said:


> If the screen becomes a problem i'll end up removing it and leaving it open. I'm using penguin intake pipes to take the water to my overflow boxes. So don't have to worry about fish getting into there. I'll just drylock the chanels I cut.


 If you want to improve on the screen, get a piece of coarse or medium coarse pond filter mat and make two identical "plugs". Cut a little bigger around the hole to the thickness of the filter mat, making a seat for the plug. Any time there is a flow problem, you change them out, wash the dirty one and set it aside for the next time.


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## littlejoenc (Jan 11, 2005)

gtphale BG looks great..The more of them you build the more creative you'll get...

I have had my BG with dry lock in my tank for about a year now and I have 3 placo's in there and they haven't eaten any of it yet.
That stuff sets up fairly hard so I don't see them eating any of it...

I'm building one now incorporating some tree trunks and roots in with the rocks all made from pink foam board....


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

That sounds like an awesome background, have you posted any pics of it yet? I would love to see it.


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Well here are some shoots of it in tank with water and some rock. I need a bit more rock and water to clear up some more.

Here's a shot of stand and tank with flash on.









Dropped these guys into this tank along with some media from an established tank. Gotta make sure its safe for the show fish. They will be going back into the 55 in a few weeks. 









One with flash off









This was a fun project. So glad I didn't drop all the money into a background. I made this one for about 35 bucks and still have enough to do a 55 and a 10 gal.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

wow, so inspiring! you are really handy with the DIY projects--that background looks like a canyon wall just as you said you wanted it, and much more realistic than I thought it would look. :thumb:

Do you have a link for the instructions on building the background?


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Just whats on page one of this thread. Any questions you can PM me and I'd be glad to help you out.


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## mrgreen (May 28, 2004)

i think you've done a exceptional job , they look better with time and a bit of algae build up , i did something similar but mine are on the side as the tank is a see-through room divider

















Cheers
Steve Green


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

well, you and others have done a really great job documenting the steps to making these backgrounds--I was reading the other articles on this site last night after reading your thread. It's just amazing how naturalistic these backgrounds look and what a difference in makes.

Are the under-gravel jets and overflow box key to maintaining good circulation when using a background like this? I am considering having a tank for rock-dwelling Julidochromis and a tank for shell-dwellers, but it doesn't seem like the ugj would go well in the shellie tank, and I'm wondering how they would react to current at the bottom generated by something like a powerhead. But I will post that question in another thread. Just wondering in general whether the background impedes flow and circulation to any significant degree, but I'm guessing not.

you should be really proud of this tank after having made so much of it yourself! =D>


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

wow, that does look natural Steve--another outstanding example. If algae is ever a problem, can the backgrounds be brushed without affecting their surface?

It's been about ten years since I had my last tank and I'm just so excited to see how things have changed due to the internet and the communication it has fostered between people. These photos and the great instructions make me want to attempt this on the new tank (or tanks) I hope to be setting up very soon. Will I be patient enough to make a background first??!

I have access to a large high-fire kiln through a ceramics studio and I hope to try making some "rocks" and caves with stoneware too--it would be so cool if they could match the background somewhat.


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

Not sure what you mean by brushing, since the tank is new I haven't had the chance for algea to grow yet.I really don't ever plan to clean off algea, but will keep 3-4 bn's in there.


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## R-DUB (Jun 3, 2007)

Looks awesome gtphal. Are you glad you used Drylok?? Works great doesnt it? Again great job!!! :thumb: Cant wait to see with fish in it! :drooling:


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## joker4466 (Oct 10, 2008)

does drylok affect the ph like quik crete does?how long did you have to let it set
?did you only do the 2 coats?
i am going to try and make my own.i have always thought they would be to complicated but yours looks awesome and fairly simple to make.thx


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## gtphale (Oct 12, 2008)

I loved the drylock thanks R dub for the help along the way. I did only use two coats as I was pretty happy with the color. Beware though it does get lighter when in water for some reason. I let the tank sit empty for about 5 days. Then added water for about two days filtered that. Then drained the tank and refilled. The directions say wait a week before submerging.

I just love how you dont' lose any details and its so easy to paint it. Another bonus is a gal. pail is a lot lighter then a bag of crete. :thumb:

Got fish in there but they are small for the most part. I have tank ripped apart right now trying to catch some bad damasoni so that I can add some F1's I just picked up that will be here tommorrow.


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## R-DUB (Jun 3, 2007)

Cool very cool! Hope you post more pics. And glad to help. 
 =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

At the beginning you called yourself "my unartistic self" - Looks like you are an artist to me!

I am also interested in the chemistry of the drylock vs using concrete as I would like to add my background into an already running tank. I guess this background would also be less heavy than one using concrete?


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

=D> Very nice work!!! Looks great, definitely a show tank. =D>

Please post some pics to my DIY Background Showcase thread.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=206914&start=75


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## CrazyFishLadyJulez (Jul 30, 2010)

Freakin awesome!!


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## AfricanCichlidF4n (Aug 16, 2010)

Your background looks amazing. Thanks for the inspiration and ideas!


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## jeaninel (Nov 1, 2009)

Awesome job! Looking at all these beautiful DIY BG's has really inspired me to try one of my own for a 135 gallon I just got. I have a question on hiding the heaters. I'm going to have 2 heaters in the 135 and I usually place them low and horizontal in the tank. How do you hide the heaters with the BG? Is there a cutout for them so water can circulate and will the circulation be good enough with them being behind the BG? How hard is it to get to the heaters if I need to adjust the temp or replace them?


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