# My way to hide overflow towers (lots of pics)!!!



## R-DUB

I posted the start of this project a long time ago. It has taken several years to complete. (due to many reasons) I have finally got "my way to hide my overflow towers" done! This is the whole project from start to finish.

This is my tank 180 gal AGA with overflow towers

















This is the template for the back of the tank









This is the basic structure for the BG

























This is the BG with some carving done








http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa288/R-R-WDUB/DSC00644.jpg[/IMG
[img]http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa288/R-R-WDUB/DSC00643.jpg

This is the BG when first put into tank to test the fit, before Dry-lok










I had done some alterations to the BG. Added caves,shelfs etc... I did not get any pics of some of the changes. Keep in mind I did not use concrete. Only Dry-Lok directly onto the styro. All the stryo that was added was attached with Gorrila Glue. Holds like a mutha on styro.

This is the first coat of Dry-Lok. I thought it was too uniform of a grey.


















This is the second coat with a charcoal tint added

















This is the final product. Siliconed to the back of the tank. Im filling it with water for the first time hope it holds

















This is the tank filled but still cloudy. Any input would be appreciated. More pics to come. Thanks!


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## bell

Looks awesome, I'll be doing the exact same project for my 180 very soon........


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## R-DUB

Bell, will you be using the Dry-Lok method? Or concrete over the styro? I kinda feel like the guinea pig. I have not heard of anyone using straight dry-lok. Except maybe you. Good Luck


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## KaiserSousay

Mmmmm Good. :drooling: 
Lots of work 
Done quite well =D>


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## bell

you're not the guinea......i am 
check out my old thread from when i was building my 350, pages 6 & 7....
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... &&start=75

i donated the 2ftx6ft piece to monster fish rescue, tfg put it in one of his friends tanks and said it looked awesome 

i did and am going to do what you did, you did it right 
only thing i did a little different was after the solid grey coat set up, i went back with darker mixes and "dabbed" with the end of the brush which really added a textured look to it, i'm also going mix in a little of the cyan color too get a little color mixed in......


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## bell

here's the large piece i made which was donated to MFR.
it was a bit of a test piece which is why i didn't go crazy with it's depth like yours, but it turned out nice enough to use which tfg did


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## R-DUB

I knew some others had tried this method but never seen the final outcome. Thought that all either gave up or just never posted again. I assumed I was the guinea pig. I did add some colr to the BG by dry-brushing a lighter tone over the top of the original color. This gave it some highlights. It is hard to see in those pics. Here are some more of the BG after the water had cleared up.

































































So what do you think? How does it look? The stump is only temporary. Need to find some larger rocks to fill in some of the forground, maybe a large piece of driftwood. Any stocking ideas? Any comments welcome.


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## bell

I think it looks great, I love the black sand 
Technically you are one of the first to get the drylok/styro up and running, so kudos 

I think adding some tall blade grass would really add to it too, I got the silk blade from micheals and zip tied groups of it to some egg crate, it looks awesome coming up through the sand.....I'll see if I can dig up some pics from my 75 which had it with play sand.....

Now that the water cleared up you can see the details nicely


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## ixc

forgive me if its been discussed before, but is the dry-lock as simply as painting it on??

the only thing that had turned me off from the diy backgrounds was using the concrete.


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## bell

Yep just like paint,ad a slight tint for the first coat...because drylok itself is almost white and it'll be difficult to tell if you did a thorough 1st coat.
I did my first coat very thick, then the next day added more coats with different shading and dabbing, I felt like bob ross.....
Give it a couple days to fully cure before you submerge it imo.
Drylok has the consistancy which is thicker than paint, don't just dump your tint for color in the main can, you can only go darker, not much tint is needed to change it's color, a few drops will change a quart mix drastically.....


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## R-DUB

Very true what BELL said. Dry-Lok is a latex based waterproofer paint. It is used for sealing basement walls, pools, birdbaths and ponds. It is slightly thicker than regular latex and it has very small amount of "grit" in it. It is almost like someone added a cup of silica sand to a gallon of latex. You can have it tinted at the store to a light grey or a light tan. I chose grey. Then added a small amount of concrete tint (charcoal) to darken it. Do like BELL said mix small batches at a time. Mine cured for several months due to my limited amount of "tank time". One other plus with this system; no loss of detail. The paint does not add a thick layer like concrete. I really thick concrete is obsolete. With all of the cracks and crevices I think the fish will like it. Plus there is over 20 caves or hollows for fish to hide.


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## tripn

:drooling: :drooling: :drooling: :drooling: :drooling: Uhm where exacyly in Omaha.. be specific!!! And is anyone home in the daytime? What time do you leave for work and how long are you gone!! Man that is Sick I tell you! I love it


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## R-DUB

LOL .... I doubt you could carry this thing!! I really like it myself. I am really glad I took the time to make this BG. The pictures do not really do it justice. I should shoot a video of the thing. It looks very nice in person. Thank You for the compliments Tripn. You should try it. Its not as hard as it seems and there is a lot of support and info on this site. 
P.S. Thanks to everyone on this site. This site gave me the knowledge and inspiration to do this. This is my first BG. And now I have several others in the planning stage. NO MORE SCRAPING THE BACK OF THE GLASS!!!! NO MORE UNSIGHTLY HEATERS,PUMPS,LIFT TUBES, AIRLINES etc... THANKS AGAIN!!!


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## cholly2

Hi . i like the backgrd alot!! However has anyone seen ill effects to the fish? Isnt there a mildewcide in dry lock? mildewcides are very toxic , even cured I believe?. I find it hard to believe that styro doesnt crumble. Amazing. Well keep us posted cause Id love to try one myself. I may use some cheap fish as guinea pigs. The insurance to it must be to let it CURE plenty long time before addg h20& fish. VERY CLEVE& Nice!! Good Luck & Thanks enjoyed the project pics alot! Chuck


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## herny

wow great i love it cant wait to see some fish in there


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## littlejoenc

Great job R-DUB... Looks really nice

I built mine last year and have had no ill effects at all from the Drylock...

Built one for a friend that had a salt water tank
and it dosen't do real well in salt water, Just came apart every where...

Getting ready to build another one for my 75 gal and might try to put some caves in it....


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## R-DUB

Thanx for the compliments. Glad to hear your BG has held up well. No peeling, cracking or flaking?? Please send pics of your new build. I have done some aqua-scaping with feather rock will post some new pics soon. Good Luck.


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## R-DUB

Sorry did not include this on my last post: Dry-lok (on the label) is said to be used for coating fish ponds and birdbaths. Also for water containers. I pretty sure it is safe. But to be sure my tank has sat with water for over a month with twice weekly (50-75%) water changes. Not really for "curing" purposes, but for $$$ reasons. Soon as I have some extra cash, there will be some fish. Or readers could help donate! LOL 
 :lol:


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## navyscuba

That is great looking. :thumb:


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## iceblue

Saweeet. :thumb:


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## cjacob316

is it just me or does the left side look like a apes face?


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## mel_cp6

> is it just me or does the left side look like a apes face?


lol! i've been seeing that all this time. it looks like a chimpanzee.
the bg looks awesome though. great job.


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## R-DUB

Maybe I should have called it the cyclops monkey. Thanks alot! Now every time I look at my tank I will see this image. LOL I have added some aquascaping will send pics soon.


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## angelover98

Please post pictures with fish added.
Do you have a ballpark cost of the completed BG?


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## R-DUB

The fish are on hold right now. I need some side work for extra $$$. The overall cost was quite cheap. The styro was free from a friend.
Drylok 20.00
tint 8.00
silicone 20.00
pvc 5.00
gorilla glue 30.00
spray foam 7.00
brushes 5.00
______________
total 95.00

Most of the cost was gorrila glue used to hold the small styro rocks together. The gorilla glue holds styro very well. Better than silicone, and dries in minutes not days. The pvc is hidden behind the BG so that I can run an airline or add a UGJ later on. Thanx


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## LowCel

I am very impressed with your background, it looks awesome. I showed it to my wife and she was amazed as well. We really like the gorilla face on the left side.


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## R-DUB

Whats up with the whole gorilla-ape-chimp thing?? :x  :-? LOL  Here are some other pics:


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## PaulineMi

Maybe it was caused by all the "gorilla glue". :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Seriously though, very nice job :thumb:


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## R-DUB

OMG I never seen the connection! Very funny! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## niccomau

wow... just wow man.


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## Amazilia

Love your BG R-DUB! Very cool! Will be working on mine more this weekend. Thanks for your comments and help on mine too! :fish: =D> :fish:


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## R-DUB

No sweat. Love to help. Looking forward to seeing your progress. opcorn:


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## Jeepguy

That looks freaking amazing, I really hate to sound like a dumby, but what do you guys coat the styrophone with?


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## R-DUB

Mine is coated with a waterproofing paint (latex) called---- Drylok.


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## gtphale

I followed r-dubs background and use drylock also. It truely is the only way togo. One question I have though R-dub do you have pleco's in your tanks? Wondering how they react to the drylock. I know that they will eat an aquaterra background.


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## R-DUB

No plecos in my tank. So I cant give a real life assessment on plecos and drylok. I would imagine a large pleco could rasp the drylok off. The drylok dries like a hard shell over the styro but is not indestructible. I heard somewhere that plecos have been known to even remove concrete from BG's!!! So I guess it would come out a draw in the "pleco proof "category. I still see drylok as a much better approach than concrete. I also have wondered about adding large amount of silica/fine sand to drylok before application. If that would be any less appealing to plecos??? HMMM.


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## littlejoenc

I have 5" or 6" placo's in mine and they don't seem to bother the dry lock..
I've had my BG in for about a year, Other then the algae it still looks like it did when put it in...


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## gtphale

Thanks Joe guess I'll be able to add my BN's.


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## nipzie

mel_cp6 said:


> is it just me or does the left side look like a apes face?
> 
> 
> 
> lol! i've been seeing that all this time. it looks like a chimpanzee.
> the bg looks awesome though. great job.
Click to expand...

I'd say it looks like Castle Greyskull! In a good way. Looks cool


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## knotty dreadlocks

yes this BG looks real good. i might have to ask you to do something similar once i get my 180 gal tank as well.


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## R-DUB

Thank for the compliments!! Did get some fish!! Will post pics real soon. More to come.


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## Dewdrop

You did a great job on it! Because the right and left side look so different, I wouldn't have guessed it was to hide the overflow things or whatever they were. Love all the caves too. Can't wait to see it with the fish.


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## R-DUB

Finally I got some fish and some pics!! Check these out!!!!


















































































Hope you guys enjoy. Love this tank and its new fish. Some stocking ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanx for all your help and info from everyone on this site. Cichlid-forum really helped me do this. And turned me onto cichlids. Thanks to all at cichlid forum!!!


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## Amazilia

Wow R-DUB!!! Looking absolutely awesome! Looks like you are going for the Mbuna's with the labs, zebra and a johanni? I am researching haps and peacocks for mine so probably not much help there. In the Library on this site there is some cookie cutter recipes under Quick Reference. Also the tank that got me excited about African cichlids is an all male Hap/Peacock tank on the site Rate My Fish Tank. Here is the address: www.ratemyfishtank.com/photo-main.php/20201. 
You may also look at cichlidrecipe.com as they also have some recipes and a chart for African cichlids compatability.
Hopefully someone with more experience than me will chime in.
:fish: :thumb: :fish:


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## joker4466

look really good ,can't wait to try one myself


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## R-DUB

Thanks Amazilia Ill check that out. I already make food for my giant fancy goldfish. Orandas are such pigs. Might as well make some for my cichlids too. Joker I would try it asap. No more cleaning the back of the glass! No more staring at heaters or pump intakes etc.... It is really nice to enjoy just the fish! My only regret is not doing it sooner. GOOD LUCK!
:thumb:


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## padlock 08

tats one of the best bg's i've seen. but to be super critical, lose the fake plants, they just detract from the scene too much and, because i'm a fan of biotopes, they aren't biotope correct. i just believe that it will be sooooo much better without the plants, the rocks do enough for the tank. but thats just my personal opinion, kudo's on doing the project, it's beautiful


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## Danzx6r

*padlock 08* Agreed

The tank is so good & i feel the plants are too "goldfish" for the occasion!

The BG is amazing! Well done :thumb:

Dan


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## R-DUB

Really think so. I felt it needed a little color. Maybe I will try and add more rocks. Build some height with them and remove the plants. Thanx for the critique. Always appreciated.


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## Wolffishin

I like the fake plants!

I agree that they add the much needed color and in some time after algea grows on them they'll look more real.

IMO, everyone here is over critical about fake plants. Most guests at my house, that view my tanks, are surprised when told the plants are fake.

Don't worry, only experts like the members of this forum can really tell the difference.

Go easy on me...it's just my opinion.


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## daowner

i don't mind the fake plants but i have always liked the ones from craft stores better they look way better then the plastic ones and there cheaper as well just make sure you get the ones with out medal in them they work well don't have any pics but ill try and find some


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## R-DUB

I've always been meaning to go to a craft store and look at the artificial plants they have. I had noticed in the past that they come in a much wider array of colors then do the aquarium companies offer. I think I will stick with what I got for now. I spent some $$$ on fish lately. The plants can wait for awhile. My fish seem to love the BG btw.


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## TropheusFriend

My hubby and I bought the EXACT same aquarium (used) so I am SO glad I stumbled upon this thread!! We are going to attempt our DIY background soon and try to make it look as much like Lake Tanganyika as possible for our soon to be Tropheus colonies 

I do have one question for you though: Did you attach the background to the overflows? I assume so since you cut holes where the vents are 

Can't wait to get started!


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## R-DUB

I did attach directly to the overflows. I kinda regret cutting out for the vent holes though. In retrospect I dont think that those vent holes really do much. I dont understand how the inner wall allows water to flow into the main chamber to then flow to the sump. Good Luck with your new BG please post pics!!!!


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## 18fisher

how do you get such fine detail when carveing the foam,it looks great and im thinking os starting to make ons for my 180,any tips,i looks great,also what tint did you use and did you glue to the back of tank thanks 18fisher


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## R-DUB

You can get some great ideas from the "sticky" at the top of the DIY section. Biggest tip I can give anyone on a BG is DO NOT carve from a solid block. I tried and tried this technique and it looks bad. I would say to add blocks on top of each other. Glueing them together with Gorilla Glue. Good Luck!


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## PaNiK

I love this background! I was concerned about my overflow tower in my new 90 gallon, but now i think im going to proceed with building one like this.


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## R-DUB

Thank you for your comments. If you have any Q's just PM me anytime glad to help! Good Luck!


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## Dark Moon

what type of color u use here to make it black?


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## R-DUB

I used a concrete coloring for tinting wet cement. It was mixed directly into the Drylok.


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## PaNiK

How do you use the spray foam? By that I mean does it stick to the other styrofoam, or did you form rocks separately and then gorilla glue them?


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## R-DUB

The rocks are individually shaped from random pieces of styro. Then they are glued into place using GG. I did use some spray foam, but most was carved away to make caves. Good Luck!


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## PaNiK

When using the spray foam does it stick by itself? Or did u need to glue it?


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## R-DUB

Sorry about the delay in answering. The spray foam stuck to everything! It stuck to the white styro very well. No need to add more glue at all .
Good Luck!


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## gsubioguy

R-DUB said:


> I posted the start of this project a long time ago. It has taken several years to complete. (due to many reasons) I have finally got "my way to hide my overflow towers" done! This is the whole project from start to finish.


I'm extremely late to the dance/apologizes for resurrecting a long dead thread. This BG you made is incredible & very similar to the style I'd been thinking making.

Did you notice any flow issues into the low & midlevel tower inlets or dead zones?

Did you have any difficulty vacuuming the substrate around the caves?

Again, love the design of your BG and thank you for the inspiration.


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## Deeda

The OP hasn't been on the forum since 2014 so doubtful you'll get an answer.


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## gsubioguy

Deeda said:


> The OP hasn't been on the forum since 2014 so doubtful you'll get an answer.


Bummer! Thank you for the heads up.


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