# 135 gallon slate/flagstone rock background (many pics)



## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

This is my 135 gallon Tanganyikan community tank. I was inspired to do this project after reading about bface1212's "Back to Nature Modules". I wanted to do a real rock background but didn't want to sacrifice as much tank space (72L x 18W x 24H). It has been documented that styrofoam sticks to glass very well using silicone, but many people have had issues with slate and flagstone. This method solves the problem by using styrofoam as an interface material. I used Gorilla Glue to adhere the rock to the styro, and silicone for the styro to the glass. Gorilla Glue is non-toxic and 100% waterproof once cured. Plus, I figured it would make a good choice given its tendency to expand -- It should fill lots of gaps between rock and styrofoam.









Here is the finished product


















I cut 3/4" styrofoam to the shape of each rock, but smaller so it would be hard to see behind the rock. I moistened the rock and styro with a spray bottle (Gorilla glue is water activated), then applied the glue and weighed it down for 24 hours. With a few pieces I doubled or tripled up the styrofoam layers via silicone to gain more depth from the glass. I also experimented with using a jigsaw to cut the styro at a slant to make some rocks jut out from the glass at an angle.


















Here is some gravel camouflage. Also, I coated all exposed styrofoam edges with silicone to prevent fish from chewing the stuff up.









The rock siliconed to the back wall. Here I had a friend hold the rock steady while I lowered it down onto a piece of eggcrate. Then I slid the assembly backwards until it met the glass. This way the weight of the large rock is supported by the bottom, and it's not "hanging" off the glass. Then some 2x2's held the rock tightly to the glass while the silicone cured.









3 base rocks









Medium-sized rocks were attached the same way, but small thin chips I used for filler were just siliconed straight to the glass with no styrofoam. My design took shape as I went -- I didn't really stick to my original plan outside of the 3 large base rocks, which IMO are most important to select carefully when you buy your rocks.









Finished. I let the silicone cure for a week.



















The setup has been running for about 3 weeks now with no issues. Since this method is somewhat untested, I will try to update this thead in the future if anything happens, but so far so good :thumb:. The fish love ducking in and out of the cover of the rock wall, and my julie spends much of its time swimming parallel to the rock faces. I installed UGJ's, but I was not happy with how they worked, so I yanked them out. Filtration is currently two AquaClear 50's (200gph each) with the intake tubes hiding behind the rocks, and a DIY wet/dry. I thought I had wall clearance for larger HOB filters, but I forgot to take the thickness of the tank bezel into account with my measurements. I will be adding an XP3 soon. I might build a hood for this thing, too.

Current stocking (holdovers from a smaller tank)
1 Yellow Calvus (will add 3-5 more)
Breeding pair of leleupi (surprisingly mild mannered)
1 Daffodil Brichardi
1 Julie Marlieri (will add 3-5 more)
1 BN pleco

Obviously, it needs quite a few more inhabitants :lol:. I will be adding a group of Cyp. Kitumbas in a few weeks, maybe a tretocephalus and some synos too.

Please let me know what you think.


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

I think it looks really good. I usually donâ€™t like slate but yours looks different somehow must be the big pieces and the colour.


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Simply awesome!


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## exasperatus2002 (Jul 5, 2003)

Great idea! I hope it holds up for you. Keep us updated.


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## remarkosmoc (Oct 19, 2005)

I love it!!!!!


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## AnDr3w (Oct 22, 2007)

I like it, nice work.


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## Tirral (Mar 2, 2007)

Would be nice to see how this background is getting on. 
I have just done a slate background and am interested in seeing how it looks now. 
Do you have any more pics?

Link to my DIY Slate Background:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=180796


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

Hey Tirral, I looked through your thread and I must say :thumb: nice work. I hope the slate holds up for you. My tank currently looks exactly the same as in these photos. Had some hold-ups getting my fish, but hopefully I will be adding some cyp kitumbas this weekend, and some more rockdwellers next week.

I also plan on upgrading my rock piles on Friday. I want to go with the large boulder look rather than the smallish rocks I have now. I think it will look more natural against these large pieces of flagstone. I will post pics when I do that.

It's been about 3 months now and the background rocks haven't budged. The only problem has been my bristlenose pleco eating rubbing off my gravel camouflage in some spots while he eats, exposing some of the styrofoam (you have to look hard for it though). But he's doing a great job on the algae, so I can't complain!


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## loogielv (Nov 10, 2008)

i like it too. I'm trying to envision a BG for myself, but like everything else in my head, i have to complicate things.

I want to incorporate a tree into the bg. The only realistic way I can think of is to actually sink a dead log and somehow get it to stick to the back. i like the diy nature modules alot too, so if i could somehow do that with a big log going diagonally across the bank (bottom to top) somehow, that would be awesome. no idea how to do it yet though, and money is a huge issue, so it's gotta be easy, cheap and also simplistic.


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## centralsteve (Dec 30, 2007)

very nice, you have more courage than I have. I'd be afraid of that top middle rock falling. But then again I own a midas who would make it her goal to destroy my work.


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## TrashmanNYC (Dec 10, 2007)

beautiful!


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## Intermision (Sep 14, 2007)

I think I might have to steel your idea for my 100g I love the way your slate looks. Do you have any shots of it with water in it.


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

Here are some photos. I changed out a lot of the rocks. Wanted more boulders and less rock pile effect. I also picked up my 7 adult blue orchid cyps. 3M 4F. Hopefully they'll breed for me soon :thumb:

There are a bunch of waterspots on the outside of the glass, and I don't have the extra light up there to get better focus, so the pics aren't the best.. Sometime in the future I'll do a photoshoot.









No flash









Flash


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

centralsteve said:


> very nice, you have more courage than I have. I'd be afraid of that top middle rock falling. But then again I own a midas who would make it her goal to destroy my work.


Yeah that rock looks precarious, but it feels very sturdy. Makes a great ledge/hideout. If it falls, it would not hit any glass. Then again, I'm not even sure it would fall with all the styrofoam attached to the back of it. Might float?


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## Agnag (Dec 1, 2008)

I really like how you did this, I have been trying to think of a 3d BG that would look good, but I didn't want to take away half the space of the tank> (Like a lot of styro DIYs do). Your's (I feel) is perfectly done, with great 3d effect and you still have plenty of tank space.... very nice


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## gmoses (Dec 4, 2008)

looks amazing


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## HappyGrimgore (Dec 4, 2015)

Ressurecting a post from the depths!

Is there an update on this? what happened with this tank?

Looking for options to do a #d background, and this one is right up my alley.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

HappyGrimgore said:


> Ressurecting a post from the depths!
> 
> Is there an update on this? what happened with this tank?
> 
> Looking for options to do a #d background, and this one is right up my alley.


Hard to say, but it does not look like the OP has logged in since 2012. I'd love to know the same things, and see how it fared long term.


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