jefflid Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Howdy all, I thought I'd share with you all my latest and greatest attraction in my 2ft tank. Will alittle bit of creativeness, some pond sealant and some sand, you can create something completely unique and a real talking piece to boot. Hope you all enjoy the fruits of my labour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Howdy all, I thought I'd share with you all my latest and greatest attraction in my 2ft tank. Will alittle bit of creativeness, some pond sealant and some sand, you can create something completely unique and a talk piece to boot. Hope you all enjoy the fruits of my labour. Looks great, Can you give us some more info on how you made it, maybe a diy cheat sheat? Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Looks nice, but how much swimming area does that leave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefflid Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Howdy all. I forgot to mention that this tank is only used as nursery for any fry I might have. Whilst it does consume a little bit of tank space, it's not to the point that the fish are cramped. I've added an aerial view to illustrate just how much room is consumed, but it is also worth noting that with the background being 3D, the actual thickness does vary considerably throughout the background. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks for all the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Looking good mate! You didn't happen to have a step-by-step photo of how you made it did you? cheers; Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefflid Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Looking good mate! You didn't happen to have a step-by-step photo of how you made it did you? cheers; Richard Hi Richard, Unfortunately I didn't 'document' so to speak the making of this background, but I am actually in the process of building one for my 4ft and I've documented each step so I can put a post with a DIY Process up. I'll post up the materials used in this project so that people can give it a go before I put up the making of my 4ft version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelbel Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 That looks great! Can't wait to see the DIY for the 4ft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Hey Jefflid, here is the article i mentioned earlier, posted with permission of the author. Hope this helps... DIY Background By Stuart Langley Firstly I must say that there are several ways to create your own background, this is the method I prefer which uses styrene and epoxy resin. Tools Required Pencil Ruler Sheet of Styrene Sharp knife to cut the styrene serated works best for me Sandpaper Heat gun Brush and cleaning products Epoxy resin suitable for Potable application Epoxy resin polyester colouring Sand Silicone Measure the rear glass of the tank you are constructing the background for and cut your styrene to suit making sure you can fit the cut pieces of styrene into the tank through the cross bracing. Once you have the styrene cut place the pieces together on a work bench (or the floor if needed), Using the pencil create your design onto the styrene, Once that is complete then its time to start the cutting process. For the cutting I preferred to start with a small serated knife, Make your cuts shallow to begin with just to give you the outline of your design. Once you have created your initial design then its time to let your imagination run wild you can create all sorts of designs and patterns you wish by simply cutting into the styrene. As shown in the picture I decided to keep mine fairly simple. Once you have created you design you want to achive then it’s a matter of smoothing out the styrene, that is a job best done with a rough sandpaper I used 36grit but 80 grit would also get the job done. Next task is a trial fit into the tank *Very Important* you want to be 100% sure that the styrene sheets fit perfectly into the tank, I found that I had to cut the back of the styrene away from the silicone around the edges of the tank otherwise I found that the styrene did not sit perfectly onto the back of the tank. Once you are happy with the way the styrene sits remove the pieces and finish off the smoothing process by using a heat gun/paint stripper gun, this process removes any of the loose particles of styrene making it easier to coat with the resin. Next is the resin. You will need to find an Epoxy resin that is suitable for a Potable water application (A quick ring around the fibreglassing places in the yellow pages is advisable) I also used a brown polyester colouring in the resin just to make it easier to see where I had the styrene covered. Mix your resin to the specifications and apply the first coat Once the first coat is on the background then I found it a lot better if you sprinkled a small amount of sand onto the pieces while the resin is still drying this helps the second coat to stick a lot better. NOTE: Please make sure the first coat of resin is completely dry before applying the second coat. Once the first coat is completely dry then apply the second coat and cover with sand. I found that it was better to apply heaps of sand and use a stiff brush to remove any excess sand. Once you have the pieces fully covered then it is time to glue the background into your tank. For this you will need to find a silicone that is suitable for aquarium use. When glueing the background in I preferred to seal off the background completely making sure that there is no chance of fish being able to get behind the background and get stuck. Once the silicone is dry then your tank is ready to be filled. This is a Pic of the background I constructed for my 8x2.5x2.5 After a period of time you will find that algae with start to appear on the background giving it a more realistic look. ENJOY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Hey, Thanks for that, it is the easiest way I have seen so far and the finished product looks very good (and low profile). Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatoscarlover Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 No problem shane, i was only ever trying to be helpfull Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 That's a great article and a nice result! Think I'll try this for my next display tank This article was written by spraypakstu for the Addicted2Fish forums. Thanks for sharing it guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart74 Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I would also have a look at how Merjo did her background Looks quite different to mine (Yes its my article) but also another way to "skin a cat" Oh BTW I though I should mention I am still removing small particles of styrene from the shed so be prepared for the mess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 Oh BTW I though I should mention I am still removing small particles of styrene from the shed so be prepared for the mess Damn! Isn't that just the most annoying thing? Its one of those little things that really pee me off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hey, Just attempting to make a background out of the polystyrene as in the Stuart Langley design above. I am having trouble finding suitable epoxy resins and colourings that are safe for my tank. I have been to bunnings and also have rung around a couple of fibreglass places without much luck. Can anyone help by giving me the names of the products or where specifically they are available (or both if you are feeling generous) Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidan Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hey, Just attempting to make a background out of the polystyrene as in the Stuart Langley design above. I am having trouble finding suitable epoxy resins and colourings that are safe for my tank. I have been to bunnings and also have rung around a couple of fibreglass places without much luck. Can anyone help by giving me the names of the products or where specifically they are available (or both if you are feeling generous) Cheers Shane I have just finished making a similar background for my tank. I used a different design which utilises concrete with oxide added for colour. There are a few sites showing how its done- try googling "3d aquarium background" or "DIY aquarium rock background" and you will find a few helpful links. Meanwhile I experimented with a few methods. I tried using a 20mm piece of styrofoam and siliconing more on where i wanted the rocks then shaping them. The other method I used 50mm foam and carved into it like as shown above. The latter method is much easier to obtain a natural look. As for the cement- I used one coat of grey, then one thicker coat mixed with brown oxide. THen over the top of that whilst half dry I added a mixture with black oxide and tried to blend them together. The result ended with most of the background black with a few brown highlights- not quite what I intended but ok nonetheless. On the final coat you use a damp paintbrush to brush over the concrete giving that natural sedinmentary rock look. Something you have to watch tho is that the concrete will leach lime into the tank shooting the PH up. This is ok for african rifters but still should be monitored closely as it can get to over 10 killing fish very quickly. THe advice is to flush the tank a few times with fresh and salt water. Due to the state of water at the moment I am just going to fill her up and watch the ph for a few days and do partial water changes and buffer if need be. Im not quite sure how to post images but if I figure it out I will do it. CHeers Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10050460 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 awesome, good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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