chrisandelana Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Hi All, Just thought I would post some images of a DIY background I put together six months ago on a Tang. display tank. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. I realise that this is not too different from other plans on the web, however, this was done using local materials. Stage 1 Using a 50mm thick block of styrofoam I carved out the rock shapes using a screwdriver and then applied a heat gun to the surface to smooth out the foam. Stage 2 Using an epoxy resin to which I added some black oxide, I applied a single coat. The oxide provided some colour to the resin so I could be sure I was covering the entire surface. Stage 3 Second coat of coloured epoxy resin was applied. Stage 4 Before the second coat of resin set I covered the sections in river sand. Without the sand the dried resin would have been like a mirror on the back of the tank. Stage 5 This shows the sections dried with the sand embedded into the resin. Excess sand was removed with a brush. Stage 6 The sections were then siliconed into the back of the tank and left to dry. Use plenty of silicone as the styrofoam will be under great pressure to lift by the water. Stage 7 Tank installed, decorated and filled with water. Ready for the fish. The project took place over 5 days and was interesting from a creative angle. The images above was my second go due to rushing the "Epoxy" portion of the job. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rol&Jas Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Chris, It looks fantastic!!! It looks very proffesional and natural. How much did it cost to make the background and also how long did it take you making it? Thanks Roland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 Parts and Labour. Styrofoam Block (Clarke Rubber) $30.00 Epoxy Resin (Fiberglass (A/Asia)) $30.00 Silicone (Bunnings) $ 7.00 Black Oxide (Bunnings) $ 7.00 River Sand (20kg) (ANL) $ 8.00 Paint Brushes x 2 (Bunnings) $ 2.80 Buckets & Drop sheets (Bunnings) $ 3.00 Total $87.80 NB. This project is based on a 5ft tank. Other then the stryofoam block and silicone I had enough materials to do this job three times over. The 5 day construction process was based on appox. 1 hour per evening. Total hands on labour is approx. 5 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roo Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 It looks great, check out this site, it is by some guy who did something similar http://www.thecichlidgallery.com/article_styrobackground.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stotto Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Love it, love it, love it. Yep looks great. Just wondering what do you do it a section breaks off?. Spose you cant really silicone it again. I hope i havnt jynxed you by saying this lol . other than that looks really good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 It had to be done in sections so that I could fit it between the top braces on the tank. I put black "Contact" paper on the back of the tank so that you are not looking through to uncovered glass. The 20-30mm spaces between the sections has created spots for fry and smaller species to hide in. This may be a problem if I need to remove livestock or catch fry. I have introduced a few fry preditors to keep this under control. On smaller tanks or tanks that do not have any top braces you could create it in a single block. If you look at the link the "roo" has put up you will see that the tank used there is a totally open top. Hope this helps. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 lovely job chris,did you epoxy the back of the sections or just the front? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 That looks great........Wanna make some more . I was going to try one of these a while ago, but thought it would be to much work. Will have to try one now. Thanks for the pictures Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Good onya Chris, That looks lovely. Its great to see someone get motivated instead of just talking about it *looks guiltily at himself * I've always wanted to do this also. I work/build boats for a living so something like this is pretty straight forward but you know how it is after a tough day on the job Anyway well done Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackGhost Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 That is cool may i copy for an new discus tank coming soon. lol Look very good. you should be proud of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Extremely impressive, well done . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersJester Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Well after reading this artile and having photographic proof it can be done I am going to have to have a go myself. Mind you I think I will start small and work on a 2 foot tank to start. Thanks heaps for the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 Thanks for all the comments and feedback. The epoxy was applied to the front and a 40mm thick border on the back. When I siliconed the sections in I was careful to use this border as my contact point for the silicone. This means that the exposed styrofoam on the back of the sections is not open to any water. I hope that makes sense. To anyone wanting to use this information i would encourage you to have a go. It was easier then I imagined and turned out pretty good. If I was to do it again I would use a thicker block of styrofoam and create more overhangs and ledges. I have attached a photo of the tank as it is now after approx. 8 months. Algae has formed on the background and it looks more natural then it did freshly filled. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetfish Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Looks fantastic !!! i think there will be a few of these DIY backgrounds popping up over the next few months. the link was great as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicious Camel Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 great work! Just a question though. I was always under the impression that epoxy would dissolve styrofoam . Did you have any problems with this? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 Hi Vicious Camel, Epoxy Resin will not react or disolve styrofoam. What will react to the styro is Fibreglass Resin which is similar in result but a differnet chemical make up. Molecular Chemistry is not my forte. Maybe someone else can expand on the difference. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 hi chris first off it looks brilliant i just wanted to know where you got the epoxy whats fibreglass a/ asia is it a company im not familiar with it.did you get it from them because you couldnt get it from bunnings? thanks jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 16, 2005 Author Share Posted March 16, 2005 Hi Jason, Fibreglass A/ Asia is a company on Willoughby Rd in Willoughby. They specialize in both fibreglass and epoxy resins. I came across them by referral from a boat builder near where I work. Bunnings do not do any epoxy resins that would be usable in an aquarium. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakeyBoyR Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 That looks awesome. I think a certain artificial rock company may have a run for its money if enough people see what they can do at home by themselves. I am so envious of that background! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 The epoxy was applied to the front and a 40mm thick border on the back. When I siliconed the sections in I was careful to use this border as my contact point for the silicone. This means that the exposed styrofoam on the back of the sections is not open to any water. I hope that makes sense. Sorry, I didn’t understand “40mm thick border on the back”. Does this mean that you put a 40mm (4 centimetres) layer of epoxy on the back of the Styrofoam? Also, how much oxide did you use to obtain that colour please? What thickness do Clarke Rubber sell the Styrofoam at? You used 50mm, what thicknesses do they have above this? Also curious how you managed to contain the mess of carving the foam? If you covered the back and the front with epoxy, how long did you leave it to dry before you turned it over to do the other side? You did two coats of epoxy, then added the sand on top. Why did you do two, and not one, or three or more? Is it because one did the job of ceiling the foam, but you wanted the surface darker, and the second coat achieve the colour you were after? Sorry about all the questions, but do you or anyone know of where the epoxy resin can be purchased in the Sutherland Shire? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 thankyou chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted March 18, 2005 Author Share Posted March 18, 2005 Hi Craig, On the back of each section I did a border of the epoxy (2 layers) that went from the edge of the section in towards the centre of the section 4cm. Another way to describe it would be a margin of epoxy resin. The oxide was a bit of guess work. With the first coat I used about a teaspoons worth of the oxide into 300ml of resin. This gave me a medium grey colour. The second coat I used 3 x teaspoons of oxide which gave me an almost black resin. Styrofoam from Clarke Rubber comes in a variety of thicknesses ranging from 5mm to 200mm. As far as not making a mess during the carving process - forget about it. I did it in the garage and used drop sheets to contain most of the mess. My advice is do not do it inside the house and do it in an area that is not exposed to wind or breezes. The epoxy sets in about 20-30 minutes once mixed but remains sticky for about 10-12 hours. Curing times vary with temperature and humidity. This means that you can really only do one coat per day. The reason for multiple coats is two fold. The first to seal the styrofoam and the second is for strength. While the resin sets rock hard it is only 1-2mm thick per coat. If you have enough resin and patients 3 or 4 coats would be even stronger. The best place to find a epoxy resin supplier is to look in the yellowpages for fibreglass and as if the have an epoxy resin suitable for "potable water" application. Sorry for writing War & Peace, I hope I have answered your questions. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted March 18, 2005 Share Posted March 18, 2005 Thanks Chris, Understood your explanation on the 40mm thing. It is my understanding that polystyrene can be toxic in a tank. I think it’s toxic aspects are know when it comes to it being burnt, but I have also been told that prolonged exposure to submerged conditions in a fish tank also may result in release of some of these same toxins. Following from that, I could see that it would make more sense rather than put 40mm boarder of epoxy on the back, to put at least one layer to cover the entire back? Appreciate the time you spent responding to my questions. Congratulations on doing the ground work for us ‘locals’, and trail blazing where to source supplies. Thanks also for the list of supply contacts and prices, and the effort with the photos. I am extremely tempted to follow in your foot steps, but wonder where I would have access to do a background 3m by over a metre high in my house. It has to be cut into pieces to fit through the bridge, but I still need the room to lay the pieces out. I don’t have the space in the garage, and with two kids about, inside would be problematic. What do you mean War and Peace. My replies are often much longer than that - I though I was only on the first chapter! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white96wrx Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 That i must say looks great... and well deserving of one of these Just wondering what you wuold charge for a 6ft one..... no im interested really any beside the fact that i couldn't do it my self (i hate the stuff.... gives me goosepimples) would it be possible to make the resin like a white colour, or light grey, something to fit in with crushed coral and texas holey rock?? just wondering because id really like the look of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlabxr Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Agree with all the others..looks great. Just a couple of questions. Is the epoxy resin clear? Also is it a 2 part ie you need to add a hardener? You couldn't give us a brand name of the resin as well. Thanks Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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