oz_gooner Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I have been thinking of making a background for my tank out of polystyrene but I need some info from someone who has been down this track before. All the info I found on the net has said to roughly shape the stryene and build it up with Foam-Fill, heat or burn it into shape then use a cement render over the top. My concerns are with the foam-fill and the cement render. Does the foam-fill, being a chemical compound, have any effect on the water? The weight of the finshed rendered background will be quiet a lot, so is there a better product to use? eg. an epoxy with sand sprinkled on it for texture similar to the type you use for non-slip coatings on floors in wet areas? If anyone has one up and running I would love to see what it looks like finished. Any info would be great. Thanks Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreen Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 holly molly........ here we go again , mate it took me almost 60 hours till i was happy with my 4 pieces , but in saying that i hid all my accessories which made it much more challenging your concerns about the fomofil us unfounded - great stuff (hard to get use too) and no water issues. ----- when you push the button you cant really stop half way , the product needs to be used within a couple of minutes of hitting the trigger for the first time----- they can be quite weighty when finished the bigger concern is the access into the tank from above i would measure between check straps to ensure the peices will fit in. i liked using the cement , brickies sand and differant colours of oxides it gave a great finish . last of all i used a pond sealers as i had heard bnose will eat the cement/render. hope this helps , but it is IMO a longggggg term project , just the cement/render took over a week to get good coverage it doesnt stick to the fomo fil well , unless you sand it first . i dont want to ever make another one. Cheers Steve Green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 looks good nice fish too =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_fuzz Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 OT - but Steve, where did you get the rocks? and have you "glued" them together or are they just balanced? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgreen Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 the rocks in both tanks were free , from a guy who was shutting all his tanks down after his kid lost interest. i have no idea where you can buy the stuff or what its worth. no rocks are glued/silicon to gether just balanced Cheers Steve Green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_gooner Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 Thanks for the info Steve. I got my hands on sum poly the other day so I just have to give it a go. Your backgrounds look great. I have seen some amazing ones on youtube along with instructions. The doubt about the foam-fill was put in my mind by someone I was talking to at a lfs. Now all I have to do is get my hands on a 6' stand and a hood and all the plumbing gear and....and....and.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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