My Practice Diy Bg

[RRasco]

so i got a new tool chest the other day, and in each box there were huge pieces of styrofoam, so i decided to practice for the 55 gallon, i will try my hand at it on the 20 first. here is the progress so far.....

since i am going to be running an xp3 on my 55, once i get it i will be moving the penguin 350 over to the 20, so that is what is spaced for in the middle. in front of that i tried to make it look like a tree trunk. i kind of wanted the look of an old petrified tree. i may be removing it, not sure if i like it or not. may come out different after i torch it. what would you guys change?

 

[hoarp001]

...a peice of polystyryen that size will float with about 30kg of force... hwo will you keep it underwater?!

 

[RRasco]

im gonna silicone it to the back after it is concreted. i also changed it dramatically, i will have to get some new pics of it.

 

[proton]

Er... excuse my ignorance, what is the styrofoam for? What is it? Why is it going in the tank?

 

[hoarp001]

yeah, its a sculpted 3d background that the fish can swim through and hide in. Are you sure the silicone is strong enough to hold that down? you would be almost better off sculpting it in foam, then covering it in cement and concrete them scraping the foam out from the concrete shell, then filling the shell with more concrete or resin....

 

[RRasco]

not really sure on the best practices yet, this is my first one. i have been debating alternatives to silicone.

got some pics of it reworked and with the foam applied.

 

[hoarp001]

if you use a blowtorch a heat gun you can heat up the polystyrene and it melts the top layer and gives a really nice rocky texture...

Still not sure how thats going to stay down, thats going to float with a lot of force...

 

[RRasco]

yeah, i am about to go do that right now. i dont really know how the silicone holds it down, just know i have seen it done several times. some people have used high powered magnets as well. but i dont want to do that.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

is the tank empty or clycling right know? you could always just silicone it to the bottom of the tank.

 

[MoondustBob]

Silicone will easily hold the background in place, and there are many tutorials online for building various backgrounds using styrofoam and concrete or resin...

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_..._background.php
http/www.thecichlidgallery.com/article_styrobackground.htm
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_...background3.php
http/www.catfishheaven.net/day1.html
http/www.sydneycichlid.com/content/?page_id=86
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtop...p;&start=15

 

[RRasco]

is the tank empty or clycling right know? you could always just silicone it to the bottom of the tank.

its actually already an established tank, but i will have to remove them and put it in place. i was considering sticking it to the bottom as well as the back.

 

[DarkEntity]

Ill be impressed if it sticks to the tank since you still have the water in it. I would advise drying the tank out then adding the background, then the gravel/water, plants etc.....

 

[hoarp001]

Once you have made the background, you can mix sand and water and dump it all over the background in a woodern crate and then pour molten aluminium into a channel and it melts the polystyrene on contact and takes its place and will form a perfect aluminium copy. Then you can paint it up and it will sink nicely...

although that might be abit overkill...

 

[hoarp001]

Once you have made the background, you can mix sand and water and dump it all over the background in a woodern crate and then pour molten aluminium into a channel and it melts the polystyrene on contact and takes its place and will form a perfect aluminium copy. Then you can paint it up and it will sink nicely...

although that might be abit overkill...

 

[RRasco]

Ill be impressed if it sticks to the tank since you still have the water in it. I would advise drying the tank out then adding the background, then the gravel/water, plants etc.....

lol....im not going to try and put it in with the tank full....i thought that was a given

sorry i didnt state the obvious....this is the internet, so i guess not everyone would assume to drain the tank.