I want to create this AMAZING DIY Background for my 75 Gallon? Some advice please!

mykidsmylife said:
I think the reason they thought grapevine was because he was using "wine roots"...which is grape root. lol

I think it's a cool background. As I watched his build I thought "Uhhhmmm...not so pretty" then I saw the finished project. Very cool! You need to do a build thread with it. I'm interested to see how it works out for you.
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Ah okay I wasn't sure if they were the same or not, lol. Either way, I won't be using them. :)

I am in love with the background, because it is EXACTLY what i wanted to create for my tank. I wanted it to look as if I went to a dirt river bank, and cut a section of it out, then stuck it in my tank. I feel it will look spectacular with my Senegal bichir, and future ropefish and probably palmas polli, more Senegal, or delhezi bichirs. I can just envision the rope fish slithering through the driftwood and the plant leaves, and the bichirs floating underneath the leaves or slowly cruising around the tank.

I plan to have the driftwood and plants more cave like to provide places for my bichirs, ropefish, and peacock eel to hide.

I definately plan to start a build thread once I can actually start getting my materials, once I get paid, I plan to make it in a day or two if possible, taking advantage of a nice summer, gently breezing day. (if I go the plexiglass route, probably spend a day cutting and silconing it together, if not then I think it could get done fairly quickly. As it doesn't look to be too terribly hard.

Stock will be (about 95% sure on this)
~1 Senegal Bichir
~1 other bichir (could be another Sen, or possibly a delhezi or palmas polli)
~2 Ropefish
~1 Peacock eel ( or a Zig Zag Yellow Tail Eel )
~2 Leopard Ctenopoma (OR 3-4 African butterfly fish OR 1 Elephant nose OR 1 BROWN Ghost Knife)
(Okay, so the only thing I know for certain is there will be 2 bichirs, 2 ropefish, 1 eel- only the smaller species that stay under a foot, and 1-4 oddball fish)
 
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The really nice thing about plexiglass is it bends with heat. You could just make a plywood form (think lauan bent around a semicircular cutout.) and put it in the oven with a low temp and actually bend that to fit the overflow. No seams. No gluing. Buddy of mine use to build boat windshields that way. It was just a bigger oven.
 
@GraphicGr8s, you are a genius, I never would of even thought about that! Do you know any good sites that give detailed instructions on how to do that? That would be awesome though, then I wouldn't have to worry about the fish getting behind the background. :)

Nevermind, just found this link http://www.ehow.com/how_6088498_bend-plexiglass-oven.html, it's seems pretty simple, I just have to figure out how to make a mold or the outline of my overflow and voila, I am done! Do you know if it will smell bad/smoke up the place? Awhile back, we left a few cutting boards in the oven (long story short, some one was coming over unannounced, we needed somewhere to put the dirty dishes that we didn't have time to do) and of course forgot they were there, turned the oven to 350F they melted and the place was smoky and stunk terribly, and they were only in the oven for around five minutes.

I found somewhere that you can heat it with an old household iron, do you think that would work? Or I might buy or borrow a cheap heat gun, that seems to be a method of choice as well
 
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dani_starr said:
I have absolutely no idea what you mean by creating a "lap" or "jagged over lap." I was thinking of cutting the pieces so they fit kinda like a puzzle, but then thought that the plexi glass would be a pain in the arse to cut like that? I just figured using the plastic would help give it something to help it sink?
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Plexi won't help sink or float. Some plastics would help it float.
Lap or over lap is a bit like a puzzle. Think puzzle pieces that fit together but the top of one piece also covers the joint a bit.

____|------ _____|-----

Slide these two pieces together and one masks the other.
 
The form for your project is super easy. To get the shape just hold a piece of cardboard over it and trace it from underneath. Cut it. Cut some plywood pieces the same shape. Maybe 5 or six. Attach them to some 1 x 4 on the straight part to hold them together. Put glue on the curved area. Bend lauan over it and clamp it. Use a heatgun. Start at one side and just keep moving it as it bends. If you do try the oven and it smokes or smells you're too hot. By your too hot I am using it editorially to mean the OVEN is too hot. Your hot too but...Good grief. I can't win this one. :)
 
I've looked at the pix and the advice on this thread and thought I'd add my 2 cents (and worth every penny, lol)....

For your first background, keep it simple. You'll learn a lot as you go and can always make the next one more elaborate (and there will be a next one--they're addictive, trust me).

Have you considered a background that uses carved polystyrene foam (the white, green, or pink sheets) and great stuff (the spray expanding foam insulation)as the base/rockwork painted over with drylock to simulate the rockwork/creek bank with branches/corkbark siliconed to it and the glass as your roots/driftwood? You can still hide the mechanicals in the corner with carved/layered polystyrene or large curved pieces or cork siliconed vertically. This method has some advantages: fairly easy and quick to do, no/minimla curing time (drylock is supposed to be inert when cured, but I still do two water changes), and relatively cheap. The downsides are that the background is not as durable as those coated with concrete (some fish, such as ancistrus and cichlids will tear at it) and are far more buoyant (but even the concrete coated ones will still float and must be siliconed in). When I figure out how to post pix I'll try to get some of my latest build posted for you.
 
@ GraphicGr8s- Okay, sounds easy enough to me. :D I'll bribe my boyfriend with a vegan chicken wing sandwich or my yummy mashed potatoes and gravy or maybe pizza to get him to help me with the plywood and building part. And I'll be sure to make sure that if I do try the oven, that it won't start smoking and filling that apartment with that oh so lovely burning, eye stinging, wondrous oder. Lol. :p: To your last part, lol danke :o

@catherinecarney-Would I be able to use the foam with the great stuff, and rather then painting it, cover the foam with sand? I saw on some reptile forums where people just cover it in the coconut fiber stuff. I just like the look of the sand covered foam, compared to painted stuff better. It looks more realistic, and seems a hell of a lot easier. I have considered that though, I just liked the look of the italian guys better. Do you think bichirs and ropes would be prone to tear at it? I would greatly appreciate pics though when you get the chance! :)

To everyone, do you think that I am making an unwise choice by building a background, since it will take a few inches of space away from my bichirs and ropes, who get fairly large?
 
dani_starr said:
@ GraphicGr8s- Okay, sounds easy enough to me. :D I'll bribe my boyfriend with a vegan chicken wing sandwich or my yummy mashed potatoes and gravy or maybe pizza to get him to help me with the plywood and building part. And I'll be sure to make sure that if I do try the oven, that it won't start smoking and filling that apartment with that oh so lovely burning, eye stinging, wondrous oder. Lol. :p: To your last part, lol danke :o
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Needs to be REAL chicken. You got a slab of real meatloaf to go with them taters?

I'm a Bona Fide member of PETA.

People Eating TASTY Animals

Of course this is all in jest since you are young enough to be my oldest daughter.
 
Yes, you could use foam/GS, cover it with aquarium safe silicone (GE Silicone I without mold/mildew inhibitors is safe) and cover the silicone with sand/coco fiber/what have you. I haven't done it this way as there are some posts on various sites (aquatic plant central, monster fish keepers, etc) that indicate the cover (sand/coco/whatever) will come loose over time. Also, any organics (coco fiber) will tend to release tannins into the water, especially at first, which will change your water chemistry.

I haven't worked with bichirs and ropefish (way cool fish!), so I can't tell you if they'll tear at a painted background. The folks who keep big cichlids/monster fish all say that the foam needs to be covered with cement (thin layer) to protect it from their fish. That said, my smaller fish (yo yo loaches, Lamprologus multifasciatus, etc) have not messed with my latest painted foam background that's been up and running for 2 months.

I think that the space you might lose in building a background (a couple of inches) is more than made up for by the hiding spaces your fish will gain and the aesthetics of the tank. If you want to see what's possible, there's a fishkeeper on aquatic plant central who goes by hx67 (I think?)--he's done a couple of incredible builds, including a large mudskipper tank, using the concrete over foam method. I'd recommend checking him out if you get the chance--he's got good pix of the step by step process.

Bottom line, go with what makes you happy and fits your needs. There are many, many ways of creating backgrounds, and what works for one set of fish/circumstances may not work for another. Play and have fun!
 
catherinecarney said:
Yes, you could use foam/GS, cover it with aquarium safe silicone (GE Silicone I without mold/mildew inhibitors is safe) and cover the silicone with sand/coco fiber/what have you. I haven't done it this way as there are some posts on various sites (aquatic plant central, monster fish keepers, etc) that indicate the cover (sand/coco/whatever) will come loose over time. Also, any organics (coco fiber) will tend to release tannins into the water, especially at first, which will change your water chemistry.

I haven't worked with bichirs and ropefish (way cool fish!), so I can't tell you if they'll tear at a painted background. The folks who keep big cichlids/monster fish all say that the foam needs to be covered with cement (thin layer) to protect it from their fish. That said, my smaller fish (yo yo loaches, Lamprologus multifasciatus, etc) have not messed with my latest painted foam background that's been up and running for 2 months.

I think that the space you might lose in building a background (a couple of inches) is more than made up for by the hiding spaces your fish will gain and the aesthetics of the tank. If you want to see what's possible, there's a fishkeeper on aquatic plant central who goes by hx67 (I think?)--he's done a couple of incredible builds, including a large mudskipper tank, using the concrete over foam method. I'd recommend checking him out if you get the chance--he's got good pix of the step by step process.

Bottom line, go with what makes you happy and fits your needs. There are many, many ways of creating backgrounds, and what works for one set of fish/circumstances may not work for another. Play and have fun!
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Oh I wouldn't use the coconut fiber stuff, I was just using that as an example of what I have seen on the herp boards. It seems to be quite popular. I'll look more into the sand coming off over time on MFK and aquatic plant central).

I don't understand the aquarium silicone part though, is it possible to cover every inch of the foam with it? I have got the small tubes for Petco before to silicone rock caves together, and that stuff was extremely hard to spread out.

I know, aren't they? I have always wanted them since I saw a pic of one, couldn't get past how darn cute they are, but never had the tank big enough. But now, I finally do, YAY! (And my boyfriend loves ropefish, since they look like little snakeys). I'll have to look into it more as well if they mess with backgrounds or not.

I would love to see your backgrounds though! :D

So it wouldn't be that much of a loss to my fish? Phew. I was getting worried. I figured it would leave the floor space more open too, since I wouldn't have the driftwood roots just sitting on the bottom of the tank.

I'll definitely check aquatic plant central out, I've seen that name before, so I bet I was on there with out realizing it.

Thanks for all the advice! It's greatly appreciated! :)

Oh and @GraphicGr8's- LOL :lol: I'll make a slab of real VEGGIE RIBS to go with them taters! And a coconut ice cream cream soda float! :woot:
 
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