New Tank, Styrofoam background ???

[andy avram]

Hi all, I have been lurking for awhile now and reading all the backlog of posting. Recently I acquired a 75 gallon All-glass with stand, light and glass top for a pretty decent deal at a LFS. I am torn as what to put into it but all I know is whatever goes in will be native to Ohio as I have an interest in our backyard wildlife. I guess I can get my first I am an idiot question out of the way first. I was stupid and accidentally put the handle for the glass top on the wrong side. I now would need to open the tank from the inside. Any suggestions for getting it off and reapplying it to the correct side?

The main reason I am posting is I am thinking of doing the Styrofoam rock wall background deal but I want to know how the background looks out of the water. I imagine if there is glare it is undetectable in the water but if I end up doing a land/water deal how will it look out of the water? Will it have an unnatural glare? If so does anyone have any suggestions on making a fake rock background without the glare when it is out of the water?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[vidiots]

I've read thru a number of posts with DIY backgrounds. Many had pictures that looked really nice. However I think I would be reluctant to try it for the first time on an expensive tank permanantly glueing anything into place. Maybe experiment with cheap 10g tanks to find what I like first...

 

[andy avram]

Well, I have the idea of making it is sections so it isn't permanetly glued to the tank but seperately put in. I am too much of a wuss to do anything permanent. I would like one whole sheet to put in but their is the center brace. I have some sketches drawn out of the designs already it is just a matter of picking the right materials (and inhabitants) and getting going on making it.

Andy

 

[vidiots]

Well, I have the idea of making it is sections so it isn't permanetly glued to the tank but seperately put in. I am too much of a wuss to do anything permanent. I would like one whole sheet to put in but their is the center brace. I have some sketches drawn out of the designs already it is just a matter of picking the right materials (and inhabitants) and getting going on making it.
Andy

What are your plans to anchor it?

 

[Red Tailed Wonder]

What animals are native to Ohio?


RTW

 

[beviking]

Darn adhesive handles! You should be able to carefully remove the glass panel from the plastic hinge, flip it over, and re-insert it back. Soaking it in some warm water may help relax the plastic hinge and allow the glass to come out a little easier.

Good question about the glare out of water. You could mist it until a film of algae starts to grow. I imagine something would grow anyway, being a humid environment, but haven't done it so I can't say for sure. There are plenty of plants including mosses that would live out of water in a humid environment that could cover it up too.

-be

 

[andy avram]

Vidiots, I am tossing around a couple ideas, one would be to attach it to a base made from something nontoxic that sinks and then the gravel would be piled on top of it to hold it down and the top would be wedged under the trim overhang. I don't know it is something I would work on (I like tinkering with little problems such as that). If I have a stream bank tank with land than the background would be out of the water (which is where the glare issue comes in). And this leads into my reply to...

RTW, in Ohio we have native coldwater fishes, and I would be most interested in fish such as Red-bellied Dace, Silverjaw Minnow, Fantail and Rainbow Darter, Mottled Sculpin, Brook Silversides and maybe some of the various sunfishes. My main problem with them is getting the water cold enough without a chiller (too expensive) so I can attempt to learn how to breed them. If I was looking into setting up a water/land tank I would go with native salamanders which would include Mountain and Northern Dusky, Long-tailed, Northern Two-lined and Northern Red Salamanders.

Beviking, thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't sure if the glass was just held in by pressure or glue but the pet store guy told me exactly what you did so tonight after work I am going to try and get it out and flip it. As for the background I would want some moss but not too much as I would be trying to recreate a natural looking rock face which around here usually isn;t covered in moss.

Thanks,

Andy