I'm in the very early stages of planning a 3D background. A friend has a tank that he's going to lend me, (long term loan) but it wont be for a while yet.
Anyhow, I thought that I'd like to build my own 3D background for the tank, something that has a few caves for fish and nooks & crannies.
I've seen a few, theres some great examples in other threads, but I have a few questions of my own.
1) It's a loan tank... so will silicon be out? or can it be removed later?
2) How big should any caves be?
3) Is there any harm in giving fish access to the space behind it? I was thinking that if I used diagonal gaps between blocks I could have a solid look while allowing movement of water and fish
4) I'll probably use a polystyrene base, is concrete or some form of resin the better option for sealing it?
5)Do you just concrete the front? or do you cover the whole thing, front, back and sides?
6) What types of paint can I use? How can I seal these so nothing leeches into the water or fish don't ingest it.
It's a Rebo? tank with built in filter, sucks it up from near the bottom rear left and outflow is top right.
Any tips on construction and design appreciated, I may post sketches/photos here as it progresses if I remeber.
Anyhow, I thought that I'd like to build my own 3D background for the tank, something that has a few caves for fish and nooks & crannies.
I've seen a few, theres some great examples in other threads, but I have a few questions of my own.
1) It's a loan tank... so will silicon be out? or can it be removed later?
2) How big should any caves be?
3) Is there any harm in giving fish access to the space behind it? I was thinking that if I used diagonal gaps between blocks I could have a solid look while allowing movement of water and fish
4) I'll probably use a polystyrene base, is concrete or some form of resin the better option for sealing it?
5)Do you just concrete the front? or do you cover the whole thing, front, back and sides?
6) What types of paint can I use? How can I seal these so nothing leeches into the water or fish don't ingest it.
It's a Rebo? tank with built in filter, sucks it up from near the bottom rear left and outflow is top right.
Any tips on construction and design appreciated, I may post sketches/photos here as it progresses if I remeber.
