Aquarium backgrounds

[DRE]

Does anyone know some cool ways to make natural appearing backgrounds for an
aquarium? Am interested in a mud bank or amazon appearance.

The ones I saw were available from a company but very expensive. $200-400
range. I think a person can make one for way cheaper that is 3D and real
cool. Any ideas would be helpful.
thanks

Dan

[Ozdude]

"DRE" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone know some cool ways to make natural appearing backgrounds for
> an aquarium? Am interested in a mud bank or amazon appearance.
>
> The ones I saw were available from a company but very expensive. $200-400
> range. I think a person can make one for way cheaper that is 3D and real
> cool. Any ideas would be helpful.
> thanks

I made a rocky looking one which sits outside my tank because it's a 4'
narrow and real estate is at a premium in the tank.

It's made from carved styrofoam and was simple to do:

I got a A$5 piece of 2" thick styrofoam (4X6 ft) from a recycling place and
cut out a panel which was the same dimensions as the rear pane of glass on
the tank (122cm X 50cm).

Then I cut two 10cm X 50cm pieces which were placed at each end (so I could
attach it to the tank). So the thing was roughly a square U shape if looking
straight down on it from above.

The remainder of the sheet was then broken and smashed into pieces of random
size and these were glued to the backing with water resistant, non corrosive
glue, in a pattern resembling stacked rocks.

I then let it dry for 24 hours and then took to it with a sharp knife (box
cutter) and started carving into the larger bits, taking edges off here and
there etc., until it looked like a stack of round edged rocks in a wall.

There was a step I ommitted in the shaping phase, which was to take to the
shapes with a heat gun (didn't have one or a hair dryer handy) to smooth
them right out.

Then I applied 3 coats of water based house paint to the whole thing - I
bought sample pots from the hardware store because they were cheap and one
pot did one coat. I chose the shades of paint two to three shades lighter
than I wanted them to appear because anything dark through water looks
black.

For a wood or root look you can adapt this method as long as you use the
heat gun. Just draw it out on a gridded piece of paper first, then transpose
it larger to the foam - carve it roughly with a knife and then apply a heat
gun to get it smooth like roots.

Get creative with the paint, by painting a base wood colour, and then use a
straw or thin brush to apply a much lighter shade of the base colour in
longatudinal lines down your roots, or sponge it down the roots.

You don't have to get too fussy about detail because ultimately the plants
in the tank will mask a lot of it as will the water column.

If you want to put it into the tank, then you'll have to go the
styro/concrete way which will be slightly more expensive and takes a lot
longer to cure.

There is a link here
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background2.php for this
method of in tank background.

And here is a link to my photos so you can see what I'm on about:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

All the best,

Oz

[Larry Blanchard]

In article >,
says...
> I got a A$5 piece of 2" thick styrofoam (4X6 ft) from a recycling place and
> cut out a panel which was the same dimensions as the rear pane of glass on
> the tank (122cm X 50cm).
>
Just a note. Structural (insulating) foam is used quite a bit in model
railroading (another hobby of mine) to create scenery. The best way to
shape it is with a hot wire cutter. Next best is a serrated knive and a
surform tool. But keep the shop vac handy :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Ozdude]

"Larry Blanchard" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> says...
>> I got a A$5 piece of 2" thick styrofoam (4X6 ft) from a recycling place
>> and
>> cut out a panel which was the same dimensions as the rear pane of glass
>> on
>> the tank (122cm X 50cm).
>>
> Just a note. Structural (insulating) foam is used quite a bit in model
> railroading (another hobby of mine) to create scenery. The best way to
> shape it is with a hot wire cutter. Next best is a serrated knive and a
> surform tool. But keep the shop vac handy :-).

Oh yes! I agree - the particulate waste from carving this stuff is quite
messy ;)

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Michi Henning]

I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
and glued that to the inside back pane. Cheap
and natural looking.

http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate1.jpg
http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate2.jpg

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Ozdude]

"Michi Henning" > wrote in message
...
>I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
> and glued that to the inside back pane. Cheap
> and natural looking.
>
> http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate1.jpg
> http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate2.jpg

Looks great.

What's the weight/stress on the rear pane? Any at all?

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Michi Henning]

"Ozdude" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Michi Henning" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
> > and glued that to the inside back pane. Cheap
> > and natural looking.
> >
> > http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate1.jpg
> > http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate2.jpg
>
> Looks great.
>
> What's the weight/stress on the rear pane? Any at all?

No idea, but not significant at any rate. To be honest, I
never gave this much thought -- with 10mm glass, it
really isn't an issue.

Cheers,

Michi.
--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Nikki Casali]

Michi Henning wrote:
> I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
> and glued that to the inside back pane. Cheap
> and natural looking.
>
> http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate1.jpg
> http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate2.jpg
>

Hey, those pieces fit like a jigsaw. Was that luck or down to an angle
grinder? Nice background!

Nikki

[Michi Henning]

> > http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate1.jpg
> > http://www.triodia.com/staff/michi/aquatic/Slate2.jpg
> >
>
> Hey, those pieces fit like a jigsaw. Was that luck or down to an angle
> grinder? Nice background!


Actually, all but three of the pieces were left in their natural shape
(apart from the cut along the top to match the height of the tank).
I just went to the stone supplier and played with pieces from
a big bin to find some that would fit together well. It only took
about five minutes. Three of the pieces I re-shaped a bit with
an angle grinder, mostly to match the sides of the tank and, in
one case, to get a better fit with the adjoining piece.

The gaps between pieces are about an inch in size at the widest
point (such as the triangular-shaped one near the top left corner).
I stuck a sheet of black velvet to the outside rear of the tank, so
the white wall wouldn't shine through the gaps from behind. This
works well (and, without the black cloth, it doesn't look anywhere
near as nice).

Overall, this was remarkably little work -- maybe four or five
hours all up.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Richard Sexton]

Stunning. Did you make the stand? What's the wood, waterfall bubinga
or figured cherry or something?

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org

[Michi Henning]

"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
> Stunning.

Thanks! :-)

> Did you make the stand? What's the wood, waterfall bubinga
> or figured cherry or something?

The stand was made by a cabinet maker to my design.
The wood is figured ash eucalypt. The figuring gives
the surface a nice opalescent sheen that changes with
the angle at which you view it and with the incident light.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[Richard Sexton]

>> Did you make the stand? What's the wood, waterfall bubinga
>> or figured cherry or something?
>
>The stand was made by a cabinet maker to my design.
>The wood is figured ash eucalypt. The figuring gives
>the surface a nice opalescent sheen that changes with
>the angle at which you view it and with the incident light.

Good call on that, it really works well.

Youknow if you wanted more light you could lower the fixture
an inch or three. Light intensity degardes with distance 1/r**3 or
something.

Most of my tanks have lights that are very very close - and
I have the alage to prove it when I let them slide a bit.

--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org

[Ozdude]

"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
>>> Did you make the stand? What's the wood, waterfall bubinga
>>> or figured cherry or something?
>>
>>The stand was made by a cabinet maker to my design.
>>The wood is figured ash eucalypt. The figuring gives
>>the surface a nice opalescent sheen that changes with
>>the angle at which you view it and with the incident light.
>
> Good call on that, it really works well.
>
> Youknow if you wanted more light you could lower the fixture
> an inch or three. Light intensity degardes with distance 1/r**3 or
> something.

Inverse Square Law, is it's name I believe ;) I can't give you the equation
though because I'm hopeless at maths. ;)

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Michi Henning]

"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
>
> Youknow if you wanted more light you could lower the fixture
> an inch or three. Light intensity degardes with distance 1/r**3 or
> something.

Ah, the light was that high just while I was mucking around inside
the tank, to keep it out of the way. It's normal position is much
lower.

Cheers,

Michi.
--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com

[George Patterson]

Michi Henning wrote:
>
> I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
> and glued that to the inside back pane.

How did you cut that?

George Patterson
I prefer Heaven for climate but Hell for company.

[Michi Henning]

> Michi Henning wrote:
> >
> > I got some indian slate from a landscape supplier
> > and glued that to the inside back pane.
>
> How did you cut that?

A small angle grinder (for about $20) with a stone
cutting disc did the job nicely.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com