DIY 3d background

Apr 27, 2012
63
0
0
Lexington, KY
#1
Hey MFT members, back again. This time I've decided to start my first 3 dimensional aquarium background project. Done some research on the steps, equipment, ideas, materials. What I've decided to go with is a sort of limestone stacked rock look. The background will feature a hidden underground tunnel, 4 hidden caverns, one for the filter intake, one for the canister intake, one for the outake, and one for the powerhead.

Just returned from Lowes, they had everything I needed but did not already have lying around the house.

Materials:
3/4 thick styrofoam insulation
50lb bag of quick setting cement (fine)
3 tubes of GE silicon I (clear)
Cement Color
paint mixing containers (to minimize mess)
4 cheap paintbrushes
Hobby knife (already owned)
Utility Knife (already owned)

Ok so I've been working on the background mold for a few hours and this i what ive got so far....

1.jpg


OK, after a few more hours of sculpting out the mold I've had another great idea pop up into my head. I've decided to form an elevated platform for my castle decoration to sit on. Im going to place it over the underground tunnel.

Here's a picture of my progress. This is the underground tunnel. I've decided to go with 4 layers of foam instead of the 3 shown in the picture.

tunnel.jpg


After my first full weekend of working on this piece, I'm just about finished with the sculpting part. Just a few layers to go. I've begun the process of siliconing the foam together.

Here's what it looks like so far.... (before silicone)

2.jpg

I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. Hope you like it so far. Can't wait to place it in my tank!
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#2
What size tank is that going in? It looks great, but also like it will display quite a bit of water. (Although I see you have some pretty large tanks) Will the cement need to be sealed with something so it doesn't leach into the tank?
 

Apr 27, 2012
63
0
0
Lexington, KY
#3
this one is going into a 110 gallon. I'm also using the leftover materials to do my daughters 10 gallon. From what I've seen in research i can either seal it with epoxy, or let it soak in the tank for at least a month before cycling the tank
 

Apr 27, 2012
63
0
0
Lexington, KY
#4
and as far a is taking up a lot of water, the way I designed it was to make each of the fish i wil be keeping in this community tank happy. the bottom, although it is very wide it has several tunnels and caves for my bottom dwellers to hide. this goes on until about the halfway mark then it takes up about 1-2 inches of tank towards the top as i have top dwelling fish that do not like cover, just a lot of swimming space
 

Jan 23, 2012
68
0
0
Aurora CO
#5
Looks nice. Just one question? If it's styrofoam, Won't it float?

Was thinking about using shelfs with suction cups and some kind of little rectangular box to hold gravel (like a flower box) on the back wall and sides myself.The coral frag shelfs might work. So there able to be moved.
 

Apr 27, 2012
63
0
0
Lexington, KY
#6
Looks nice. Just one question? If it's styrofoam, Won't it float?

Was thinking about using shelfs with suction cups and some kind of little rectangular box to hold gravel (like a flower box) on the back wall and sides myself.The coral frag shelfs might work. So there able to be moved.
Thats right it will float. to keep it anchored and also to keep water from seeping into the back where it would become sitting water im going to either be siliconing the back to my aquarium or to a thick piece of plexiglass(at the bottom of the background) then ill pour the substrate on top to weigh it down more. I've also heard of a few people using industrial grade magnets so they could easily remove it if needed.
 

Apr 27, 2012
63
0
0
Lexington, KY
#7
just an update..... Ive got the entire background completely siliconed together. it has been curing for about 2 weeks now. My next step is to make all the small details and any last minute extras..... Just to test out the process, i took what leftover materials i had and took my 29gallon, moved the fish, cleaned it and I'm now leeching the chemicals out. It has been in this process for almost 2 weeks. Ive attached some pics so you can see what I've come up with. I'm planning on placing this tank in my daughters room with angels and maybe a dwarf gourami or something of that sort. Her name begins with L hence the L in the design....

diy.jpg diy2.jpg


Let me know what you all think.