DIY Background

[jf2381]

I finally got to do a concrete background for my 55G

I doing a 90g next.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/jf2381/55G%20Cichlid%20Show%20Tank/P6040048.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/jf2381/55G%20Cichlid%20Show%20Tank/P6040047.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/jf2381/55G%20Cichlid%20Show%20Tank/P6040044.jpg

I have 5 Salousi and a Trio of wild Polits in there.

Enjoy,
Jose

[djfungus]

WOW! That looks amazing! Very nice work.

[NEO_72]

Top notch - kudos jf2381!!

Any pics of the process?

[djfungus]

Yea, pics would be great. I've been thinkin about doin this. How long did it take and what was your final cost of material?

[jf2381]

Sorry no pictures. I got to excite and worked an entire day on it none stop. When I start the 90G I'm going to take my time and take pictures.

[djfungus]

Thats cool. I'd probably get excited too and work the same way, lol. You mind explainin the process? What did you use underneath the concrete? Styrofoam?

[jf2381]

It took me 2 days of building and 4 days while the concrete cured.

I'll break down the cost.

1 black concrete color 4.59
1 blonde concrete color 4.59
1 60lb quickrete water proof finisher cement with fiberglass 12.00
1 pack of styro foam 5.49
2 GE silicon I 8.00

Tax: 2.08

Total: 36.75

It's was alot initial cost but i have enough material left over to do 10 - 15 55g tanks. Don't only think i would have to get more of is styro and silicone.

[NEO_72]

Very good! Hey, how thick is the background on average? And how heavy is it in the end? How did you manage such realistic finishing in colour and texture? Did you do a series of washes in the tank before your ph became stable?

I've seen the process laid out before - I might like to try that too! I guess you have all the equipment hiden? I see one spray bar return. Where's your intake? Is there a cavity behind the background?

Sorry, your backgrounds so nice it has me full of questions!!

[djfungus]

LOL, I was wonderin all the same questions. I've never understood how the flow of water works.

[NEO_72]

I must say, I hope you're not an artist, jf2381! If this can be done by the average joe, I want to try it. I've seen other plans, but your finished product is among the best. Very real textruing and colours. I want the step by step instructions!! :D

When you get some free time can you please post more info?

(And if you're interested in coming to Toronto anytime soon...?? Hahaha!!) New Jersey's not too far :dance:

[jf2381]

I would say it added 10lb to the empty tank. I built it right on the tank. I didn't want to deal with cutting it and then putting it back together.
The thickess point is about 4 - 5 inches. The thinness is 1.

When I spread the last coat of concrete I used a paint brush and tapped with the bristle the background. I did this before the concrete hardened, it had the texture of clay. This will give the cement a grainy texture...
I mixed some concrete with water and the cement color in 3 containers ,one black, one blonde, one I mixed the two to make brown. Make it a little bit thick.

First I tapped the black color then the blonde and the brown. I also left some spot the gray color of the concrete. The black was the based color and then I proceded to blend the other two colors in.

The cave in the corner hides the intake and the heater. I'm going to tie some floating plant around the spray bar to hide it.

[jf2381]

I'm not an artist. The whole time I was doing the project, I was getting weird looks from my wife, and all she said was if you mess it up I'm NOT going to let you replace the tank. I found out that my family had a bet going on, that I would mess it up. Now I get a bunch of compliments.

If I could do this anyone can...so do it. Get a picture of a nice rock formation or some pics from Lake Malawi and copy it.

[NEO_72]

Really well done. Thanks for the info.

[NEO_72]

Hahaha - way to show your family. I would like to try for sure once I get a new tank. I suppose you could build out caves/teraces. You seemed to build it out a bit on the right side. I'm thinking of trying it on a 180 - at 2' deep, there'd be a lot of room to come out on and still leave swimming spcae.

Antother great idea about modelling it after a real pic to keep it lookiong natural.

I see how you've used the natural gray to show through. You must have taken quite some time painting? It looks very detailed.

[NEO_72]

Sorry - one last question - how hard is the final surfcae? I'm thinking about it's long term durability. I have a lot of wood I would also like to add, and some of it is branchy. Do you think tank objects could puncture the surfcae if the fish started knocking stuff around?

[jf2381]

It's as hard as the side walk. It could chip if a rock hits. I would compare it to slate.

[jf2381]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/jf2381/Misc/P6130106.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v445/jf2381/Misc/P6100071.jpg

Intake cave

[NEO_72]

Very creative.

[NEO_72]

I meant to ask if you used a heat gun to fish the surface of the styro before you applied the cement?

[jf2381]

No, i didn't use a heat gun. I want a ruff finish so I scratch the surface of the styrofoam. This create a bunch of small crevices and the cement adhere to that.

To answer the earlier question about water changes to lower the PH; after the cement was hard to the touch I filled the tank and emptied it every other day for a week. I left the last water in the tank over the weekend. On Monday I check the PH and it was at 8.5, My PH from the tap is 8.4 so I was on the right track. I emptied the tank again and took 40 gallon from my 90g tank and filled it. I check the PH after 2 weeks and it was stable at 8.4. I put in some hybrids that I where I had bought as pure Afra Cobue...anyway that's another story...They were in the tank for 2 weeks with no problems.

[NEO_72]

Thanks again for the info. I'm keeping SA/CA cihclids, so I'd need to get the ph down to my tap at 7.4ish. I've read it can be done. Maybe even a sealant or something.

I think you're finish looks great. Not using the heat gun probably helped. Please keep us posted on any developments or future projects :)

[NEO_72]

Oh yeah, I have an old bok I just picked up this weekend, and the authour, Dr. Ghadially, was making these backgrounds (without the foam, but instead in a frame and strengthened by wire mesh) back in 1969. He suggests, after curing the concrete, to soak it in water with a mild sol'n of hydrochloric acid. When a litmus test shows it's getting alkaline, add more acid, until you get an acid test three days in a row. Then all the alkalines (sorry if I got the terminology wrong) supposedly have left the concrete and it will be stable. You just have to do repeated baths to wash away the acid.

But for your case you need a higher PH, so your process is right on.

[jf2381]

some people use salt to cure the concrete, once it's cured I think It no longer raises the PH

[crazy4fishes]

I did this same thing to a 5 gallon to see how it went. Mine does'nt look quite as good as yours though. My Ph is stable at 8.4 also, and its been running about 3 months. My tap water is actually 7.4 normally so I am now at a loss what to put in the tank....:confused: it now is just home to some snails while I am hoping for an eventual PH drop.....:) I have a pic but I don't want to steal the thread. I am hoping to do a 55g also but I had to start small because my husband was afraid id mess up my tank....its glad to see I am not the only fish "freak":rofl:

[crazy4fishes]

oh and I used salt to cure it for about 2 weaks changing the water every other day........

[jf2381]

Please post some pics. I hope my ph stays stable at 8.4. for a few months. Yes please post some pictures.

[NEO_72]

Yeah, pics please!

Darn, so your PH has been raised? I want to keep the PH at 7.4.....:(

[barramundi]

Originally posted by NEO_72
Yeah, pics please!

Darn, so your PH has been raised? I want to keep the PH at 7.4.....:(

Altho you can add counter agents, peat moss in the filter, lots of wood & plants in the tank etc, maybe that could counter the buffering the concrete may be providing?? Just a thought?

[jf2381]

That's what i was thinking. I believe eventually it will stop buffering the water. I have read somewhere that it could take a few month for the concrete to completely cure.

[NEO_72]

Thanks Barramundi, those are good ideas.

I might try it on a small scale, and see if that acid bath works in getting out the alkalines. The author of that book I have was keeping angels and tetras in a tank with a concrete background, so there must be a way to get the concrete neutral.

[NEO_72]

Haha - I hate when two people are writing replies at the same time.

So there is hope. Good!

[jf2381]

ha that's funny we posted at 6:06 LOL

[NEO_72]

Hey, I never noticed that the clock here is an hour behind my local Tornto time. You're in the same zone too in NJ, right Jose?

My company has a division in Warren, NJ, that I visited last fall, and we have another in Pine Brook, NJ too. And that's about all I know about NJ ;) Except I visited one kick a$$ mall there. It was HUGE.

Corey.

[jf2381]

Which mall was it? Garden state Plaza?. That's all we have over here. I have 6+ malls within 20 miles from me. Next time you are down here let me know maybe we could get together and have a couple of drinks or something.

[NEO_72]

Cool man - will do!!

You know, I don't remeber the mall. But I think it was south on 287 from 78. We have the Toronto Eaton Centre here, with 3 1/2 floors, but that mall was even bigger. And we don't have Victorias Secret here, so I scored some big points buying the girlfriend a classy black neglige (sp? Hahahaha)....but it cost me 70 US for what must have been about 5 bucks in fabric :)

[crazy4fishes]

Here it is ....as I said not as good as jf2381's but it works.....and I don't mind the higher PH because I plan on making my 55g for africans....but as for this little tank.....I have no clue what to stick in it......

[NEO_72]

Hey Crazy4fishes, Welcome to the forums by the way!! - didn't notice your posts count. Hope you like it here :)

If you click 'new reply' on the right beside new thread, then you get the chance to either link the URL of the image, under the IMG button, or you can upload from your PC from down below the message box.

[crazy4fishes]

ok .....no pic.....how do I add a picture to this.....I did the attach file at the bottom

[NEO_72]

Not bad at all! Good idea on the cave, too. I also plan to make a few caves and juttings. Good texture and colour. As to what to put in it? Some snails like a high PH....I have no clue :) Too small for cichlids.

What were your steps with this background?

[jf2381]

Don't be modest that's pretty good. You could put in a couple of crabs or crayfish

[NEO_72]

Yeah, that's a good idea. Can you breed those things?

[jf2381]

I'm not sure what the conditions have to be in order to get them to breed. that would be cool if you could.

[NEO_72]

Feeders!

[crazy4fishes]

thanks guys...there is another small cave behind the red plant...I should look into a couple crabs or something never thought about that...I have a crayfish but its huge......as for my steps..
this is where I got my info.....

click here (http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background.php)

[NEO_72]

Thanks for that link. I'd seen it before, but now I'll know where to find it :)

[Exister]

Mine is nearing completion.

I have to add one more coat of cement and then cure the whole thing. I'm not crazy about it, but it was my first stab at a DIY background.

Here's a picture of the front:

[Exister]

The canister filter return will be hidden behind the top left of the background. The canister uptake and Aquaball internal filter/power head will behidden behind the right hand side of the background. The tank will have an external inline heater on the canister return line, so there will be no equipment visible in the tank.

The tank will have Texas holey rock for some Julidichromis transcriptus, and 100 whale eye and gold turbo shells for a colony of multies. I also plan to have about a half dozen Synodontis petricola in the tank.

Here's a picture of the right hand side:

[jf2381]

Good job man.

I'm shaping the styrofoam on my 90 gallon right now. I should be done in about a week or two.

[NEO_72]

Yeah, good job. Looks great!

[Exister]

Thanks!

[Exister]

Here's a picture of the tank with holey rock, shells, sand (3M ColorQuartz) and water. I still need to rearrange a little and clean the outside of the tank a little. :)

[jf2381]

Good job! Can't wait to see it stocked.

[Glaive]

Neo to avoid a pH swing get a non reactive resin and completely coat the back ground fron to back, maybe three coats thick. To avoid a miror finish sprinkle sand on the last layer of resin.

You may want to check out marine resin for fibre glass.

You guys are all doing great jobs, top notch all teh way around. Almost got me heading to homedepot to trick out my new <used> 55.

[jf2381]

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT.

lol

[Glaive]

I'm cheating due to time constraints going with a painted BG if it looks okay I'll post a pic.

[Glaive]

Other not Barramundi and I were chatting last night and both came to the consensus that a marine resin would be a good choice, though to be safe one would let it cure for a week. Could be used over styro dirrectly or over crete.

[jf2381]

There is some guy (lomax) on Cichlidfroum.com that make his background on his plywood tanks out of resin. He has great success.

[Exister]

Here's a different picture showing the background a little better (I still need to improve my photo skills). I'm finally getting my multies this Friday - can't wait!

[jf2381]

I like how you made that rock come out like that. That would be great for a turtle tank. Great job.

[Glaive]

Exister,

Excelent job! I was going to add that you should never judge a background before teh tank is running and that last pic proves my point. That's going to be great for the fish.

[haiman]

wowww its very goooooooood

[Exister]

Here are a few pics of my multis. They are currently breeding like crazy!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/Exister/Tang%20Tank%2055%20gallon/Multies1101705.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/Exister/Tang%20Tank%2055%20gallon/Multies3101705.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b156/Exister/Tang%20Tank%2055%20gallon/Multies2101705.jpg