3D home made background?

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fishyladdy

New Member
so ive desided with my new 75 i want to do a 3D background on it but im not real sure how to go about painting it without killing my fish.. (not painting it inside the tank of course) but you know what i mean... so what paint can i use and what caulking can i use?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G0SPTISTNU

thinking something like this would look nice but painted a black with brown and gray highlights.
 
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iandraco

New Member
Drylok concrete sealer. ace hardware carries it. it is used to seal cement fish ponds so it is safe. you can buy quickcrete concrete pigments to tint it to whatever color you are going for. a gallon of drylok will run you about $30 and the pigments are about $6 ea. have fun.
 
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Gryphon

New Member
I made mine with Styrofoam and concrete, then painted with acrylic paint and sealed it with epoxy resin.

http://www.wafishbox.com/t5865-gryphons-diy-3d-background

I realized now I didn't update the thread and kinda left it hanging. You'll want to let it air cure with the epoxy resin for at least 2 weeks before siliconing into the tank, then water cure a month with weekly water changes. The epoxy resin will seal everything underneath it, so you won't have to worry about the paint or concrete. I did notice a pinesol kinda smell coming up off the water that faded over time and water changes. Once the smell went away the background did fine in the tank and looked good (other than the drip marks).
 
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pocketlama

New Member
When I set up my 55 bow front, I went to Lakeview Stone & Garden in Seattle and got some flagstone. I put it on the inside of the tank, siliconed it and filled in the gaps with cut up sheets of cork.

I did this after trying and failing to get realistic looks from Styrofoam sculpting. In any case it's been in place for 13 or more years with no problems and houses my red terror who is also around 13 years old.

I've moved twice since then and I cursed myself for making the tank so damn heavy. :shock:
 
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