DIY 3D Angkor Wat Backdrop / Background

[Sulla]

BillyZ this tank is going to be FW. The general concept of the tank is to make it very low maintenance but still looking great. Fresh water is really nice as I use water from deep well so I dont have to worry about treating it.

Fish wise I am still trying to make up my mind. Their is a thread just for that (not sure if the extra thread is good or not?) http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=237339#237339


I think you are right about the extra places for jets. I think I will make 3 or 4 going in different directions and angles with flexible tubing siliconed in for easy hookup.


sumphead what are you thinking about some amazing looking conrete reef structure?





[/url]

 

[sumphead]

Well that's somewhere in the bright light as well...

Aragacrete in general causes a spike in pH until fully cured and I was sondering about that, but curing is no big deal just a wait, wait, wait situation. I am not sure about quickrete in SW and probably wouldn't even consider it. Primarily my questions are all out of curiosity that I could figure out along the way. What kind of foam is it anyway?

R-

 

[Sulla]

sumphead its just normal styorofoam nothing special.


I finaly got a chance to do some more carving today. I got a rough shape of the face and cut it into blocks so I can even out the backs. Then I will use silicone to glue them to the front of the main piece. You can see by looking at it that its a litte smaller than what I originaly intended but thats the way things worked out with the foam I was using. I will change the main piece the take the smaller face when I finish it up in the next few day.

I also noticed today that in my brilliant planning I have put the large return area behind the head almost directly under the center brace of the tank:/ But it should work out ok I think with enough room for the return hoses and I can move the biowheel over and squeze it behind the thin part of the background. I am just glad I cought it now before I put the concrete on it.

Also today I got a piece of plywood cut to go under the tank so I can shim between to pieces of wood and not between carpet and wood. I will round and paint this piece of plywood the same color as the stand so I hope it will not look to bad. Also today I picked up some simple antique porcelain
knobs for the doors of the stand I think they will go good with the antique type finish its going to end up with.

This is the stand from the back where you can see what I cheap stand it was to start with and some of the many pieces I added and replaced. I also added some nice looking molding on the front.

This is of course the front after being painted.

 

[Mr Burns]

you are quite the craftsman, well done!

 

[Sulla]

Ok well I finaly got a chance tonight after Sabbath (I am Seventh Day Adventist) to do some more work on the backdrop. I finished cutting all of the passages and cutouts for the filtering system on the back of the foam (see layout below). I Also got all 3 main pieces cut and test fitted in the tank(Remember measure inside the tank not like I did on the outside: :?). And I finaly got the face background cut down to size and siliconed on each seaction. (See images below)>>

This is the filter/plumbing layout for the tank. You can see I am taking the inlet water from each corner of the tank and returning it around the middle with each filter directing its output to the other since the Eheim is not really doing much mechanical filtration. Also you can see the a proposed powerhead and I might add a secound going to the left side of the image. And I forgot and left out the flow at the top of each intake box for the skimmer attachment I am buying for the canister filters. What do you guys think, will it work?

This is an image of the background finaly in the tank after more cutting and measuring.

This is an image of the background with the face siliconed into place. You can see the face is still very rough and I need to finish carving the rocks on the front of the background.

Below are two images of the top of the background fitted in the tank where you can see the room for the BioWheel etc. You can also just see on the far right the curved passage for the surface water to get to the skimmer attachment.

 

[Sulla]

You know the more I think about it the more I think a large school of Silver Dollars would look great in this tank.

 

[DonnieP]

African Cichlida!

Sulla
The concept looks great! Have you given any thought to African Cichlids? Africans are the most colorful fish next to saltwater and they are at home in a background setup such as yours and they are very easy to keep with minimal maintenance..Only problem I see with your setup is the canister filters, I hate them things, lots of maitenance and cleaning.. Before you dedicate to them completely, why not investigate the corner overflow with sump below.. In this type setup the two returns are all the current necessary and everything else is hidden in the sump below, heater, biowheel, carbon chamber, etc, there is nothing to hide in the tank itself..

In my setup, I installed a 1 1/2" bulkhead through the tank bottom, any glass company can drill this for you..I made my own corner box from a piece of 1/4" plexiglass and cut the dental work on top with a router and 1/4" bit and siliconed it in place.. the water overflows through the dental work over a square piece of floss and to a drip tray to spread the water evenly over a stack of 2 1/2 gallons of bio balls and then to the sump where it is filtered again with a dual biowheel, passed through a carbon chamber and returned to the tank via a single pipe split into two at the top of the tank, one goes to each corner..A small 1/16" hole drilled just above the waterline breaks the siphon when the pump is turned off or during a power failure so only the water in the pipes returns to the sump..

I used about a 1 1/2 inch layer of pool filter sand for the bottom substrate.

This setup has worked great for me with very low maitenance, almost a set and forget system. My maintenance is very straight forward, I add top off water about every four days (1 gallon) I change the floss pad on top of the biotower overflow once a week and change the filter pads in the biowheel whenever I think about it. It is really a simple system once setup, I used this system in my saltwater reef for years with excellent results..If you did go to this type system, it would elliminate the need for any chambering behind the background..Below are some pics of the setup..

Here is the tank, a 110 gal. Oceanic

Here are a few of the African Cichlids, beatiful fish!

A look at the corner overflow-wetdry biotower

The corner overflow is hidden from view with thin styro-cement panel. Also note the agitation from the return outlet, one on each side of the tank.

Here is the sump below tank.

A closeup of sump with biowheel, heater, carbon and return pump..

 

[Sulla]

Thanks glad you like it Donnie

I have thought a lot about the under tank sump and I would probobly just use the hangon overflow boxes with it so I would not have to cut the tank. But if I do this it will probobly be later. I have used the canister filter I have now for more than two years and all I have to do is clean it every few months depending on the load. And for me cleaning is supereasy with the quick connect hoopups. I dont know the canister has just worked really well for me with no fuss and mess.

I plan on doing more research about mangrove and mud type filters for freshwater and then making something really interesting later http://www.garf.org/news30p1.html.

 

[Sulla]

Well it seems like it took forever but finaly today I got to put the first layer of conrete on the background. I still have a lot to do with coloring and of course putting a thick layer on the face to mold it from but I can see it starting to come together nowL


This image is a closeup of the background you can see its still a little wet.

This is an image of the background sitting on top of the stand so I could get an idea of how it was going to look. The plywood is going under the stand after being routed and painted to match the stand.

 

[WarOrks15]

could the heater heat up the foam too much and burn a hole in it?

 

[Sulla]

I have worried about that some but it will not be in direct contact with it unless it comes loose from the back. I think I will do the simple fix and just coat the inside of the boxes on the back with conrete. See anything else that could be a problem? Its easer to fix it now than later

 

[DonnieP]

Fog cure!

Sulla
Be sure to fog cure the cement! to do this you need to mist the cement several times a day, this will keep it from drying to fast and cracking, trust me don't miss this step in the curing of each layer.

 

[Sulla]

Thanks for the tip. I could not be home today to fog the first thin layer so I put it inside in the airconditioning to slow down the drying as much as possible. It seems to be doing ok so far. I think the part I am really going to have to watch is the face as its going to be much thicker so I will plan that one when I am going to be home all day to watch it. Oh and thanks again for all the help

 

[Sulla]

Seems like things are moving right along now Today I go a chance to do the first layer of color on the background. I made up a small bucket of each conrete with each having a different conrete color and then used them basicly like paint to paint the background to look like rocks. I plan on doing another layer of color that will be basicly dry brushing the highlights on and painting in some darker blacks plus maybe some asorted spatters of colors. I also had lots of conrete left over so I made a selection of rocks that I can silicone to the bottom of the tank to make caves and other interesting features. You can also see I have not had time to sculpt the face but mabye in the morning. See images below...

 

[BillyZ]

really nice work on shading the stones! Looking forward to seeing the face take shape!

 

[Sulla]

Well I finaly finished sculpting the face now all I have to do is let it dry and do the thin color layers.

I also finaly got around to setting up my tank to make sure it does not leak as its a used tank. I set it up yesterday in my storage building and so far no leaks Any one have any suggestions on how long to leave it up? Also I am thinking that some kind of pad between the stand the and aquarium wood be good, any thoughts on what to use?

 

[DonnieP]

Styrofoam!

Sulla, I used a piece of 1/2" styrofoam between my stand and the tank, worked out great. The way My stand is built you can't even see it..I also built a custom hood for mine too with the lights enclosed inside and a vent fan, this is also a fallback from the reef tank..You could do this and paint it to match the stand, would be an awsome look! Mine is finished in Flekstone, nice look..

Some pics of the light hood!

 

[Sulla]

OK great I will pick up some 1/2 foam next time I am at HD. I think I can just pick up some flat profile chairrail molding and put around the tank to cover the foam.

I like the hood I think I will end up making one that is about the same over all design exept maybe I will make the entire top lift up and just rout the edges to make it blend into the molding.

 

[Mr Burns]

sulla - absolutely gorgeous paint job! if i didn't know better, i'd never believe that was actually styrofoam.

brilliant work.

 

[Sulla]

Glad you like it Mr Burns, after all the hard work I hope it looks a little like rocks haha

Today I painted the face and did some more work ont he rest of the background to give it more color and depth texture. I just need to do one more light job on the face and background to change some things and add another layer to the face etc and I will be all done with this part. Oh and coat the chanels in the back and install grates, then I am done with the background itself.