Another Other DIY 3D Background Thread

Sorry if I came across as discounting his opinion, but that wasn't what I was trying to do, as I know fibreglass backgrounds work.

@eros111 - I disagreed with your method of doing the fibreglass, by trying to remove the polystyrene, and then trying to fibreglass the shell. This pond sealer and cement in general has to be mechanically removed once set, so this wouldnt be possible.
If I were to make a mould of my carved polystyrene that would work.
Either way, my post wasnt meant to take a knock a valid way to make backgrounds, just disagreeing with the way in which to do it.

Cheers :top:

 

:top:

 

This morning I find myself in a dilemma.....I was going to start dabbing on a little brown here and there, but after test fitting it in the tank and seeing the background in there I'm not sure it would look better.
Right now it has a volcanic rock sort of look, which would go well with the white crushed coral and I also think the tank lighting will make the background stand out more.
Well thats my view at the moment...
Your opinions would be appreciated, good...bad....I dont care, its all constructive.
Cheers

 

Too much colour in the background will make it look too busy. Like it as it is.

 

I'm partial towards lighter colours, but it depends on what YOU want to achieve.
1. I think a slightly lighter look will stand out better against the black background.
2. Lighter will blend in better with your gravel...unless your gravel is black
3. I can't say how your background will change over time since you used a slightly different sealing method, but mine started out a sandy colour and has darkened significantly over time (due to the oxides and also algae).

 

Agree with @Ryno, keep it as simple as possible

 

really awesome guy im so jealous

 

Thanks everyone for the input.....I think I will be leaving it as is, I could always add some colour in the form of other small stones/rocks or even some moss type plants.
Which means I'll be siliconing it into place today!

 

Small update - Background has been siliconed in place as well as netting to stop the fish swimming into the filter intake at the back.

Rubber netting siliconed into place :



All siliconed in :

 

Looking really good....

 

Looking cool man. Good luck for when you fill the tank up. Hope nothing floats away.

 

Lol....you had to add that last bit in there to elevate my stress levels until I test it...

 

Whoops. Sorry about that :laugh:

Have you had it under water yet to see if you like the way it looks before you silicone it down?

 

No haven't had it under water yet.
I moved everything into the house today, just put 1 bag of crushed coral in, positioned the canisters, canopy and lighting just to see how it all looked.
I even went scrounging in the garage for old driftwood in case I want to use some.

Anyways, heres a pic of it so far :

 

Looking pretty good

 

Wow this is looking great! Definitely going to keep an eye on this thread to see the final outcome! Well done so far! What are you planning on stocking in this tank (sorry if you've mentioned elsewhere but I've missed that if you have) :blink1:

 

Well done. It looks great!

 

Thanks for the comments guys.

@veegal - Its going to be a Malawi setup, I'm itching to get it going so badly at this point.

 

I like it alot. Weldone. Hope everything goes to plan

 

Looking VERY good indeed. Just a suggestion - my 2 cents worth - you might think about before siliconing it in place - is to extend the height to just above where the water level is going to be. I just feel that the top ledge the way it is now ends too abruptly and looks peculiar. I would also be inclined to take the right hand side of the backround right to the edge of the tank - the right hand edge that is. What is that front right 'block' of something??? I would also be inclined to not have that piece of wood hanging in mid air from the back section to that front thing - does not look natrually comfortable to me - I think less is more. That backdrop makes such a statement I am not sure you need the other stuff. A few select pieces of driftwood in front of the backdrop would look great I think.
Awesome job so far !!!