Diy 3D Background

[axl]

Hi,
haven't been on here for a while after my disaster 3 months ago, here are some pics of my first attempt at my 3D background, i finished carving this arvo and are going to put the first coat on tomorrow. I'm going to make the background a grey colour and the end product is going to be a 5ft discus tank with white sand as the substrate with a few plants. I poisoned my last lot of discus by mistake so i pulled the tank apart and are starting all over again. I made some channels in the back to hide the heaters and filter pipes. Whats your thoughts???


Cheers Axl

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/diy%203d%20background/156.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/diy%203d%20background/157.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/diy%203d%20background/160.jpg

[mcloughlin2]

Looks the goods so far :wink:

Going to have to make sure you don't get any stagnant water behind the backing within those channels you have mad :!:

[axl]

thanks, hopefully with the intakes of the filter being behind the channels this will keep the water ok.

[swampy1972]

It's going to look amazing mate.. What are you going to coat it with?

[axl]

yeah it should come up good and im going to coat it with a product called Quickcote- Quickpatch Acylic Dry Render. It comes in a 20kg bag and its a grey in colour but im going to add small amounts of black in it to make it grey colour. It will neeed roughly 7 coates and you just brush it on. I have done alot of research on making 1 of these.

[Hollowman]

Shouldn't it be on the inside of the tank :shock: :lol: :lol:

[axl]

ha ha yeah im working on getting into the tank

[axl]

here are some pics of the first coat of render and the colours were a little different as i made them in 2 batches. Next coat I will make up enough to do all of it and i have carved the holes deeper to make it look more 3D


http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/004.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/007.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i471/Tim_Hofmaier/006.jpg

cheers Axl

[Merrilyn]

Looking good Axl. Will you have to divide to get it into your tank?

[axl]

thanks merrilyn, its coming up good at this stage and you didnt even notice the 5 pieces sitting there togther which is excellent. 2nd coat goes onto tnite

[AHC]

Looks great. I noticed the pieces but you will def not notice them after a few months of aging in the tank.

Make sure you silicone all the edges thoroughly to minimise the chances of waste making its way back there and rotting away.

[axl]

here are some latest pics of my background, i glued in it yesterday and now are waiting for them to dry. I will render over the joins as well


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g429/axl102/tank019.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g429/axl102/tank018.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g429/axl102/tank017.jpg

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g429/axl102/tank020.jpg


cheers Axl

[goodoo]

Holy s*i%t Thats crazy . Are those real rocks cos they look real. How did you attach those suckers. I can allready imagine discus swimming around those rocks or into the rocks hopefully not to hard. That looks really good. im impressed.

[axl]

Ha ha there made out of foam mate, just check the early posts above to see what it looked like. There glued on with A LOT of silicon (5 tubes) and now im waiting for it to dry. Cant wait to get it in side but i have to fill and refill it like 6 times before anything first so i don't get any major ph swings.

[axl]

here are some updated pics and got my new discus yesterday so they havent been in the tank long. Im very happy with the way the tank has turned out and there is algea starting to grow on the background which will give it more of a natural affect.

[axl]

pics of my new discus. WOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH

[axl]

more.....

[peppermintman]

Thats looks great. Then best ive seen

[ILLUSN]

Looking very good mate!

[Ghoti]

WOW!!!

[BigDaddyAdo]

Love those Turqs mate !!!!

[axl]

these are two pics taken this morning and last night i installed the uv sterilizer and i cant believe how clear the tank is over night. Amazing and thanks all for nice comments. Fish aren't really eating yet either

Cheers Axl

[Merrilyn]

Looking great axl. It was well worth all the effort. :P

[swampy1972]

That's a great outcome Axl.. You should be wrapped with what you've achieved. I've recently being pricing a latex background for a 5x2x2 so I think I may be carving some foam myself soon :D

[axl]

yeah i went down that road of looking for backgrounds but there way to over priced. Have a go at carving your own its a lot of work but very rewarding when your finished

[lpiasente]

Nice turks.. the tank looks great

[axl]

Hi,
here are my newest additions picked these 2 fish are up today and are very happy with how they look. Thanks Rav for the quality fish. 1 of the discus is huge and the photos doesn't really show that

[axl]

last 1......................

[BobbyBruce]

Hi Axl,

Looking good. Have you managed to sort out your filter problems?

Good to see the fish looking so good. Rav is sending a few (not discus) up my way next weekend.

Regards,

Bob

[axl]

yeah got the filter problems sorted out because i purchased a aqua one cleaning brush and wow that makes a huge difference. Rav is awesome and has some great fish. I have always supported him for fish its 3 hours travel for me as i did a fish run this morning. Leave bright and early and come back with some amazing fish.

[BobbyBruce]

Hi Axl,

I know what it is like to time a trip, we used to travel down from Tennant Creek to Alice to pick up fish (1,000 km round trip).

I was born just South of your place, Warrnambool, left in '72 as a 16 year old to join the Navy. Travelled through Horsham heading back to Adelaide with daughter and grand-daughter the week before the floods.

Anyway, I am sure you will get much enjoyment from the fish. They look to be a couple of beauties.

Regards,

Bob

[nchutz]

^^ just wanna say WOW too... stunning view as result... well done bro...

[Rossco]

Dam that looks so so good!!!

WOW

[axl]

just a few quick photos of the tank 4 months old.

[axl]

more....

[scott bowler]

they are great fish look nice and healthy .

[PC-1]

wow that came out beautiful, great job!