Epic Overhaul/Builds: 3D Backgrounds 300g-125g-120g

[JK47]

gotta say, impressively clean cut job.

good work!

VERY VERY clean looking! I'm liking that a lot, and can't wait to see water and fish in front of it...

I'm not sure I could ever shell out $175 for a background, even one as cool as that. Maybe....

Thanks guys! The costs isn't that bad. We've all spent that on a fish, it's releative to what your goal is. My Satanoperca are rare and deserve a top notch tank to themselves. Tanks are like cars for me. Can always be made better. If the car is fast, it could be faster if I add "x".. Especially if it's for the wife... Never really done you know. It doesn't have to always be bigger, just always making it better.

This project is very inspirational. Thanks for the thread. I'm sure you started started something here where soon you will see more of us with 3d backgrounds.

After this is all set up and running for a few months. Can you post the pro's and con's of the back ground?

I am sure there is not much cons but hows cleaning it with algea etc..... I was curious how it would look in a few months even years down the line. Is it easy to clean?

Looks great.

Absolutly I will and your welcome. Thanks for the comments. I am curious to see as well. P&C's as of right now:

PRO: Price, # of designs / quality design & paint / easier than DIY / precut smaller tank sizes.
CONS: No 96" wide BG's / cutting & carving BG's gets pretty messy / have to cut BG's for large tanks.

 

[Redearsunfish]

Wow. Cool!!

 

[JK47]

Wow. Cool!!

Thank you! I hate threads without pics so lets keep the progress rollin! I am only about 20%-25% done with my overhaul and build plans. I have 4 tanks, only 2 have fish and the other 2 have backgrounds (no fish) lol..

I was up late drilling holes in scrap pieces and hit a little snag. I don't have what I need. It's always the little stuff I forget about.. I was finally about to make it to the hardware store today and picked up a bunch of supplies. I needed some new cement and I have both PVC and ABS, it lists being for "pottable water" it's all I use... (3D backgrounds make pictures of supplies look cooler BTW, hang on to your scraps - chicks dig it)



These are the holes I was drilling. A standard hole saw bit will not work. This background is too thick, it would work for the thin backgrounds though. I switched to a wood bit but a 1" bit is not big enough for 3/4" ID Loc-Line brand connectors. I hoped it would work but not so much...





I broke the scrap piece just trying to stuff the Loc-line through the 1" hole. Don't try that.. I don't want that tight of a fit.



I took the Loc-Line returns with me to get a new bit and 1 1/4" looks like it will be dead on. I don't want an oversize hole. I want to fit the Loc-Line snug since it is the only plumbing seen in the tank. Sorry if the thread takes longer than I planned but if I get delayed making things fit right, I'll take my time. Sorry guys, it's about my fish and tanks. I care more about quality than quantity



We'll see in another hour or so if this bit fits the way I want it to or not.



I am not sure if this is the pond foam Matt was talking about but it's made by Great Stuff and fish safe (brand I trust, only $10.99 a can). I didn't even know they made this stuff AND it's black. You'll know why this picture is here in a few minutes.



Updates on my 300 gallon coming next..!

 

[Conner]

If the lockline still won't fit through the 1 1/4" bit, just use some sandpaper to widen the hole, versus trying to get a perfect sized drill bit. That way you can take off a little at a time to get the hole just big enough for the lockline to push through without damaging the background.

You can use sandpaper, a file, a rasp, whatever you have that's handy.

 

[JK47]

This update is for Natalie, I hope it helps...

300 gallon background plan. Tank is 96"x30" tall, background 79"x24" so I have some space to make up.. IMO this is a really creative idea but we will see what kind of comments I get. I may be flat out going nuts... who knows..


This is an FTS of the 300 gallon with all the planned pieces for it's background. I am going to have to cut the background into sections to get it inside this tank as well since it's acrylic. I got the darkest BG with the least color changes on purpose so I could patch things up and be less noticeable. The white PVC pipe in front of the tank is going to be the new BG bottom. I have elbows for it as well. It is 3" ID pipe 10' in length (will cut down obviously). This will raise the background 4" to an inside hieght of 28". The water level with my overflows should be exactly at this level if I planned my external durso pipes correctly, only time will tell. The acrylic is 1/2" thick on the top and bottom leaving 29" inside the tank to span height wise. Basically only the top inch of the tank will be without background. I am going to cover this pipe with black colored pond foam, and carve it to match the bottom of the BG contours and colors. I will leave the end of each pipe open and add elbows so smaller fish can hide in the bottom of the BG and get a break from larger fish. Who knows, some fish may spawn here since the smooth walls of the inside of the pipe mimic the smooth surface area of a stone. I will weight it down with rocks so it doesn't span open the entire length of the pipe.

Height DONE.....




Right and left side close ups. I picked a BG that is black 100% throughout. Meaning I can sand it down or cut down sections to minimize the edges leading to the sections each of the far sides. I bought a couple of cans of flat black and flat white Krylon Fusion to touch up the paint in the areas I modify.





To handle the width, I am useing the 24" tall overflow towers I just pulled off the 120 gallon. It's covered in coraline algae but that's nothing a little Krylon black or pond foam cannot cover easily. This will be faux overflow towers connected to the tank by magnetic connectors. This is how I will keep small fish from going for a ride over the overflow. I designed my plumbing to have the sump overflows and FX5 intakes on the far ends. This will cover them just like they would in any other tank with an overflow.

Width DONE.....



I would really love to hear some feedback on this idea from you guys. Good idea? Bad idea? Go get medication, your insane etc.. lmk

 

[JK47]

If the lockline still won't fit through the 1 1/4" bit, just use some sandpaper to widen the hole, versus trying to get a perfect sized drill bit. That way you can take off a little at a time to get the hole just big enough for the lockline to push through without damaging the background.

You can use sandpaper, a file, a rasp, whatever you have that's handy.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I don't want to have to sand more than a 1/4" though, I will lose the clean edges if I am sanding for days. I needed larger bits anyway. I appreciate the feedback Conner!

 

[Natalie]

That's a wicked background! Is it the Designsbynature mangrove one? Sorry, I'm too tired to look back through the whole thread.

I'll be interested to see how it looks with the pipe modification. It looks like I won't be getting the "tall" tank I was looking at, so I don't need to make an extra-tall background. Your tanks are really cool though, and I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[JK47]

That's a wicked background! Is it the Designsbynature mangrove one? Sorry, I'm too tired to look back through the whole thread.

I'll be interested to see how it looks with the pipe modification. It looks like I won't be getting the "tall" tank I was looking at, so I don't need to make an extra-tall background. Your tanks are really cool though, and I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Yeah all 4 of my BG's are from designsbynature, this is the mangrove one you got a good eye! Just noticed my pics are upside down though lol

Matt if you read this buddy, us MFK'ers want these 96" wide and 30" tall or bigger. (and a "this end up" stamp.. Oh and another stamp that says "if you can read this, turn me around.." I'm sure you remember that day)

 

[ShroomMastap]

wow! really coming out well! i had just looked at that one with the i guess mangroves in it? and wondered ho it'd look all set up! def going to keep an eye on this!

 

[JK47]

wow! really coming out well! i had just looked at that one with the i guess mangroves in it? and wondered ho it'd look all set up! def going to keep an eye on this!

Thanks man & welcome to the thread!

Before I post a buttload of todays progress pics, can anyone give me any sugestions on this? The background is painted blue and I hate it. There are a couple small areas you can see it through the stump. I really want to paint it black (favorite song). Will a razor blade stand a chance or am I stuck with it? The tank is on it's face right now so it's good timing. Has to be full of water tomorrow.