Piranha Man Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I completed this back in May and have been lazy posting pics. I did the background myself. My filters are plumbed into it so as to stay hidden. And I am running an auto-drip set-up from my plumbing under my kitchen sink. To neutralize the Chloramine I am dosing the water with an IV doser. I have pre-mixed cCloram-X that is keeping the water Chloramine free. The auto-water change has been running for about 3 months that way and I have had nothing but trouble free joy. Hope you enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystle Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) that tank is absolutely gorgeous O.O Edited October 30, 2006 by Guppylove1985 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froggie Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Hope you enjoy! I do! It's a very moody tank with an awesome lone predatory fish. Have you considered trying to do a large school of cardinal tetras or something with him? It would look awesome, assuming of course he ignored them or snacked slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklehead Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Awesome, is that a DIY background? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 That is amazing. I am curious about the background as well......and the algae control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Man Posted October 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Awesome, is that a DIY background? Yes it is. That is amazing. I am curious about the background as well......and the algae control. I don't have hardly any algea at all because of the low nitrates. Glad you guys dig it. Hope you enjoy! I do! It's a very moody tank with an awesome lone predatory fish. Have you considered trying to do a large school of cardinal tetras or something with him? It would look awesome, assuming of course he ignored them or snacked slowly. I tried that and it was awesome to start but sadly he picked away at them. And there were ALOT. I'm going to go with Exodons next. I have one in there and he doesn't seem to even notice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Well done Pat! Glad to hear that the IV doser is working out as planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maniac Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I've got to ask; How did you make that background? That is sweet. :drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Man Posted October 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 (edited) I've got to ask; How did you make that background? That is sweet. :drool: Alot of people have been asking me how I did this so I will explain.. Lay the tank on it's side... Start applying the expanding foam...it's in can's called 'Great Stuff'... build up your corners first how you want them... let dry. It's best to make your foam lie down side to side... layering it. TIP: If you want to get the foam to really expand, mist it with water. Once that dried I then I drilled out holes for the filter tubes to fit in and be hidden... then i fit them in... Next I foamed directly on the glass as well for the middle 4ft. I layed down thin ribbons of foam indiscriminately... Have good control of how much is leaving the can... the ribbons should be slow and thin as you want to save as much tank space as possible width wise. Once that dried then I mixed up my resin and did a liberal coat over the whole thing... and then cover with a thick layer of sand.... came back the next day and wire brushed the sand off and had my texture... Now I did two good coats of resin and let it dry. NEXT.. Masked off the the exposed glass.. Paint... (spray bombs) Painted black first... Then put the tank upright and painted from a standing position with some earth tones I liked. When you paint from a standing position the bumps dont recieve color on the under side so you have great shadow and really adds depth. If you never used spray paint just mist it on about 2ft away. Anyway once you color is done then you do very light coats of Acrylic clear coat spray. Be VERY patient here as it will wash out your color if it goes on to liberally, or 'wet' looking... Just do light misty coats. Do as many as you want and it is ready to go. I filled it 3x and let sit 24 hrs each time. You probably don't need to. There are little things you can do I didn't mention... like what i used for tubing with the filter inserts but you can figure that out. This can be done in 3 hours total. Not counting cure times That's it. :smokey: Well done Pat! Glad to hear that the IV doser is working out as planned. Here is a link to how I did the Auto Water Change: http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.ph...mp;hl=auto-drip Edited October 30, 2006 by Piranha Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Really nice :thumbs: . It has a very natural look to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Nice Pat. Always great to see pictures of Titus- he's one of the more recognizable fish on here, and one of my all time favorites. If anyone gets a chance to see him in person, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Man Posted October 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Nice Pat. Always great to see pictures of Titus- he's one of the more recognizable fish on here, and one of my all time favorites.If anyone gets a chance to see him in person, go for it. Thanks Darcy I will post more pics more often. And yes, he likes when people come to visit. :smokey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windeindoiel Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 (edited) Wow gorgeous setup, very impressive. Edited October 31, 2006 by windeindoiel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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