cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) Well after much muttering and cement everywhere, I have finally finished my background. I used 2 sheets of 2 inch styro, with some odd pieces added on with silicone. I used 3 10lb buckets of Quickcrete fast setting cement and a bag of concrete(I would not recommend the concrete), and three liquid Quickcrete concrete colors(Charcoal,Brown and Buff). I also used 3 sizes of cheap paint brushes, a pail and some plastic paint holders. I did use some great stuff(expanding foam) and I would also not recommend as you will see in the pics it did not want to cover with cement even after sanding it. I'am actually pretty proud of how it turned out and can't wait to see it in the tank with all the Malawis. Oh and one big thing be very careful if you use a torch, I found out the hard way(see the caves) that silicone is very flammable and the whole thing almost went up twice. Any questions, please pm or ask away on the thread. P.S Sorry about the pictures being all over the place, I'm not 100% sure on how to put them in order!! Edited June 27, 2009 by cichlidmomwanabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) That turned out fantastic! How long did it take you to clean up all the cut off Styrofoam. I have made a few of these and the little flakes of styrofoam covered every thing in my kitchen. P.S. The pictures will display in the order you add them to your post. Edited June 27, 2009 by randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharuq1 Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Looks great! How long will you soak for (for ph) before adding fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 That turned out fantastic! How long did it take you to clean up all the cut off Styrofoam. I have made a few of these and the little flakes of styrofoam covered every thing in my kitchen. P.S. The pictures will display in the order you add them to your post. Randy, It wasn't that bad(the styrofoam)I vaccumed the pieces up that were left over. The next one is the 72 gallon discus tank. I put the pictures in order but they didnt come out that way? Hmmm guess I will have to work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Looks great! How long will you soak for (for ph) before adding fish? I'am going to make a custom spraybar and do salt twice for 3 days each. Then on to fresh. The reason for the spray bar which will be almost like a shower is that I can't afford the time or water waste that it would take to completely fill and drain the tank 10 times. I will probly put a little less than half and pump water over the top and cross my fingers that it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Looks good Heather. I think your still gonna have to change the water out at least a few times to get it so it stays stable and not too high before you put fish in. It's alot of water to use, but the cost of losing fish because you didn't do it enough far outweighs that. At least IMO. Can't wait to see it all set up with fish! Boom :boom: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharuq1 Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I don't think the salt will be effective, it's already alkaline so can't take up as much alkalinity as the fresh water (in theory-unless you're doing salt for some other reason?). You might be better off filling the tank with RO water or even adding vinegar initially (RO is hungry water and a bit acidic, so should take up more of the alkalinity the cement will be giving off). Heat the water too, it will allow more to be taken up in the water, then you can remove it with WCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I don't think the salt will be effective, it's already alkaline so can't take up as much alkalinity as the fresh water (in theory-unless you're doing salt for some other reason?). You might be better off filling the tank with RO water or even adding vinegar initially (RO is hungry water and a bit acidic, so should take up more of the alkalinity the cement will be giving off). Heat the water too, it will allow more to be taken up in the water, then you can remove it with WCs. Sorry I should have been more specific...I am using water softner salt for the first 2 changes. 225 gallons of RO would cost me alot of money x 10. I havent gotten my RO unit yet and it only does 50 gallons a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Looks good Heather. I think your still gonna have to change the water out at least a few times to get it so it stays stable and not too high before you put fish in. It's alot of water to use, but the cost of losing fish because you didn't do it enough far outweighs that. At least IMO. Can't wait to see it all set up with fish! Boom :boom: I will make sure the PH is stable for a week or so before I add the fish...I dont want to kill them over some extra water. I cant wait either I'am tired of seeing it sitting empty!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I feel the same way about my 80 gallon but man oh man that background sure looks great. I'm tempted to do one but Mr Froggie purse says I don't think so, I'm too skinny as it is. So for now i'll gaze at these pics of beauty in admiration with a touch of envy until such a time as i can buy my own supplies to build one myself. Thanks soo much for sharing It's inspirational L p.s. Love the caves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidmomwanabe Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I feel the same way about my 80 gallon but man oh man that background sure looks great. I'm tempted to do one but Mr Froggie purse says I don't think so, I'm too skinny as it is. So for now i'll gaze at these pics of beauty in admiration with a touch of envy until such a time as i can buy my own supplies to build one myself.Thanks soo much for sharing It's inspirational L p.s. Love the caves I only spent about 100.00 on supplies, which is cheaper then purchasing one(which I can't find one tall enough as the tank is 30" tall). I still have a partial pail of cement, and tons of liquid cement color left. I mainly used a screwdriver to shape the rocks, and a hand held torch. When I do my 72 gallon, I will keep track of the expenses and let you know how much I spend. It really is fun to be able to make what you want it too look like. Thanks for the wonderful compliment, and I will be sure to post pics once its in the tank. Yeah, the caves didnt turn out so bad :smokey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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