DIY - Projects & Ideas • concrete background photos

[orcy]

are you worried that the return and intake are so close together? perhaps they wont circulate the tank properly?

[LongIslandCichlid]

Yes, but I will have a few air stones and this tank in going to have the mag drive 2400 pump so the circulate should be good enough this system will also have a automatic water changer that will do about 15 to 20% a week. This tank will have it’s own filter system the other two tanks will share the filter.

[Havoc321]

going to add better photos later but for now this is the return and intake spots

That is one of the best jobs at hiding I have seen!

Super job on the whole thing

[LongIslandCichlid]

Thanks, every know and then something works for me.
some photos from above

return rock


intake rock

[ringram]

What kind of concrete and pigment did you use for that? I love the look. I hav a regular bag of Quickrete precision grout, not sure if this is the same stuff or not. Excellent job on hiding the equipment too!

-Ryan

[LongIslandCichlid]

no pigmet at all, no need for it. with in a few weeks it will be covered with alage. I used a sand premix cement for the first 2 coats and a vinyl concrete patcher as a 3rd coat

[LongIslandCichlid]

my first update:
I found a great substrate for my DIY concrete background, tube of sand by quikrete. It is really crushed slate and rock but it has great color red, blue. greys and white. It MUST be rinsed well. Out of the bag it is very dusty


my last dime

Could not match it better if I tried

[HybridS130]

Very impressive!

[Auntbeast]

Can we just make the assumption that if I am posting it's because I want more pics?

I'd love to see a full shot with gravel and such.

What amazes me about these backgrounds is that it is virtually impossible to tell the size of the tanks from the photos. They look so "complete" if you will. That is a 150g tank and it doesn't look like it to me, I'm sure in person it does, that's a heck of a tank, and you have two??? *green with envy*

What are your plans for the other 150? I mean, besides making me a beautiful background and giving the whole thing to me? I'm not greedy, I'll take the tank you just finished.

Fantastic job. I love the details, proportions, hiding properties, and you are right with the gravel, you could not have matched it any better if you tried.

[PauloSilva]

brilliant job man. i love the look of it all. that crushed slate mix u have is gonna increase the Ph though.

[LongIslandCichlid]

Sorry Auntbeast not a chance I would part with them also not to make you any greener but I have three 150 gal tanks.

and a few 25gals

brilliant job man. i love the look of it all. that crushed slate mix u have is gonna increase the Ph though.

yes. and that is a problem this tank was going to be a planted south American tank and the Ph is too high. @7.9. so now i to move it over to the right and use the tank for Fronts and move the other tank to the middle. and use that one for the South Americans my thought now is if the tank is heavily planted i wont need a background for it i am going to just paint the back black.

[Havoc321]

I'm always glad to see people with bigger and more thanks than I! It makes me feel less nuts/obsessed

[Auntbeast]

*positively green*

You must not be married. I'm afraid to even SHOW my husband those pics.

My pH is testing 8.5 out of the tap. I'm letting some rest a while to see if it lowers with time. Otherwise, I may have a bog tank I'll need so much peat.

Those slant front tanks look pretty cool. I can't wait to see your tanks when fully set up. Keep those pics coming!

[dclaassen2004]

I like those 25 gallons, do you have any more info on them? Who makes them, where did you get them, how do you stack them, etc.

[Scatocephalus]

I like those 25 gallons, do you have any more info on them? Who makes them, where did you get them, how do you stack them, etc.

They are from a complete rack system built by a company called Casco. He probably got them at auction or from a Petsmart that was going out of business.