Cichlid Fish Forum banner

DIY Styrofoam/Drylok Aquarium Shale Wall Background

76K views 142 replies 11 participants last post by  Deeda 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone.

I've been working on a background for about a year and a half, and should be ready to install it in my tank soon. This background will be for a 75 gallon US Native stream/river tank, and I wanted to try and build a biotope that you might find in one of our local rivers, all of which have shale formations along the river bank. I also wanted to create something that I haven't seen before, so my intent was to have the faux slate stratification at a downward angle. Since much of my research came from this forum, and many of your paved the way for guys like me, I figured that it was time to give something back and show you not only what you've taught me, but what I figured out on my own as well, and we can finish this project together.

The background was carved out of styrofoam boards, then each glued at a 45 degree angle or so when they were done carving. I measured as I built it up. the gap behind the foam board and base were filled with spray foam and river rocks (to reduce buoyancy). I used Gorilla Glue to bond the styrofoam boards together and also used plastic popsicle sticks to help stabilize and bond them. On the left side, there is a PVC pipe that goes down into the background with an intake that I made for the intake tube of my canister filter. There is a removable section of carved foam covering it that allows me access to clean and clear the intake of debris. The part that sticks out of the left side hides the intake.

The pics and video below show what the background looks like today. In the subsequent posts, I'll show how I constructed it. Hope you all enjoy it and thank you for all of the posts of your backgrounds that helped me!

View from the left side:


View from the right side:


Video:


The paint is the second coat of Drylok, tinted to resemble the base rock color of our river cliffs. The first coat was just Drylok gray. I will be stippling lighter shades of this color a few times to make the rock less monotone and more realistic, and then finish with light color highlights. Construction steps to follow in the next posts. It may take me a few days to get this thread going to the point we are today. But, I'll start with my first steps.
 
See less See more
1 2
#28 ·
Glad you found some of my posts helpful. The silicone fumes are fun aren't they? ;) lol. I did my first one just holding my breath, then after that first one I went out and bought a full face respirator. You wouldn't think silicone fumes could be that bad but get it in an enclosed area like working in a tank and it'll burn your nose right off :D
 
#29 ·
Steve C said:
Glad you found some of my posts helpful. The silicone fumes are fun aren't they? ;) lol. I did my first one just holding my breath, then after that first one I went out and bought a full face respirator. You wouldn't think silicone fumes could be that bad but get it in an enclosed area like working in a tank and it'll burn your nose right off :D
You got that right, that's exactly what I did. I had to come up for air several times. If I did this more often, I'd invest in a full face respirator too. Even today, close to the tank, it still reeks, but gets less every day. Two more weeks and I'll fill the tank and test everything out! I need to test to see if everything holds up, test the removable section, test my circulation pump, and test my canister filter/DIY spray bar, and most of all, test to see if the tank still holds water after all that! If everything goes well, I'll collect my rocks and gravel, then fill the tank and cycle it. Then the real fun begins, fish collecting and stocking.
 
#31 ·
Thank you Kipnlilo! Not yet. I had planned to test everything this weekend, but wanted to have my river rocks and gravel in place first. I was hoping to get out and collect some sand and gravel this past weekend, but it rained a ton and our rivers and creeks are flooded. I managed to use a razor blade to scrape off as much excess silicone as I could, so at least I made a little progress. Once the river and creeks are back to normal, and if everything isn't iced up, I'll get out and get some gravel and river rocks. I want to use gravel and rocks from the same ranges that I collect the fish as much as I can.

I also purchased additional materials to build my DIY sycamore roots yesterday, and will get started on that soon. I don't need to have the tank empty to complete them, as I plan to make them removable. The main purpose is to have something realistic looking hide my powerhead, and DIY roots can be made in a the exact shape that I need. Also, the DIY roots don't float, so no soaking. Hopefully, they'll turn out nice and I'll use them. If not, I'll scrap them and search for a good piece of real driftwood that will work.
 
#33 ·
I finally got my butt in gear and started back on the roots. I don't know if you all remember, but I scrapped my last attempt because, I just didn't like the way it was turning out. So this time, I decided to start by building the frame first, and not try to work details in as I went, and I'm much happier with the progress. Basically, I worked with just CPVC pipe, CPVC fittings, a heat gun, and a few zip ties to build the frame. I'm almost done with the frame, then I'll apply the CPVC glue and lock it up. I'm making these roots removable to make maintenance on the tank easier. Here is what it looks like so far:

Full tank shot:


Close up:


Here is what it looked like before (ugh):


Next steps:
* Glue the CPVC structure together
* Glue some rope and other detail materials in place with a hot glue gun
* Wrap as much pipe as I can with plaster gauze to give stuff something other than a slippery surface to cling to
* Apply some spray foam to some areas for bulk and to get rid of straight lines to make it more realistic.
* Carve the foam to finish the base skeleton of the roots
* Apply grout for the next most outer layer of the roots to provide the final amount of bulk and sculpting for realism.
* Paint and seal with Drylok mixed with cement die to provide the final details and realism but also to seal in the grout to prevent pH issues.
 
#35 ·
Kipnlilo said:
Looking good, what are you using for the fine roots coming out of the pipe? It looks like speaker wire?
Thank you Kipnlilo. Well, the last picture is what I scrapped, but I may do something like that when I work on the detail later, prior to foaming and applying grout, just not to that extent. It's metal coiled wire from the hardware store pushed into aquarium air line tubing. I don't mind using metal in this tank, although it wouldn't matter because it will all be covered in grout and Drylok anyway.
 
#37 ·
Thank you! What I like about using it is that yo can easily shape it any way that you wish. I think that I might have to find a way to rough up the airline tubing so that foam and/or grout sticks to it. My guess is that sandpaper would do the job.
 
#38 ·
Hey everyone. I made more progress yesterday. First, I glued all of the PVC joints. I tweaked a little bit by bending some more of the existing pipe, then bent and added another pipe. After that, I zip tied it and a couple different thicknesses of rope to help break up the straight edges and give the main roots more bulk. Next, I'll use a hot glue gun to affix the rope a little more in strategic places, maybe add some more, to create more knots and ridges and stuff, and add more detail. I may add some smaller "twigs" as well in strategic places. Once I'm done with that detail, it will be time to foam, to get rid of straight edges and evidence of pipe fittings, and to consolidate the pipe and rope into the overall shape of each root. I'll have to do some carving and sanding after that to finalize the shape. Once that's done, I'll coat it with grout to give the entire structure rigidity, weight, form, and bulk, and hopefully the overall smooth texture characteristic of sycamore roots. The final step will be to paint the structure with Drylok mixed with cement dye to seal everything in and give it a final touch of realism.

The issue that I'm struggling with now, although I'm not near that step, is what color to paint the roots. Should I paint them to look like the roots would look like if not yet submerged? Or, should I paint them to look like they've been underwater a long time. What do you think? I'm leaning toward the latter. Eventually, stuff like algae will build up on them, but I don't think it would look like they do in the wild for years, and I want that realism right away.

Pics of my progress:

I also glued my DIY spray bar for my canister filter together. This will channel water over the top of the roots, while a large powerhead, hidden within the roots, will push water through the roots and the tank and provide most of the flow. I figured that this current arrangement would best mimic current through a natural undercut root against a cliff. I had to trim the root structure and inch or so to get it to fit correctly. Here is what it will look like from above the tank:


The root structure as it looks like today:


Full tank shot:
 
#41 ·
Thank you Kipnlilo and skwerl! I should make a lot of progress this weekend. I can't wait to get to work on it. My goal is to make it look realistic, not just a bunch of pipe in the shape of a spider crab, LOL. Yes, it did resemble a spider crab! I have a lot of work to do to get there, but, I see a path foward, finally. There are still a couple things that I don't like about it, and I may make a few modifications.
 
#42 ·
Looking good so far. What are you planning on coating the roots with? I read you said foam, but guessing something like great stuff or something like that?

As to color, I'd agree with the later of the two you are thinking (roots that have been submerged for a while). If you make them a lighter color like roots that have not been submerged I think the contrast may be a bit too mach against your shale color BG. So something that looks like it has been in the water longer will probably look best.
 
#43 ·
Thank you Steve! I think you are correct and will give the roots an underwater look. I have underwater photo examples to follow for that.

AS far as covering, I'm going to fill in some gaps and angles to get rid of unnatural lines with black pond foam (similar to Great Stuff). After that, the next layer(s) will be grout, and then painted with layers of Drylok/cement dyes. I'm going to use more grout than foam to reduce buoyancy as much as I can, but will need both to do the job.
 
#44 ·
Cool look forward to seeing the progress. I use a lot of drylok and have used great stuff, but haven't tried grout. You'll have to be sure to post up your how your experience with it goes.
 
#45 ·
Hi everyone. I added more structural detail including a tree root knot and an area where bark wore away, and some twig like roots. I also added one more small root to break up the large open space a bit. I was going to apply some hot glue on some key spots so it holds tightly during the foaming step, but, I'm out of hot glue sticks, so I'll have to pick some up tonight. After I hot glue everything in place, then it's foaming time. Here are some pics of the progress:

Some detail added to the long root:


The knot:


The worn spot:


The overall structure:


Fitted in the tank and a close up in the tank:

 
#48 ·
I was able to work on my background and roots again this past weekend. First, I used a hot glue gun to secure all of the root structural pieces and fill in some of the smaller gaps. I may do more of this in the future.

After that, I used Beckett's Pond Foam to fill in the gap in the background between the center and left piece. It turned out well, so I'm pleased.


Then, I used the spray foam on the roots to fill in gaps and add some bulk to the root structure. It was a messy process, and it expanded a lot more than what I think the directions stated, so I'll have plenty of carving and sanding to do to transform the structure from a bunch of pipe with blobs to a more realistic root structure. Overall, I'm pleased with the result. I've never carved this stuff before, so I'll have to experiment on what tools to use. Below are some pics of the roots after foaming.

The foamed root structure:


The knot:


The eroded root:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top