[como1103]

*** been thinking about making a DIY rock background but it just seems like a long and expensive process. I wanted some kind of cheap and good looking background, so i came up with this...

I saw this fake plant thing in the craft section at Walmart, next to all the fake flowers...

I got 2 of them ($3 a piece), I took it part, and made sure it was all plastic. The middle "stem" was wire, so i threw it out. What i got were about 40 little bundles that had around 5 blades of grass in them.

I have some stuff from my work called choroplast (used for making signs). It is like cardboard, but plastic. I cut 2 strips 36" long and 1/2 inch tall, and hot glued all of the bundles in between them, about half an inch apart.

I rinsed everything off, and buried it against the back wall in my tank.

I also found some other fake plant for $3 and made 2 of these bushy looking plants, one of which covers my powerhead for my UGJ:

I absolutely love this...and love the fact that it cost less than $10 and only took a few hours.

here are a few more pics...

 

[Mitch101]

I like it, good thinking :thumb:

 

[css virginia]

..Hmm...not bad-looks ok..less work and the fish will seek refuge behind the plants. 8)

 

[Mcdaphnia]

Is that the same as Coroplast?

 

[como1103]

Is that the same as Coroplast?

yea i wasn't sure how to spell it...after googling it, it is Coroplast

 

[JWerner2]

Nice! I was cheap and used some of those fake plants from Wal-Mart already. I got some huge ferns for my bigger tanks and guests and fish both loved it. One thing is that the material it is made out of is like a lint brush. It attracts all kinds of **** including a lot of algae. I think however those grass ones are different material.

 

[remarkosmoc]

Looks nice, good work :thumb:

 

[beaker99]

Excellent job, and resouseful use of materials. I did a similar thing with my tank reset. I took some fake plants and hot glued them to my DIY backdrop along with shells and stones.

 

[fishyfishyfishy]

Looks good. I did a similar idea on my 450. I didn't want a background but angled rock and tall plants as high as the rear instead.

 

[rickyricardo]

Great idea, and you have me thinking about it. One question though, is hot glue in the tank safe?

By the way my name is Rick, from NE and I am new here. Hello to everyone!

 

[Mcdaphnia]

Great idea, and you have me thinking about it. One question though, is hot glue in the tank safe?

By the way my name is Rick, from NE and I am new here. Hello to everyone!

Welcome! :fish: My wife has a 12' craftbench with a coil cord for her glue guns hanging from the ceiling, and a storage bin of many different types of hot melt glue. Certain kinds stick to certain kinds of materials better. Some have lower melting temperatures for use with less heat tolerant knicknacks. She's a hotmelt craft guru. Used to be that some kinds were not suitable, but if you buy new stuff (not Chinese) , it is safe now. Unfortunately they all look alike to me, so I just tell her what I need and she hands it to me.

 

[BigJagLover]

I love that look. It's very natural looking. I think it would look great in my all male peacock and hap tank. Graet looking tank.

 

[como1103]

thanks for all the compliments. Its been about 2 weeks so far and i love it still. they dig along the back wall alot, but i just cover it up, and now i put a big shell in the way and they have stopped. The fish love it, they weave in and out of the grass alot. and sleep up at the top there they are kinda hidden.

 

[R-DUB]

inexpensive and effective great ingenuity looks really good maybe just a little denser though :thumb: :thumb:

 

[mrs.som]

Just browsing now and found your idea...thanks so much! I've been getting a bit weary of my built-in mirror-back tank and I think I'll use your idea to cover most of it up! I'll add pictures to this thread when I get it done

 

[mrs.som]

Just browsing now and found your idea...thanks so much! I've been getting a bit weary of my built-in mirror-back tank and I think I'll use your idea to cover most of it up! I'll add pictures to this thread when I get it done