DIY Saltwater Background Help

[gfishguy56]

Ok, I’ve decided that since I successfully built myself a sump/refugium for my aquarium, my new plans are to build a back wall for my aquarium consisting of sand, crushed coral, small chunks of crushed base rock, some small pvc elbows and such as caves and hiding places for my smaller fish. Here is where I need some help.
1.Should I use a sheet of plexiglass or acrylic and how do I secure it to the aquarium? Also, how thick?
2. What can I use to glue the sand, rubble, and pvc to the plexiglass/acrylic?
I’ve checked out many sites and examples of DIY backgrounds but they all seem to be for freshwater aquariums. Does anyone know of any saltwater DIY background sites out there for reference?
I'd also like to stay away from foam based, multi -layered resin backgrounds because my working space is limited to a small 2nd floor balcony and, well, I'm somewhat lazy when it comes to huge projects A simple sand and rocks background will do me just fine. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanx...

 

[bound_for_obx]

How about using glass and aquarium safe silicone? Just an idea. I'll try and give it some more thought...

 

[flipz]

When I first read that I thought you asked if you should use glass or acrylic. I was suggesting acrylic but re-read it and noticed you said plexi glass. Only reason I still suggest acrylic is because it's obviously aquarium safe, I don't know anything about plexi. For glueing things to it, silicone would work perfect. I don't know about sand though. That would be a lot of silicone, and take forever. Hopefully someone can help more with that. But for sure the pvc and any rocks or rubble it world work. For thickness, just go thin. I mean it doesn't really make a difference so I figure the thinner the cheaper. Securing it to the aquarium... if you want it to be permanent you could silicone it. If not the only thing I can think of is using slips to hold it on, similar to what a tank divider would use. Have you seen those? It's just a metal bracket that would hold it to the back of the tank.

Hope I've helped some.

-brent

 

[bound_for_obx]

I don't think that silicone will stick to acrylic. you could smear the silicone into a thin layer and then sprinkle the sand onto that.

 

[gfishguy56]

I have seen and used those tank divider brackets, but i'm hesitant to use them on this because debris, waste, and oher tank gunk, and maybe a nosy fish or 2 could wiggle its way back in there and trap itself and die,in turn, wreaking havoc on my water quality, so i'd probably have to silicone it. In my excitement i didn't take into account the difficulty of glueing sand to the wall. Anybody have any ideas on that? Is there anything i could use that would be easy enough to spread with a paint roller with?

 

[BillyZ]

I can't think of anything that would spread "with a roller" and still be safe to put in your tank. Most folks use some sort of cement mix to sculpt the backgrounds. These need many days to cure in fresh RO water before they can go into your tank (major Ph spikes etc) but i'm not sure of a pure and simple solution. You could take sand and LR rubble, use some silicon and roll the silicon onto the plexi, then dump the sand and rubble onto it. Shake it and move it around, fill in any obvious bald spots.... seems like minimal effort but also seems hard to predict what the results would be...

One background I saw that I really liked used everything you've stated you didn't want to use but was extremely simple to create. The guy set up the base of the background, you could use plexi/acrylic. Then a couple cans of "Great Stuff" (self expanding insulation in a can) shot the Great Stuff all over the background and let it set up for a couple days. He then mixed some cement very thin and applied a few coats on top of the great stuff. Let that set up for a few days and thats all there was to it. You could easily mix sand crushed coral and bits of LR rubble into the cement when applying...

just thoughts...

 

[flipz]

I don't think that silicone will stick to acrylic.

why wouldn't it? what do you think seals the 5 sides of an acrylic tank together?

-brent

 

[bound_for_obx]

I don't think that silicone will stick to acrylic.

why wouldn't it? what do you think seals the 5 sides of an acrylic tank together?

-brent

Weld-On 3 and/or 16?
...I'm trying to find where I read this.

 

[flipz]

Hrmm, I remember reading that too. Maybe I'm wrong. I mean I know for sure acrylic cement will do it, but I thought silicone would too. :|

Well in either case, garf.org uses thin acrylic cement on their acrylic tank builds. so i change my answer to that.

-brent

 

[bound_for_obx]

I'm still searching for the link but I found another one:
http://www.villagebistro.info/article2003010301-1.php

If you scroll down the page you will find "Success" in bold letters. Look for Silicone about five lines above the bold "Success"

 

[bound_for_obx]

Check http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/tank/design.html
Look at the end of the first paragraph.

 

[bound_for_obx]

I'm sorry if this is digressing from the original thread

 

[gfishguy56]

BillyZ, that does sound like a great idea, would you know what site you saw that on?

 

[flipz]

It's on AA somewhere, I saw it too yesterday. heh

-brent

edit: here it is. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=24851

 

[gfishguy56]

I've seen that one and it is AWESOME, but is it good for Saltwater Aquariums?

 

[BillyZ]

in response to the silicone, there is a very important sentance after he states he used silicone:

The window is held in place using 100% silicone. I used a total of 14 tubes! Although silicone does not bond to acrylic very well, my tank is designed so that the silicone does not have to add any strength or support to the tank. It only acts as a gasket.

 

[bound_for_obx]

I've been thinking about the Acrylic / Plexiglass thing. I wonder if you crazed the sheet with acetone or used 40 grit sandpaper and scored the heck of it if it would develop enough tooth to let the silicone make a stronger bond. Another option might be to drill a number of holes in the plexi and stretch a screen over it. Use some plastic zip ties through the holes to secure the screen to your sheet. I do not like the idea of drilling a whole bunch of holes because I think it would probably lead to cracking.

Just a couple of ideas...Not sure if they would work well enough though.

 

[BillyZ]

gfishguy: I can't honestly say. The biggest concern with using cement based compounds for backgrounds is a serious shock to your Ph. If you look around on the GARF site (i think) there is a lengthy article in there about creating your own base rock with cement. They make it pretty clear that you HAVE to age the base rocks you make in fresh RO water for quite a long time to keep the rock from wreaking havoc in your tank. I would read all that you can on creating your own base rock. Then take what you learn from that reading, and apply it to forming a background for your SW tank.

(and of course share with us )

 

[gfishguy56]

thanx BillyZ for your help