I want to create this AMAZING DIY Background for my 75 Gallon? Some advice please!

catherinecarney · May 5, 2012

Know what you mean about waiting for paychecks! I have all these grand plans for my tanks, house, barn, farm, etc, but the reality of coming up with the money just keeps getting in the way, darn it!

Sorry you were feeling discouraged-been there on these things, it's easy to look at so many different ideas and techniques and get bogged down....Go for the 2.5 gal background and see what happens! It's certainly big enough for a few MTS (careful, they multiply like crazy) or some shrimp. It would also make a great betta tank with a background and the plantings you describe. Go play, have fun, and get ready to do the 75 the way YOU want it!

It seems like I saw a small betta tank with a background recently. I'll have to dig and find it again. Will also try to find pix of the epoxy/sand method for you, and of course get pix of my own stuff....I'll also try to get pix of my streambank--the water is running high right now (thunderstorms with heavy rain last night), but if it drops over the weekend I'll see what I can do.

BTW, if you have any styro packing material lying around (the stuff that's inside electronics boxes) it's perfectly acceptable to use it for the small/experimental stuff you're talking about ("cheap is good, free is better"). It tends to shed during cutting (all those little white balls), but it will hold up once painted/concreted/sealed.

dani_starr · May 5, 2012

Haha ya it certainly sucks. So a barn and farm, do you have farm animals then? That's awesome though

But yes, stupid money!

It certainly is, and my boyfriend was just NOT understanding on why it was so gosh darn important to me (he isn't a fish person) so it was quite frustrating! It's certainly nice to go on here, where people understand that stuff

(Makes me wonder what did fishy people do before fish forums were so popular..)

I'm excited to start messing around with different backgrounds for my 2.5 gallon. If I do anything with the styro indoors, the little rounds balls won't bother me much, I already seem to have hay EVERYWHERE in my apartment because my guineas manage to kick outside their cage, and then it gets trafficked everywhere. Bright side, hay doesn't smell bad

You think a 2.5 gallon would be sufficient for a betta? I was figuring it would be too small. As for snail explosion, it would be okay with me, as I have 25+ breeding assassin snails in my 29 gallon who would be more than happy to help with lowering a snail population :naughty: (I started out with 5 Assassins)

I'm considering getting some cherry shrimps, or those neat looking blue ones (I have a thing for blue animals). Or what about Dwarf African Frogs? If I do heavily planted, do you think 2 would be happy in a 2.5 gallon, or would it be too small? (I don't mind having to use a turkey bastor to feed them frozen worms and stuff, and I'd obviously use a sponge filter so the current wouldn't be strong

I'd appreciate the pics, but if you can't find them, no big deal. I'll be sure to look into myself as well

Thanks for the tip on styro packing material, I'll have to look and see, I think there might be. We used to have a stock pile of it, but I trashed it all because I HATE the squeaky sound it makes. Though there might be some with the computer or food processor box, time to go see. Free is WAY better

catherinecarney · May 6, 2012

Do I have animals? Oh, yes. We (my daughter and I) run a small flock of Shetland sheep, a small herd of Nubian goats, chickens (show and production birds), Australian Spotted Ducks (show birds, my daughter is working on getting them into the APA standard), Shetland geese, a pair of peafowl, fancy pigeons (Birmingham Rollers and Old German Owls), two dogs, numerous cats, cage birds (parakeets and cockatiels), herps (White's tree frogs and brown anoles), and, of course, the fish (bettas, killifish, livebearers, ancisrus mostly). The feed bills for the critters are higher than the grocery bills for the humans most months!

I know what it's like to be around a non-fishy (or in my case, non-pet) person. My ex also didn't understand. I have been fortunate to have several active specialty clubs (aquarium and poultry) in the area in which I made friends who have become a second family. It also helps that my daughter is an animal nut, and has been a member of these clubs since she could walk. Forums like this are great for people in areas without such resources--the kinds of discussions I see on the forums are the kinds of things we talk about at club meeting (but the response time on the forums is a lot longer, lol). Fish people are probably the only people in the world who think that a presentation on how to grow redworms (or any other live food) is an appropriate mealtime topic!

2.5 gallons is good for a single betta--they can be bullies, so I wouldn't put other fish in with it in a space that small. They will also harass/eat shrimp, so probably best to use snails with a betta instead (and create a food source for your assassins). Shrimp would also work for the 2.5--I did a search last night for betta office tanks (still trying to find that gosh darn post I seem to remember), and came across several small (2.5 gal) planted tanks featuring shrimp. I don't have experience with Dwf African Frogs, so don't know how they would do for you. You might want to check out caudata.org (geared to amphibian keepers) and dendroboard

catherinecarney · May 6, 2012

You know what would be gorgeous in the 2.5? Sparkling gouramis (Trichopsis pumilis). They stay small (just over an inch), and do best in planted tanks with minimal water flow. They are also hardy and undemanding once they settle in (they're usually in rough shape at pet stores--the bare/minimal cover in store tanks really stresses them). Don't know how they would do with shrimp, but might be worth considering.

Another resource for frog info might be fauna classifieds. It has an amphibian section to its forums, though its not as extensive as dendroboard and caudata.

There may be aquarium clubs nearby, depending on your location in Colorado.

catherinecarney · May 9, 2012

foam background photos

OK, here are the first photos of the existing and new backgrounds. Sorry they're blurry--I will try to get better pix soon....

The original foam and drylock tank:

The new foam and drylock, dry:

The background is foam painted with drylock (used brown and black concrete tint), with cork and driftwood siliconed to the glass and visible silicone covered over with sphagnum moss.

Close ups:

And after the first fill (notice that the tannins in the driftwood on the bottom and in the moss have stained the water--I have 2 water changes planned in the next 48 hours to remove them):

The plants on the back wall are pinned into the foam using florist pins--by the time the pins rust away the plants will be firmly anchored by their own roots.