vid from youtube using guick right for diy styro back ground is this fish safe to do?

skillzizzo

Plecostomus
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Feb 18, 2007
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Hey whats up fellow fish heads. I havent been over in the d.i.y sectoin for awhile so excuse me if this has allready been covered. But here is a link to some one making a d.i.y styro type back ground using some kind of quick right concrete to coat it with. And then nothing on top of that. Is that actually fish tank safe? This guys shows and says that it rases the p.h and he fills and drains in 8 times to make it normal. I am a little skeptical that concrete is fish tank safe. Maybe im mistaken but have allways thought u couldnt put concrete blocks in a fish tank. This would make a solid way to do it if it actually is inert or fish tank safe. Please chime in and give me your thoughts guys. I know there is a ton of you that know the answer. Thanks for your time. Allso seems like it would make it super heavy how much wait can say a standard 75's bottom hold. I have never put tons of big rocks in a tank. But i guess salt reefs have tons of life rock so that probually wouldnt be a issue. Any thoughts, thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5Ng6GeF9mA
 

skillzizzo

Plecostomus
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Feb 18, 2007
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So no one know the answer? or is it fish tank safe and u feel i should know that and havent bothered to responde lol. Some insight would be greatly appreciated thanks as allways guys
 

deeda

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Mar 26, 2008
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I have used a few different Quikrete products to make a DIY background with no problems whatever. I've used Quikwall Surface Bonding Cement and Quikrete Quick Setting cement to embed rocks onto a piece of egg crate (ceiling grid) to use for my tank backgrounds. They are extremely heavy and I make them in 3 or 4 separate pieces to make it easier to install in the aquarium.

I definitely water soak the pieces for a couple weeks and do frequent water changes to help lower the pH before installing the panels in the tank. I have never coated the cement with anything to reduce or eliminate any leaching from the cement.

I do use a cushion of foam sill sealer or glass block foam between the background panels and the bottom of the glass. I just cut strips of the foam slightly wider than the panel base to avoid scratching the glass or putting any pressure point from the concrete directly on the glass.
 

skillzizzo

Plecostomus
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Feb 18, 2007
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thank you for taking the time to reply in detail it is very much appreciated.
 

floridagar

Feeder Fish
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Jun 18, 2010
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Does this stuff every corrode away after time being in the tank?? I wanted to do something similar but when i asked the person through email he said that it will eventually corrode i dont know why anyone would do all that work and have it corrode away but either way that would be my only concern.
 

cmjdjm1

Feeder Fish
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Feb 13, 2011
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Don't worry about the weight of it, trust me. You'll need tons of silicone just to hold it under water. Its going to try to float like you wont believe. I made one about a year ago, and have had no problems at all. Filling it and draining it 8 times doesn't quite cut it though. You need to buy a high range Ph test kit, and test it every couple days until the PH lowers enough to be safe for your fish, which could take a month or more. Mine took about 3 weeks, using water softener salt to help speed up the process and cure the concrete faster. As for how it holds up, mine is about a year old, and Ive had no problems. I used the Acrylic Fortifier though, so I'm not sure if it matters. I have the tank full of cichlids and 3 bristlenose plecos that spend all day every day chewing off any algae that grows, so you'd think if anything was going to happen it already would have. Give it a shot, I think you'll be really happy with the end result. My only advice to you, is use WAY more silicone to hold it all together than you think is necessary. I found post after post when searching online about backgrounds that let go and floated to the top after a month or so. Good luck!
 

skillzizzo

Plecostomus
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Feb 18, 2007
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Thanks for the post was very informative. I am hard pressed to beleive that a concrete background will float thow
 

billm90

Jack Dempsey
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Mar 19, 2008
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Your backgroud will be more styro then concrete. I would very much like to watch you try and hold it down in the water.
 

deeda

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I just wanted to clarify that I do not use any styrofoam when building my backgrounds, just egg crate (lighting grid), cement and rocks so therefore I have no problems with floating backgrounds.

For those that do use styrofoam and cement, you will definitely have to attach the background with sufficient silicone to keep it secured. Styrofoam is incredibly buoyant and I don't think that the 'normal' DIY backgrounds people build would have sufficient cement to keep them submerged.
 

cmjdjm1

Feeder Fish
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Feb 13, 2011
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Windsor Ontario Canada
Nope, theres barely even 1/8" of concrete on the styrofoam. You kinda make the concrete very runny and paint a couple coats on, and get your hands (with gloves) and slap some more on to kinda give it texture. Trust me, it'll float even with alot of concrete on it. Just think of those pool chairs with a block of styrofoam on each side. If they can keep my 190lb fat butt from sinking, imagine what a thin layer of concrete would do....probably not a thing. I used tons of silicone, and its still holding up wonderfully. Good luck, and if you do try it out....take some pics and post often on here. I wish I had done that.
 
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