Very impressive! How much would you say the cost was for the DIY option for your background? I have been looking to try something similar on my 210g and the pre-made ones are just so expensive.
Custom Rock Wall for 180 Gallon...
- Thread starter CrystaliZed
- Start date
I'd say we have around $150-$200 in materials & parts... depends how custom you wanna do it & what kind of paint 'n' all you wanna use, decor, etc... It was worth it cause we have a one-of-a-kind wall, not something that a thousand other people have in their tank.
CrystaliZed;5117421; said:
Thank you for the reply about the price. That is probably at least half the price of what I've been looking at. And you do have a very one-of-a-kind wall with those cool caves built in!
Ur welcome DMD...
We were looking at the already made, rubber molded ones at stores & I know a lot of people build their own using pieces of these & what not but we wanted something totally from scratch...
Basically the list was:
1 sheet of Polystyrene
2 4" black PVC 45 degree angle tubes
Apx. 2 tubes of silicone
Several small saws & shaving tools for the polystyrene
"Restore" deck paint (we used 2 shades of gray)
1 small bag of fine black sand to help shade the wall
1 can of Great Stuff foam
Resin in areas to help seal the "Great Stuff" & other areas around "tunnel" areas
4-6 small to large bags of plants
5 aerators
20' of aerator tubing
Mostly it was time consuming... initially the "rock" carving from the polystyrene takes several hours to get an actual "nature" look and the stuff takes FOREVER to paint b/c the Great Stuff foam sometimes leaves lil' holes & of course the paint contracts after it dries so it took about 5-7 coats of the "Restore" to fully get all the Great Stuff & polystyrene covered. We left a day in between coats of paint & silicone so stuff fully set, so that took up time as well. After all was said & done, we hosed it down a couple of times to get all the loose sand off.
Hopefully all goes well w/ it and the fish... my catfish is gonna be my guppy, I believe as I don't wanna lose my 3 footlong Bala's... we hope to have them in the tank sometime by this weekend & beginning of next wk... just gonna depend on the cycling process, but I thought of pulling about 50% of the water outa the 55 gallon and into the 180 & going from there as I still plan on using my 55 gallon for my 7" Cichlid...
We were looking at the already made, rubber molded ones at stores & I know a lot of people build their own using pieces of these & what not but we wanted something totally from scratch...
Basically the list was:
1 sheet of Polystyrene
2 4" black PVC 45 degree angle tubes
Apx. 2 tubes of silicone
Several small saws & shaving tools for the polystyrene
"Restore" deck paint (we used 2 shades of gray)
1 small bag of fine black sand to help shade the wall
1 can of Great Stuff foam
Resin in areas to help seal the "Great Stuff" & other areas around "tunnel" areas
4-6 small to large bags of plants
5 aerators
20' of aerator tubing
Mostly it was time consuming... initially the "rock" carving from the polystyrene takes several hours to get an actual "nature" look and the stuff takes FOREVER to paint b/c the Great Stuff foam sometimes leaves lil' holes & of course the paint contracts after it dries so it took about 5-7 coats of the "Restore" to fully get all the Great Stuff & polystyrene covered. We left a day in between coats of paint & silicone so stuff fully set, so that took up time as well. After all was said & done, we hosed it down a couple of times to get all the loose sand off.
Hopefully all goes well w/ it and the fish... my catfish is gonna be my guppy, I believe as I don't wanna lose my 3 footlong Bala's... we hope to have them in the tank sometime by this weekend & beginning of next wk... just gonna depend on the cycling process, but I thought of pulling about 50% of the water outa the 55 gallon and into the 180 & going from there as I still plan on using my 55 gallon for my 7" Cichlid...
It will be interesting to see how all those materials affect your water once they are wet.
What silicone did you use?
What type of Great Stuff did you use?
What silicone did you use?
What type of Great Stuff did you use?
It was the clear silicone, not sure brand... but the usual stuff they use for aquarium building... the Great Stuff expandable foam was the brand in the red can.
Here's a current photo of it all together w/o water or fish...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_8011.jpg
Added...
Pure black rock at the bottom
Aligator head
Clear & silver diamond rock accents
We never really decided what to do for on the actual filter housings in the tank so we left it alone for now...
We're also looking at blue EL wire for additional lighting...
Here's a current photo of it all together w/o water or fish...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_8011.jpg
Added...
Pure black rock at the bottom
Aligator head
Clear & silver diamond rock accents
We never really decided what to do for on the actual filter housings in the tank so we left it alone for now...
We're also looking at blue EL wire for additional lighting...
