Installing a Universal Rocks 3D Background Questions

[Aqualoon]

Bought the Crevice background for my Trophus Tank, in the past I have used Designs By Nature Slimline and they were easy to cut, easy to install but I guess they are out of business as the site has been down for months.

Anyways, bought this background a few weeks ago and I need some help on this, maybe someone who has installed one before or just some general help.

Cutting it proved to be impossible for me - tried utility scissors, box cutter, utility knife, xacto knife ended up having it professional cut at a machine shop. I did measure the inside tank dimension but I should have gotten it at least a quarter inch shorter, perhaps even half an inch shorter. I didn't think this would cause issues but it has.

I read some reviews and had thought/hoped between substrate (sand) and the decor (rocks) it would hold it flat against the back wall, this is not the case.

So I need to drain the tank and do two things...

#1 Trim the background a tad and #2 find a way to make it stick to the back of the tank.

#1 - have a heat gun at work, wondering if using this to heat it up would make it easier to cut? Any thoughts on this?

#2 - I read that Universal Rocks use to use magnets to keep the background against the back tank wall but ditched this due to the price. I'm thinking of bringing back this idea - adhesive magnetic tape perhaps? My concern is if this is waterproof and what to use on the back of the tank to then actually hold it into place. What do you guys think about this route?

 

[deeda]

I don't have any personal experience installing this type of background but you can always check the company's website for FAQ's or view their installation video.

I do see they suggest using a hand saw or circular saw to cut the material which makes sense on a thicker unit compared to a utility knife.

If the rocks aren't holding the base in place, the most common method is to secure the background with silicone adhesive though that would require a few days curing time before refilling the tank.

I seem to recall someone siliconing magnets to the rear of the background and then having the corresponding magnet on the outside glass. The size and power of the magnet will depend on the tank material as well as the thickness.

I doubt if the adhesive magnetic tape would stay attached underwater.

I doubt heating the background would help with cutting it so I'd avoid that method and just use a saw of some type or if the area you need to remove is small enough, maybe a coarse rasp would work.

 

[Aqualoon]

I contacted Universal Rocks to discuss cutting and they gave me some helpful information. A big tip for you guys who are looking to buy a background from them - instead of ordering online CALL them and let them know your tank size, dimensions, etc. and they will cut it for you. If I would have done that it would have been much easier.

Also Deeda - thanks for the info about the tape, I think I'm going to try siliconeing thin magnets onto the background and doing it that way.

 

[nzafi]

I bought one for my 180g and then sold it after having similar problems. I managed to cut mine with a regular scissors but went through a couple scissors.

In small tanks I know people that have had success using the provided clips and that's it. In a large setup you really need to silicone it in place and even then some water will creep behind it. I didn't want to silicone which is why I sold it.

 

[Gourami Swami]

The silicon is important, otherwise so much gunk will build up behind your background. The silicon will mostly stop this, some water will probably get back there but whatever gets back there, will stay. And you wont have to worry about the background floating up over time.

 

[TexTanker]

I have the crevice UR background on my 210 gal . They cut it almost perfect but I forgot to consider the 1/2" thick brace at the top. When I gave them the internal measurements . So yeah it's very ruff cutting this rock like rubber, I used a 4 1/2" cut off saw & a sawzal to notch the top then used the supplied clips at the top & three large rocks at the bottom it looks perfect every now & then I'll just clean behind it when needed.

 

[krichardson]

I bought one for my 180g and then sold it after having similar problems. I managed to cut mine with a regular scissors but went through a couple scissors.

In small tanks I know people that have had success using the provided clips and that's it. In a large setup you really need to silicone it in place and even then some water will creep behind it. I didn't want to silicone which is why I sold it.

I think I bought mine from you if I'm not mistaken.I don't have the actual clips that Living Rocks provides but I have some plastic clips that seem to hold the backgroubd in place in good enough.Also,for those of you who have a problem cutting your background try using a Dremmel tool with a rotary disk.

 

[james99]

If I remember right, I used a jigsaw to cut mine. Also only used sand and the supplied clips to hold it since I installed it in an already running tank. Its been a few years and it still in place, also the water conditions haven't showed any signs of build up behind it.

 

[bbortko]

First one is my 240g, had tank built to fit the background so I didn't have to cut it but I siliconed it to the acrylic. It was folded in half for shipping so I stacked about 200#s of weights on it to keep it flat while the silicone cured. It's about 4 years old and holding up great. The second one is my 40b, it's a foam one so I assume it's not the type you have since it's very easy to cut but it's just in there with sand against the base.