This was my first DIY background/project so it took me a while and involved some artistic learning curves but i think it came out ok.
After tracking down some DOW extruded polystyrene(quite difficult in So Cal), i started the carving. Since the tank is only 110g and i wanted to keep as much water volume as a could, i used 2inch thick styrofoam
Next i used some expanding foam to add more ledges to the background because its hard to get a nice effect with only 2inch thickness. It also helped me create caves for the fish to go into, as well as soil containers for plants i plan to stick into the wall.
nearly final carved background
Then it was time for waterproofing with drylock and coloring with cement colors. It took some experimenting as to see which base color was best but i think dark brown looked good. Dont use black because you lose all the details you spent time on carving.
I then tried darkening the crevices and lightening raised areas to give a greater perception of depth.
And now the final showpiece
After tracking down some DOW extruded polystyrene(quite difficult in So Cal), i started the carving. Since the tank is only 110g and i wanted to keep as much water volume as a could, i used 2inch thick styrofoam
Next i used some expanding foam to add more ledges to the background because its hard to get a nice effect with only 2inch thickness. It also helped me create caves for the fish to go into, as well as soil containers for plants i plan to stick into the wall.
nearly final carved background
Then it was time for waterproofing with drylock and coloring with cement colors. It took some experimenting as to see which base color was best but i think dark brown looked good. Dont use black because you lose all the details you spent time on carving.
I then tried darkening the crevices and lightening raised areas to give a greater perception of depth.
And now the final showpiece
