My Masterpiece! (Come in & see my pics!)
- Thread starter Oreo
- Start date
I just did a cement background also, and I came accross a couple of tips that helped cut back on the curing/pH leech time.
After filling the tank for the first time, mix in alot of salt, aquarium salt or marine salt. I used marine. This helps it cure faster. After 3 days, drain the tank completely, refill and then pour in a bunch of white vinegar. The acid also helps cure the concrete and counteract the pH leeching. Drain again in 3 days and refill with fresh. Let it stay another 3 days and drain one last time, and you should be good to go. My pH has been stable at 7.2 for a while now since I did this, and then adding some cichlid sand brought it up to about 7.8 where it has been staying, which is pretty good for my brackish inhabitants
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Oh, and very nice tank by the way. I used Great Stuff foam instead of foam sheets, but for the next project I may try that instead, probably a lot easier and less of a mess. I had great stuff stuck to my arms for a week, that stuff doesn't come off easy, lol.
After filling the tank for the first time, mix in alot of salt, aquarium salt or marine salt. I used marine. This helps it cure faster. After 3 days, drain the tank completely, refill and then pour in a bunch of white vinegar. The acid also helps cure the concrete and counteract the pH leeching. Drain again in 3 days and refill with fresh. Let it stay another 3 days and drain one last time, and you should be good to go. My pH has been stable at 7.2 for a while now since I did this, and then adding some cichlid sand brought it up to about 7.8 where it has been staying, which is pretty good for my brackish inhabitants
.Oh, and very nice tank by the way. I used Great Stuff foam instead of foam sheets, but for the next project I may try that instead, probably a lot easier and less of a mess. I had great stuff stuck to my arms for a week, that stuff doesn't come off easy, lol.
2004exrider;2627331; said:you know, ive looked over that filtration setup and decided its the first thing you need to get rid of........
better send it to my house lol
Jimmy
Good one Jimmy.GreatStuff foam doesn't cut well with a hot-wire. I did use it to fill in some gaps here & there but I don't think I would use it exclusively.
Nice thing about pH leeching my setup was that I was able to do complete water changes every day by turning a couple valves. I used hot water with an air-bubbler in the tank to circulate the water which did seem to help.
Nice thing about pH leeching my setup was that I was able to do complete water changes every day by turning a couple valves. I used hot water with an air-bubbler in the tank to circulate the water which did seem to help.
Oreo;2627418; said:
I have seen a lot of foam/cement backgrounds and this is one of the nicest. I suspect it's the compound angles of each layer that makes it. That and your carving.
Oreo;2627418; said:
Did you use the fiberglass strands for slab work or the mesh made for faux stucco work?
Oreo;2627418; said:
Not sure if I understand. Are you saying that the last coat is a blend of colors that give a single homogenized color or do you mean there is more than one color visible in the top coat?
great looking setup! hate to beat a dead horse but Id either go brackish or rehome the current stock and go with some rarer cichlids.
I hear ya with owner responsibility tho I still have fish from when I first started and thought petsmart was the best place in the world to get fish
I hear ya with owner responsibility tho I still have fish from when I first started and thought petsmart was the best place in the world to get fish
CJH;2630666; said:
I used this quick-wall cement stuff. Just has short little fiberglass strands right in the cement mix.
When applying the top coat, I mixed cement in small batches, I'd mix the pigment a little different with each batch also, intentionally creating some variation in the color each time. This way when you look at the rock wall some areas are more reddish, some more brown, some gray, etc. The idea was to emulate natural rock which is rarely monotone.
I actually went searching for natural rock formations as inspiration. Took my camera along & snapped photos to jog my memory later. Maybe I'll post some of those photos later. My rock wall doesn't really look like any of those pictures but they did help give me an idea of what I was trying to achieve.
