# DIY 3D background using "Great Stuff"



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Great project. There are a few members here who have done similar projects. 

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## tzen (Dec 31, 2008)

Solid. The tough thing about 55g is they don't have much depth already, so don't make it too thick. I did a similair thing with the bottom of my paludarium. It will still look good.


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Yeah, I'm going to try to keep it pretty flat against the back wall with just a few sticks jutting out to give the fish places to hide. Then I'll plant some anubias nana at the base, x-mas moss on some of the bigger branches, and java fern on a few sprigs so it looks like leaves on shoots. In the foreground I'll have some crypts, an ozelot sword, red rubra, a mound of pellia (coconut cave for blue rams), HC carpet, a patch of lilaeopsis, and a few other odds and ends tucked into the nooks and crannies.


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

And here we go... did the whole thing in about 2 hours.

It stinks like hell right now and will have to off-gas for a few days before I can wash it and put it in the tank. I think I'll hollow out a few caves in it too once it hardens up.


----------



## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

I like it. It has character.


----------



## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

Looks good. I also like your kitchen. Sorry, Im a sucker for nice appliances...


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Yeah, if I get any Great Stuff on that stove my wife will castrate me.


----------



## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

warhead_71 said:


> Yeah, if I get any Great Stuff on that stove my wife will castrate me.


lol... My next stove will have a center griddle burner. Enough about stoves...

Are you going to space that background out from the back of the tank and plumb behind it?


----------



## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

GitMoe said:


> lol... My next stove will have a center griddle burner


I have one, it's been used like 2 times since we got it 2 years ago, but I like it


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


----------



## GitMoe (Aug 30, 2010)

JamesHockey said:


> I have one, it's been used like 2 times since we got it 2 years ago, but I like it
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


I cook a lot of breakfast and when I do its for a lot of people. I was also a short order cook for a while so cooking on a griddle is fun for me. Mine would get used...


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

I built up the foam on the far right edge. I'll carve that out from the backside so I can run the filter intake. My output is a spray-bar, so I might have to carve a little notch for that so at least the gooseneck is hidden.


----------



## misfit36 (Feb 21, 2010)

Very cool, what kind of tank is this going to be? I picture a cichlid tank but I am probably wrong.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Fantastic job!


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

Is that thing 4' long? Doesn't a 55 have a center brace? How are you getting that past the brace?

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

misfit36 said:


> Very cool, what kind of tank is this going to be? I picture a cichlid tank but I am probably wrong.


It's a South American tank. Probably just Cardinal Tetras and some German Blue Rams -- fish that'll really sparkle against a dark background.


----------



## maxima308 (Mar 24, 2010)

Looks great! First time I've seen real wood incorporated with a BG. 

It reminds me of a riverbank! Kudos to a job well done!


----------



## Cuchulainn (Nov 2, 2010)

That's pretty swEEt looking!


----------



## RobertPlant (Mar 9, 2011)

*2 hrs to do background*

Good grief...I've been @ this for 2 weeks & am wasting styrofoam & makin a mess to no avail - I finally found the GE silicone 1 that everyone says to use...opened it & then read it...white - D'oh!
PS - yours looks awesome


----------



## RobertPlant (Mar 9, 2011)

*ps*

I forgot to ask if this was your 1st attempt...maybe I'm takin on too much
I'm trying to both "hide the intake" & use the hang on filter to create a waterfall.
I could always just go back to [email protected] least then I know what I'm doing!


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes, that was my first attempt at a DIY background. But I play with foam and do lots of modeling in my other hobby, RC airplanes >> http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=127601

Still, it was very easy to do... I just glued the sticks in at an angle so they looked somewhat natural (I put them at an angle so they looked like a river current was sweeping them sideways), then squirted the Great Stuff all around it. I also dropped in a few extra sticks as I went to fill in bare spots that got covered up by the foam. Just try to keep everything running more-or-less the same direction so it looks natural. Once the foam skins up you can paint it (the foam was still gooey on the inside when I started painting). The solvent in the spray paint will eat the foam a at first if you go too heavy, so do a few light coats then build it up. If you do melt the foam a little, who cares... it just pocks the surface a little and gives it more texture. I started with a base-coat of black to make sure I got all the crevices painted, then added a light coat of brown and then tan. I sprayed the brown and tan from a farther distance and at a high angle so only the top direction got painted lighter and many of the cracks and fissures and bottom edges remained more "shadowed". It gives it a lot of depth.

Right now the entire backdrop is just sitting behind the aquarium... I am undecided whether I actually want to put it in the tank because it really does take up some depth in my 55gal long, which is only 13" deep. I think it would look really awesome with Java Fern or mosses on it, and I'm sure the fishies would love hide amongst the branches. I just can't decide if I want to give up the real estate. It looks great behind the tank too. I'll get a pic and post it... though the tank has no plants in it yet (in the mail).

** images added **

I turned the main lights off and just ran my nightlight. There's some reflections off the front glass... sorry. But I think it looks pretty nice for the cost of a couple of cans of Great Stuff and some 99-cent spray paint.


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Gatekeeper said:


> Is that thing 4' long? Doesn't a 55 have a center brace? How are you getting that past the brace?
> 
> Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk


When I laid out the branches, there is a thick "thumb-diameter" branch that runs across the middle (at a slight angle) that will be my guide to cut this in half. I'll cut right along the edge of the branch so it hides the seam. I'll use a snap-off razor knife to make the cut through the foam... no worries. The bottom edge of the background will be held back against the tank just by the pressure of the substrate up against it. Because the whole thing is foam, it will want to float up... hopefully the whole thing will jam itself snugly under the aquarium rim and stay put. I can use a couple of gobs of aquarium caulk if need be to secure it to the glass.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

How long did you let it cure before you filled the tank with water?


----------



## RobertPlant (Mar 9, 2011)

lauraleellbp said:


> How long did you let it cure before you filled the tank with water?


I believe you meant this question for Warhead...some reason I got it


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

It is not in the water yet. It is just sitting behind the tank. Please see my other posts from today.

But to try to answer the question... I think I would wait at least a couple of weeks to let it off-gas, then submerge it in the bathtub for a several cycles to wash off any residue.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Whoops I missed that little "behind" word LOL

You didn't use Krylon Fusion to paint the GS? I've been wondering what paints could be used for projects like this, and if you could use something else to "seal" them on like polyurethane or something if you did use something besides Fusion...


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Nothing to seal it (yet). I used 99-cent spray paint from Home Depot.


----------



## esworp (Mar 20, 2011)

What do you mean by "I'll seal it all with WBPU"

Water based ...pink umbrellas? plastic underwear? Poly-Unobtanium?


----------



## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

esworp said:


> What do you mean by "I'll seal it all with WBPU"
> 
> Water based ...pink umbrellas? plastic underwear? Poly-Unobtanium?


I believe it means water based polyurethane. But good guesses none-the-less. roud:


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes, WBPU = Water Base Polyurethane. But so far I have not used any. I want to let the foam and paint off-gas before I do anything. If I'm never going to put the background in the tank, then no point to sealing it. But if I do decide to put it in the water, I may seal it first to keep the paint from flaking or the sticks from rotting.


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

It's been a few years since I first started this project. I had to break down my aquarium to move it from the basement to the dining room, and I decided to go ahead and put the background INSIDE the aquarium instead of behind the back glass. I had to cut the background in half to fit it in the tank, due to the crossbar in the middle of the aquarium. I "artfully" divided it along one of the branches... the break is completely camouflaged when installed. I think it looks a lot better inside the tank. The intake tube for my filter is hidden inside a "tunnel" in the foam... it has a hidden opening down near the substrate. I have a heater in the tank for the winter, but I'll remove that once it warms up a bit.


----------



## Grumpy1415 (Oct 15, 2013)

That turned out awesome!


----------



## Maechael (Sep 9, 2012)

Years in the making but it looks gorgeous in the tank.

I hope my first faux background looks half as good.


----------



## warhead_71 (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks. I've been using it just behind the glass for the last few years, but finally decided to put it in the water. It really looks the part, and I'm sure it will look even better with a bit of moss or java fern to give it some "patina".


----------



## R_Barber001 (Oct 5, 2011)

So what WBPU did you end up sealing it with? If you sealed it at all


----------

