# WOW! Backgrounds (56k warning!)



## Lycosa (Oct 16, 2006)

Finally, a few pics on some incredible driftwood work done with ordinary materials.. this really blows my mind!


















































































Incredible isn't it? Some of the best work I've ever seen with DIY backgrounds. I told him he ought to work building these things for zoos!

His process is pretty simple, and very cheap. More than anything it seems just having a knack at art and really putting an effort into getting it right. 
I'm going to attempt one myself for a dartfrog habitat, but they would be amazing in a planted aquarium/paludarium as well (as he showed).

If anyone wants to learn more about his process (and has some time to read through it), here's a link http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/16605-making-fake-rocks.html

Here's a link to building fake driftwood.

I'm inviting him to the forum in hopes that he might have time to start a thread here and answer some questions about his work for those who wish to give this a go. 

So.. if you like it, let him know in this thread! Maybe he'll hear the cheers and become a member.


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

WOW thanks for sharing, Im going to bookmark his site


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## jmowbray (Dec 20, 2009)

I'm in love with it. He should consider making then detachable so they can be shipped; I would buy one.


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## fishyjoe24 (Dec 10, 2009)

that is awesome, I wonder how much it would cost me to make some fake manitia tree branches.


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## Stemwinder (May 29, 2010)

Wow. This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Very impressive. Thanks for sharing his work (and hopefully recruiting him to the forum).


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## Luna9 (Jul 17, 2010)

That is really awesome and is now a new bookmark on my computer  Way to cool!!


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## Lycosa (Oct 16, 2006)

I thought the same thing.. I know a lot of people use foam to create backgrounds and fake rocks... but this!.. this really shows what is possible with some effort. His technique is pretty simple, but I'm guessing talent plays a large part in it all. 

Having driftwood that you can actually build pots to grow plants in.. what an awesome idea for an aquascape.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Wow! Incredible craftsmanship. If you hadn't told me those rocks weren't real I would never have guessed. People pay big money for decor that is not nearly as convincing.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Awesome!


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## nokturnalkid (Apr 3, 2007)

Saw that over on apc. Seeing it again still blows my mind. Who needs to go pick manzanita now.


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hee. I sneaked in through the backdoor.

Hi, everyone.

Thank you Lycosa for an overwhelming introduction. Thank you people for nice words. Happy to hear you like my stuff.

I have dropped by this forum before, through googling this or that and clicking links.
Seems like a very nice, busyish forum.
Good to be here. Thanks for the invitation!

/Timo


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

HX67, your work is stunning. Have you ever made any 3D backgrounds for cichlid tanks before?


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

HX67, what is your material of choice, and how do you add the color to the wood or rocks?


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## Lycosa (Oct 16, 2006)

Awesome!

Thanks for joining the forum!

There are a lot of great people here and some you probably already know from the other forum too.

I suspect now you'll be getting lots of questions about everything, but I guess that's the advantage/disadvantage? of being so good at it!


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Lycosa said:


> Awesome!
> 
> Thanks for joining the forum!
> 
> ...


You are to blame, dude.
Thanks for the welcomes.
Surfing through the site I have, true enough, found familiar usernames. Hi, again, everyone! Whether you've stumbled upon me before or not.

I hope I can offer my share of inspiration and knowledge to your site. I am sure there is tons I can learn from you, so I'm looking forward to all and any interaction we can come up with.



VadimShevchuk said:


> HX67, your work is stunning. Have you ever made any 3D backgrounds for cichlid tanks before?


Thank you, Vadim.
Your signature suggests that you are doing mbunas? Good on you.

Mbunas and large cichlids are a great excuse for investing on hardscape a bit more than usual. Ph of 8,5+ or the potential for mechanical wear (=abuse) towards plants make it a good choice to consentrate on hardscaping rather than plants.
My hardscapings have been used in aquariums and even more so in terrariums. I haven't made a scape namely to be a "cichlid scape", but some have ended up being ones.

There is a special form of calcite appearing in the rift lakes, that I practised to duplicate at one time of my life. The sort that just crystallises from the minerals contained in the water and takes unusual forms. But it is pretty HC for aquarists to do, I guess. Not many want to go to the depth...



EntoCraig said:


> HX67, what is your material of choice, and how do you add the color to the wood or rocks?


The main ingredient in the coating of the stuff I do is: cement.
The last layers are done with grout of chosen colors. Grout is basically cement, sand and color. Grout is made in various colors.
If I don't have or can't get the color of grout I want, or want to modify it, I use powders of "earth colors", sold readily to artists everywhere.

I treat grout with acrylic polymer to make it harder, to prevent it from wear, to fix the color and last but not least, to reduce leeching of minerals and salts from the scape.

A word of safety:
I always make sure the cement has cured before I use these creations in animal environments. Cement cures slowly, and it has to be kept wet during the curing.
Now. When acrylic polymeres or other cement additives are being used, the curing is more complex: after I have finished the pieces, I keep them wet for a couple of days to cure the cement enough to hold the whole thing together.
Then I let it _dry completely and throughout_ to make sure the polymer (airdrying as it is) is dried and will not solve into water anymore.
After that, I keep them wet again, a few weeks usually does it.
Another word of safety:
Don't use anything that has mold preventives in it. They are poisons.

I hope this answers your question...?


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## nonconductive (Jan 29, 2010)

now i get to read hx67 threads on multiple forums!


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

HX67 said:


> You are to blame, dude.
> Thanks for the welcomes.
> Surfing through the site I have, true enough, found familiar usernames. Hi, again, everyone! Whether you've stumbled upon me before or not.
> 
> ...


When I will get a wider tank. I will hopefully do a 3D rock background. With only 13"W to work with on a 55 gallon, I want to give the fish some space to swim. Are you a member on cichlid-forums.com? Tons of DIY backgrounds are made there by members


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## EntoCraig (Jun 7, 2010)

Nailed it thanks.


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

My blazer.





VadimShevchuk said:


> Are you a member on cichlid-forums.com? Tons of DIY backgrounds are made there by members


Not a member, but have wandered through the forum. Great stuff, great!


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

Wow, Grout! Seems so obvious, yet I would never think of it. Modifying the grout with polymer based additives does several things as you've mentioned and may be the most important ingredient in your coating. Makes it harder, more durable, better adhesive strength and more water resistant as it's plasticizing the grout. For those of you considering DIY like this, don't skip this step. Incredible, amazing work by the way, I'm sure you could make a pretty penny selling this stuff!


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Impressive!


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## bigboij (Jul 24, 2009)

wow


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## FooDog (Jun 28, 2010)

Awesome stuff!


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

monkeyfish said:


> Wow, Grout! Seems so obvious, yet I would never think of it. Modifying the grout with polymer based additives does several things as you've mentioned and may be the most important ingredient in your coating. Makes it harder, more durable, better adhesive strength and more water resistant as it's plasticizing the grout. For those of you considering DIY like this, don't skip this step. Incredible, amazing work by the way, I'm sure you could make a pretty penny selling this stuff!



Thanks, everyone.

Yes, monkeyfish, I think you are right about the polymer modifying properties. It is a bit pushing it to say it's _the most important ingredient_, but it does make a difference.
Grout, I think, is still the trick. I don't use paint of any sort, I get both the color and shading with grout, not paint of any sort. The finish is matt and reacts to water pretty much the same as organic stone/wood does.

Here's one more fake stone/wood piece:


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## Chucklett (Jul 24, 2010)

Wow! Wow! Wow Indeed!!!! 

Absolutely stunning work! As others have said - people pay lots of money for rather naff-looking decor. Ive scoured the shops for beautiful realistic logs, caves, etc for my tank and ended up buying..... a real piece of wood, two very small rocks and some plants!!!!!!

What do you do with your finished masterpieces? Do you actually sell them at all? Im sure many people would buy them. Myself included!

Keep up the good work - you are truely blessed with a very special talent.

:smile:


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thank you plenty for your words. I'm almost speachless.

I sell them occasionally, make to order every now and then.

Thanks again, I feel blessed to read your words.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Hey HX its bratyboy2 from APC. I got to do this so be prepared to get messages from me

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Hey, Brad!

Good for you. Shoot, any time.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I read through the thread on the dendrobaord. Nice backgrounds on there. HX, awesome work.

I noticed no one mentioned using drylok and quikrete liquid pigments as a way to color and seal the foam. There are people one the cichlid-forum who use that method and I will be using that method on a project I'm working on.


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks, kamikazi.
Some reading you have done.

Thanks also for mentioning the materials used by Americans on the scapings.

Be sure to present your project. Or are you already?


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

Your work is amazing, You are a very talented artist.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

I haven't finished it yet, I have been keeping pictures and will do a complete thread when done. The only thing I have posted is using those materials on a piece of eastern red cedar drift wood I found. I think that whole thread is here in the aquascaping subforum


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## malaybiswas (Nov 2, 2008)

Great pieces of art and thank you for sharing the techniques. However you missed to point one key element :icon_smil. The artistry in converting the same mixture into different "materials" and shapes like weathered wood or seasoned wood. That's that toughest part I guess even if the grout mixing curing can be picked up with some practice. Kudos for that alone!


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thank you, AquaNorth and malaybiswas for your words.
Much appreciated.

Here's a piece I started yesterday:


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

That right their is pure freaking talent !!!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

incredible work! do you ever ship to the US?


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thank you plenty, guys.

I should and I probably could, but I haven't. Shipped to the U.S.
Enquiries have always ended to realising the distance from Europe.

I haven't even found out exactly how costly it would be...


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Its got to be out of this world costly

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## daewoo59 (Aug 2, 2010)

*wood*

Nice work.I appreciate.How much it will cost to ship to india.A small piece will loook nice.




HX67 said:


> Thank you, AquaNorth and malaybiswas for your words.
> Much appreciated.
> 
> Here's a piece I started yesterday:


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## defiant (Dec 1, 2009)

wow beautiful works of art. Almost anyone can pick up and learn with time, the process of making the piece but to have the artistic talent and "eye" for art and imagination is at times difficult to aquire. 

You are a very talented artist. I would have never though just by looking at all that scrap tubing that it would come out like how the fish product came out.


Excellent work!

definitely subscribed and bookmarked 

thanks for sharing please keep us posted with other projects.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

Is that pvc or flex tubing. Then it looks like you hot glue them together, and form the pieces with the heat gun is that correct? what is the next step spray foam or the grout? Once again your work is amazing.


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

daewoo59 said:


> Nice work.I appreciate.How much it will cost to ship to india.A small piece will loook nice.


Thank you, daewoo59.
I don't know about the cost of shipping to India at all.


defiant, humble thanks for your words.
I will keep posting pics of my projects.





AquaNorth said:


> Is that pvc or flex tubing. Then it looks like you hot glue them together, and form the pieces with the heat gun is that correct? what is the next step spray foam or the grout?


The tube is pvc, not flex. But it bends easily and at moderately low temperature.
Yes, you got it. I bend the pieces by heating with heat gun and glue them together with hot glue.
After that I often use spray foam to give the pieces more volume. With the latest example I didn't, because it is going to be mostly submerged. Foam's got a heck of a lift under water and I don't want to glue this one onto the tank.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Heck I'd glue it to the wall looking if it came out half a good as yours


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## AdrienDeLaChicago (May 3, 2010)

I really love how that looks. That is amazing.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

If you do not use spray foam is it all grout? Also do you seal the grout with something? Does it change the water parameters? Thanks again.


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

AdrienDeLaChicago said:


> I really love how that looks. That is amazing.


Good, good. Thanks!




AquaNorth said:


> If you do not use spray foam is it all grout? Also do you seal the grout with something? Does it change the water parameters? Thanks again.


The first layer on top of the pvc is tile plaster, that is used for fixing tiles onto tough surfaces.
From that on it's grout. I mix some acrylic polymer with the grout. These polymers are pretty standard additives used by the construction industry to modify cement products.
Polymer seals grout to an extent. How well it seals depends on how much you use it. I don't aim on sealing the grout entirely. I use polymer because it makes grout hardier and stronger.

Cement leeches calsium and salts. It does change water parameters.
I soak the peces in water for at least a month to cure cement, before I use them with aquatic life. During that time it is very alkaline and thus rises ph dramatically. Sometimes I treat them with vinegar to balance alkalinity a bit.
After curing there is very little leeching, but some affect on kh is present.

As mentioned, polymers can be used to seal grout better. Some people use epoxy resin for that.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

Thanks HX67 I think I might try to make one. Your help answering my questions was very helpful. You could start up a side business selling your work, people would spend a good sum of money on your awesome artwork. Please post more pictures when you finish some more.


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## kamikazi (Sep 3, 2010)

Aqua North - check out the methods on the cichlid-forum they use foam, quikrete color pigments, and latex drylok to make all kinds of DIY decor. With this method you don't have to worry about the alkalinity and kH being effected, thus not really much curing. Just let it dry completely, wash it off and its good to go.


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## jinx© (Oct 17, 2007)

I've always admired a lot of the displays built at different zoo's etc. (Even some hotel rooms...lol) that I've visited and the work and artistry put into them, but I have to say most of your work puts them to shame...lol

You have a great eye for what you're doing and I can see that imagination is about the only limit to all the possibilities for these types of projects. 

Thanks for sharing your work and hope to keep seeing more in the future. roud:


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## Cryptocoryne (Sep 3, 2010)

Amazing work!... I have done a little bit of research on styrofoam, and apoxy backgrounds in hopes of creating something myself. you have inspired me to take the next step. Feel free to message me some tips


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks everyone.

As to the process and materials, there is a page a member at dendroboard put up, of my method described in the fake rock thread at db.
At first he credited me as he promised, but for some reason he has taken off all credits except from the zoomed in pics. I'm a bit puzzled for the uncrediting part, esp. using all my photography, but he did a good job compressing info from the 30 something pages of talks.
Here it is.
It mainly covers fake rock, but the materials and methodology are pretty much the same with fake wood.

Enjoy!


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

That's plain bull that you don't get credit.he's using ur idea and method


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## HX67 (Jul 15, 2010)

Well, kinda weird, 'cause the credits _were_ there, but he's decided to _uncredit_ afterwards.... 
But let's not worry about it. The article is good.


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## AquaNorth (Jan 27, 2010)

Thats not cool, the least he could do is give credit where credit is do.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

> Well, kinda weird, 'cause the credits were there, but he's decided to uncredit afterwards....
> But let's not worry about it. The article is good.


The article might be good but you made it good!


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## moonshinetheslacker (Sep 13, 2010)

*Maybe not as wow as some of the others, but not bad for a 10 gallon.*

This took my son about 2 hours of smashing slate tile with a hammer, bricks, other pieces of tile, and a sidewalk to help complete. It took my wife a lifetime of pain and misery of being married to me, and it took me about 8 hours of glueing busted up pieces of slate together with silicone caulk to get this look. It came out pretty well, and it did exactly what we wanted it to do. Hide all the ugly heaters and filters on the back, as well as give the fishies a little bit of places to explore through and play with. There are a total of 2 caves (with a wall in the back) for the fishies to hide in, and 3 more caves that go straight through, that the fish can either hide in, or play with. The wall is about 2 inches thick, and sits about 2 inches from the back of the tank. Aslo, my apologies about the poor picture quality. I'm using my phone, and... it's simply not the best.  Speaking of which... any how DO you people get good pics of your tanks?


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