Topic: New Styrofoam Background Project

[Burntwave]

It is a 55 gallon (209 liters).

[Burntwave]

Yep  My eerie feeling was right.  I did mess up!  Pretty badly too!  I ended up knocking three holes into the beginning of filter system making it, well, not what I wanted.


But, I'm not going to give up!!!  I'm either going to utilize this messup to make the project better or I will fix it!  Perseverance!  Wooot!!!

Hmm...  I could use Gorilla Glue to patch it up.  Maybe the holes will actually give the tank a more thorough cleansing?

I refuse to let $120 and hours of work go to waste!

[PureSnowChic25]

Try some plant screen (like the ones for ricca and java moss) and "patch" it then when you put the quickrete over it it will seal it, no?

[Essabee]

Thats the spirit Burntwave! 

Haven't I blotched so many projects that I have lost count of them, but has that ever stopped me? 

Give it a thought  and then ..................................Full steam ahead 

[Burntwave]

Try some plant screen (like the ones for ricca and java moss) and "patch" it then when you put the quickrete over it it will seal it, no?

That's a really good idea.  I will do just that if I can find some plant screen.  If I don't find any plant screen, can I use some plastic canvas (the kind used for knitting)?

Thank you, Essabee!  That's right, I won't give up!

I'm going to work on it right now!

[servo]

I think that spray foam would fill in the gap perfectly, and you could re-carve where you apply this as well.

Its looking pretty good so far, definitely doesn't need to be scraped.

It will look pretty sweet when it gets the concrete layer.

[Burntwave]

Thank you, SerVo!  My Dad has some spray-can foam.  I hope he can let me use it. (I have to beg for power tools)

[Burntwave]

Okay, I patched it up.  Thanks to you guys, I'm able to start some foreground objects instead of messing with the filter screwup.

I actually have been working on the tree and the bracket fungi.  I'm reinforcing the bracket fungi with Styrofoam knobs and holes and some glue because they can come off pretty easy if they aren't secured properly.

I added another hole to the tree more towards the top so that more fish can claim territory without just one hole belonging to one fish.  What do you guys think about it?  I can always fill it back up and it will look like it never was there if it doesn't look so great.



I am going to build some "chimneys" on the tree through the knot holes because my fish will end up blowing some bubbles into the caves, but with a chimney, the bubbles will just float to the top of the tank through the chimney instead of staying in the cave without any escape. (I hope you understand what I mean, I'm not so great at explanations)

I'm trying to figure out a way to "hide" the heater because it is very ugly and I don't want it ruining the look of the background.  Do you guys have any ideas?

[ShieldWolf]

Your explanation is perfectly understandable. The extra knot hole & the added chimney is a great addition. Preferably you'd want the heater either near the intake or the outflow. Is the heater fully submersible? If it is you could always lay it lengthwise at the base behind something like plants. You would then have to just hide the cord. If it's not a fully submersible heater then it's gonna be sticking up partially above the water line somewhere.
Anyway so far it's looking great. Keep up the good work.

[Aiptasia]

I'm trying to figure out a way to "hide" the heater because it is very ugly and I don't want it ruining the look of the background.  Do you guys have any ideas?

Looks pretty good so far mang. 

On the reverse of the wall, are you going to carve out a channel for the filter flow, or just carve an open space, or maybe use a PVC channel for the filter intake water to flow through? I've seen similar designs where the heaters were hidden behind the wall either in a carved out channel, a sump area or within a 2" diameter PVC tube. You could come up with a design to suit using a submersible heater as long as there's plenty of water flow and the heater isn't touching the foam.

Also, think about the filter you want to use. There are some canister filters and HOB filters that can accommodate a heater within them out there as well. The higher end Eheim Pro II & Pro III filters have a built in heater, the rainbow lifeguard filters have a heater module, and some of the tetra tec HOB filters have heater modules.