DIY Background started !!

[leetlfc]

Seems to be the in thing at the min so without being left behind heres my effort

[leetlfc]

Oh its for my juwel rio 300 by the way .

[mikehcfc]

Really good start.Looking forward to seeing it finished

[Coln]

Looks good, you will be able to give rocks more or less prominence when it's coated,
photos all the way

[eddie]

lookin good

[John]

looking good cant wait to see it finished

[fishcatdog]

looking forward to seeing this finished,going to try to do one myself

[vicky]

Going well as above keep the photos coming

[leetlfc]

Thanks everyone , i actually suprised myself lol!!! I will def keep the pics coming. Was going to use cement ( water it down and paint it on ) then do 2 or three coats and maybe a sprinkling of play sand just before the final coat of cement . Does anyone have any other ideas??? Im a bit worried that the cement will put nasties into my water !!!

[leetlfc]

Three coats of cement later !!!! I think i need a bit of colour to make it a bit more natural looking, any ideas anyone ????

[Tony]

if your going to use clear g4 to seal it then you could use any matt coloured paints to brush shades on the background before you g4 it

[trickerty]

cracking job well done :)

[Coln]

If you use G4 pondsealer it will give a green/yellow shade to the background which I think looks okay, excellent job so far

[Bungy]

Once the cement has hardened, take it outside and stick a hose on spray for a couple of days, this will CURE the cement and once thoroughly dry again you can apply your V8 pond sealer, 2 coats will be fine but make absolutely sure you do not apply the V8 to uncovered bits of poly as this stuff will melt a hole in minutes....!!!!
Looks shiny but of course you cant see this when immersed in water.

Before applying the V8 however you could add another thin coat of cement using cement powder colour - I used a mixture of Brown and Yellow and gave a fantastically lifelike feel to it, using darker bits to add shade underneath the rocks etc.....

Bungy

[leetlfc]

Cheers for the info Bungy, will def give it a go , looking forward to seeing it finished now !!

[mr benga]

looking good

[david321]

is it not hard to cut out m8.

[leetlfc]

David, the hardest bit is actually making the first cut, after staring at mine for at least 20 mins i marked it out with a felt tip pen then just went for it , i used a large bread knife and a steak knife !! The way i looked at it was , the polystyrene was dead cheap and the silicone was 4 quid so it wasnt goin to break the bank lol !! My motto is..... give it a go yourself ...you might be pleasantly suprised !!!

[Bungy]

Couldnt agree more - im not the least bit artistic but having done a small prototype I was confident at having a bash at my 8 footer. I was delighted with the final result and the comments its received since were very encouraging. As you say, the materials to do this would not break the bank -
8' x 2' x 1" thick poly sheet from Wickes = £6
Bag of cement powder - Wickes Mastercrete - few quid.
Cement powder colour - Days Builders - few quid.
Aquarium safe silicone - £4 ish.
V8 Pond sealer - optional - few quid.

[leetlfc]

Getting there !!! Just wondering wether or not to put some greenery in or perhaps some wood ????