# Fake rock background journal (pics)



## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Thought I may aswell make a build journal incase anyone else wants to follow this method.

Here's what you'll need:

A tank.
Cement mix, any should do.
Lighter.
Knife.
Silicone.

Ok, so take your tank. Mine's a 14 gallon bowfront.










Measure the back panel.

Next get some polystyrene, I found this lying around the house but it's cheap enough to buy anyway.










And cut a flat piece to the size of your back glass panel.

You then need to add your rock pieces, I decided on a few shelves and some random placements. Cut with knife or just break with hands for some jagged style rocks.










You can use a lighter to round off the edges, I did on a few pieces.

I also made a rock!










Ok and now comes the fun part.

I had some cement and sand lying around the garden so I didn't need to buy any more. The sand isn't really required but I used it anyway.

Eventually you'll need 3 layers of cement.

Mix 1: A runny mix, about the consistency of single cream, maybe a tad thicker. This to get into all the rock ledges and little gaps.

Mix 2. Thick, this layer is for adding strength to your wall.

Mix 3: A little thicker than mix 1, double cream. This will make your wall nice and smooth.

Between layers you'll need to cure for at least 24 hours. Don't leave to cure in warm conditions as the cement may crack.

I added the first layer tonight once I had siliconed my background to the back panel.

Here's what it looks like...










More to come including planting, PH reduction and hopefully some occupants!

Hope you enjoy!


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

i was hoping you'd do one of these 

looks great : victory:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

daftlassieEmma said:


> i was hoping you'd do one of these
> 
> looks great : victory:


Well here you go!

Cheers, bloody freezing working outside.


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## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

Oh goody, I love this kind of thread. Sort of like a Laurence Llewellyn Bowen make over for fish tanks...:2thumb:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Trillian said:


> Oh goody, I love this kind of thread. Sort of like a Laurence Llewellyn Bowen make over for fish tanks...:2thumb:


I have much, much better hair.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

awesome. 
any plans on whats going in there?

bumble bee gobies would make love to the background all day.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Esfa said:


> awesome.
> any plans on whats going in there?
> 
> bumble bee gobies would make love to the background all day.


Ummzzz. I was thinking something simple like a group of Neon tetras although Killifish have been suggested. The Bluefin Notho I had a look at and I really like them, I'm pretty new to da fish.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Bumblebee Gobies sound like arseholes.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Bumblebee Gobies sound like arseholes.


whatdoyoumeantheyareamazingilovethemdonotdiss.

!!

Peacock gobies are just as fun, though


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## Trillian (Jul 14, 2008)

Morgan Freeman said:


> I have much, much better hair.


:lol2:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

2 questions.

Will a 24 inch T5 be enough light and do I really need one of those special planting substrates?


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Morgan Freeman said:


> 2 questions.
> 
> Will a 24 inch T5 be enough light and do I really need one of those special planting substrates?


Depends what sort of plants you want in there.

Fish dont need a light at all - the light is just there to help us see and help plants with growth.

You only really need a planting substrate if 80% of your tank is planted and if you have more challenging plants.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

1 question: Where the hell the new photo's!?!? I love the idea now less talk more productivity chappie! :Na_Na_Na_Na: Looks awesome dude Really looking forward to seeing the end product.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Esfa: Cheers, I'll probably go for some easy plants, only one or two then alot of moss, Java and Riccia.

Frase: I'm at the boring curing stage, 2nd layer will go on tonight. Have found a clamp light on freecycle I'm picking up tonight. Yayz.


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## Dragon84 (Sep 20, 2009)

fantastic, just goes to show what a little imagination, little money and a lot of patience, plus a resistance to the cold weather:whistling2: lol, can do. Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing it finished:2thumb:


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

ah right my bad, never read when you started thread, thought it was prolly a couple days old because i havent been on since friday pretty much :S was on Yday but not reading or paying so much attention :S


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Esfa: Cheers, I'll probably go for some easy plants, only one or two then alot of moss, Java and Riccia.


Wicked, jave fern and mosses dont need any substrate at all. :2thumb:
I'd miss out the riccia, its a pain in the arse.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Esfa said:


> Wicked, jave fern and mosses dont need any substrate at all. :2thumb:
> I'd miss out the riccia, its a pain in the arse.


Is it? Bah. I'll be fixing up some mesh to the side walls to get the java to grow hopefully.

Internal filter is being delivered soon wooooooohh.

My other plans are secret:devil:


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Is it? Bah. I'll be fixing up some mesh to the side walls to get the java to grow hopefully.


Yep... constantly floats to the top, gets stuck in the filter, and once you've got it, it'll take forever to get rid of... :devil:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Esfa said:


> Yep... constantly floats to the top, gets stuck in the filter, and once you've got it, it'll take forever to get rid of... :devil:


Booooo. Riccia = go to hell.

2nd layer is on, it's so think it's taken away the jagged edges of some of the rocks so I'm a little dissapointed. Hopefully will look better when it's dry.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

morgan,

I was thinking about this man.

I had a feeling a 3 coat system was just going to take away from the depth of your background,. whilst it is a good idea to do it, you could always cut away the cement from within the cracks of the "rockset" to keep its depth, dont remove it 100% but just enough to ensure you keep the good looks of the wild rock scenery.

Just an idea


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Yeah good idea, I actually chipped away a few bits this morning and it's looking better. More shape and texture to it now it's drying aswell.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

yeah, i was thinking if you left it to cure until it was more of a play dough consistancy, if you have a nice sharp blade you can remove excess in between your rock bits with it in lumps.


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## TUBBS (Mar 16, 2009)

or you could add a dark dye to a four watery mix to paint depth on and then seal it all with a clear pond G4 sealant thus meaning nothing will leach from the cement


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

the cement shouldnt be an issue but he can always seal it with clear sealant, i think he would have possible have done so anywho.

The additional layers of cement are to add weight and strength...right? lol.

I wish i had the time to do one for myself right now, i like the idea a lot and its much better than using something like a black or blue liner.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

No sealant, I don't want any shine to it. The only sealants I'd be happy with are epoxy and G4, but they're just too glossy.

With constant repeated water changes you can eventually bring the PH down. Once that's done, fill and leave for a week to remove any other bad stuff. Obviously I'll do tests and so on before I add any fish. If I'm not happy with the water quality I'll wait longer to get everything sorted.

There's plenty of dart froggers that have used this method without any negative effect, for both terrrariums and paludariums.

Second layer is taking ages to cure fully :bash:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Final layer on, I'm happy with how it's turned out, just needs to dry out fully before I get a true reflection of the colour.




















Close up to get an idea of texture...










The rock in it's final form, ignore the water stains on the exo, experimenting with dechlorinated tap water to save money, didn't work well.










Off to my Dad's sunday to get some free bogwood and also to check out his fish as he has a nice community tank, might inspire me.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

So it's all set up bar lights and plants, I would put pics up but I dropped my phone in the bath.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

looks good and phone in bath wasnt a very good idea.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Yeah, I'm an idiot.

I'll get some pics up when it's all done with plants etc. Looks kinda plain with tanin stained water and bog wood atm.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

So you leaving it the greyish colour or are you changing its colour to a darker brown etc to set out more with your bogwood etc?

U should post before (now) and after photos of the tank between it being set up so we can see the difference  im just so bored lol


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Nah I really like the grey for some reason.

I've got loads of pics they're just kinda boring right now! Need some plants andd fish.


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

Yeah i agree it is nice. But just think that with the grey slatish look it has, it might look out of touch with the green planting and bogwood? I dunno im as creative as an empty cola bottle to be honest,


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Frase said:


> Yeah i agree it is nice. But just think that with the grey slatish look it has, it might look out of touch with the green planting and bogwood? I dunno im as creative as an empty cola bottle to be honest,


There's a look I'm going for but I can't put a name to it.....rockyplantyness or something


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

thats a good word! will win any scrabble game with it!


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)




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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Fake plants for now.

Opinions? :blush:


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

that really is stunning mate, fair play to you i bet your well chuffed with it !

I reckon a few groups of smaller fish would look awesome in there. Tetras and the like will look so great with that colour background !!!


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Cheers! Obvs everyone says this but in real life it looks better, crappy phone pics don't help.

Water has finally settled. Took about 10 changes total.


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## ollie1 (Oct 13, 2009)

Looks great!!


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## Frase (Jul 13, 2009)

naw i am sure it looks great. And least the water is settling, it'll soon be stocked.

got any final decisions on whats going in?

I love my gouramis and stuff, but i just seriously think different tetras and neons, cories for the bottom, would look so awesome.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Neon or cardinal tetras and perhaps something else, although I'm happy with a single species. I've been told zebra danios would work well, not sure I like them though.


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Final layer on, I'm happy with how it's turned out, just needs to dry out fully before I get a true reflection of the colour.
> 
> image
> 
> ...


looking realy good so far!!


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## matt1993 (Jul 7, 2009)

isnt the cement toxic to the fish or have you put somthing over it?


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## mustang100893 (Nov 16, 2009)

Looking good, have you considered a British biotope, something like a loach, some minnows or sticklebacks etc?


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## blazingtortoise (Feb 7, 2008)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Neon or cardinal tetras and perhaps something else, although I'm happy with a single species. I've been told zebra danios would work well, not sure I like them though.


I think cardinals would be good as they'd show against the green plants and gray background. I would also look at kyathit danios, silver with splodgy darker markings rather than small spots (leopards) or stripy (like zebras) and the fins get nice and red once they have settled. We have these but I can't find a single decent link online to show you what they look like.

Nice background though and nice to see the development. Nice to see a background fish can use.


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