My DIY pebble background.

fishmomma

Member
Jan 13, 2012
77
0
6
CT, USA
I just finished the background for my 55gl tank:)

I thought I'd show you how I did it. I got the idea from this site:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_background_ii.php

I changed it up a bit and it was pretty easy to do!

I purchased 2 pieces of plexiglass, lots of silicone, and a bag of "river pebbles" from HomeDepot. Then picked up about 10lbs of small, brown gravel and 5lbs of black sand from my LFS.

First I used some rough sand paper to scuff up one side of the plexiglass. Be sure to wear a mask over your mouth and nose so you don't inhale the "dust".



Then I rinsed the river pebbles from Home Depot and set them on a towel to dry.



Nice and clean and dry...ready to go!



Then I applied some silicone to the scuffed up side of the plexiglass and spread it around with the back of a spoon. The Droped a few handfuls of rock on top and pressed them into the silicon.



Then I sprinkled some of the gravel on top to fill in any spaces and continued up.



From this point in I used more gravel and less rocks so there would be more rocks towards the bottom and more fine gravel towards the top...if that makes any sense.

Pressed rocks and gravel firmly into the silicone and the sprinked the black sand all over everything to fill in any small gaps.



This is what I got after tipping the whole thing over and knocking off all the loose stuff.



I used what ever fell off to fill in any gaps I saw and used some more silicone where needed. Let it sit for a bit and them tipped it over again.


I did the same thing for the second piece and then set them next to each other and lined of some of the rocks so they would fit nicely in the tank.




I'll post more pics once the tank is all set up so you can see how it turns out!:yes:
 

bigbird

Pleco Profiles Moderator - RIP FRIEND
Sep 9, 2010
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Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Hi,

that looks great. Make sure the silicone is aquarium safe and also the plexiglass ? I presume these are a little heavy, so maybe when you place in be wary of the bottom glass. How will you stick to the inside of the tank ? If you seal, make sure you seal around completely, otherwise small fish and detrius might gather behind this and you will be unable to get rid of this. But it looks good. well done. cheers jk :thumbup:
 

fishmomma

Member
Jan 13, 2012
77
0
6
CT, USA
Thanks bigbird,
Yes the silicone I used is aquarium safe as is the plexiglass. Same stuff one would use for an acrylic aquarium:thumbup:

I haven't decided yet on how to put it in the tank. Seal it with silicone and have it be permanent, or place it in so it will rest on the substrate and secure it with rocks. I'm still looking into different ways to do it.
 

Stan

Member
Apr 23, 2009
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36
Shenzhen, China
Very nice job!:thumbup:
I don't think gluing it to the tank is a good idea as over time small gunk will get in there and possibly mess with your water quality. get some suction cups from your LFS and silicone them to the back of the plexiglass on the corners and middle so then can clean behind and if you want in the future you can change it out or adapt it to hide filter pipes etc..