# My tank with 3D DIY background.



## joeyd71

Here is my 29 gallon tank. With the amount of foam inside of it, it really only holds about 24 or 25 gallons though.

I tried doing a fishless cycle with my tank, but that didn't work out too well apparently. I had some gold dust mollies in there, and I was losing about a fish a week. Finally gave up on the mollies and now I have 6 gold barbs, 1 balloon molly, 2 corydoras, and 1 algae eater. I had 2 algae eaters, but one has disappeared...?

Anyways, I'm pretty proud of this background. It took me about 5 weeks because I slowly chiseled away at it every day. I'd be more than happy to help anybody else out if they want to make one of their own.

I am including a picture with the light on, and also the moon light I have for the night time.


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## Rob72

great job on it, looks really cool, sorry about lossing your fish, what are specs on tank, filters, live plants water pars how long been setup and running


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## joeyd71

the filter I am using is a penguin 330. moves a ton of water, but it is also somewhat adjustable. also, being that it is hidden and somewhat restricted, it isn't too much. I just have some silk plants in there right now, but I am thinking about getting some live stuff. I'll be dropping in some malaysian driftwood this week too. the tank has been up and running for just over a month I believe. I think that the background is causing my PH to be a little on the high side....which might be why I was having some issue with the mollies. From what I was told, they can be a little picky when it comes to water conditions.


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## Rob72

what about your ammonia, nitrites, nitrate levels, live plants will help for healthy tank and good for filteration, the driftwood is a nice peice to add


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## joeyd71

not sure what my levels are. I'm a broke college kid, so I'm trying to stay away from test kits at this point. All I know is that my levels look 'normal' according to the fish store. They did say that there was a small hint of nitrate in the water, but not enough to be a big deal.


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## Rob72

are you doing water changes once a week, depending on what the levels are could be a problem for your fish, when you can save up and get a test kit, api makes a great one, there about 22.00 bucks and worth ever penny of it that way you know exactly what is going on in yoru tank


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## joeyd71

yep, roughly 5 gallons a week, although recently I was doing it about 2 times a week when i was trying to figure out what was going on with my mollies.


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## Rob72

that sounds good, just stay on top of it, and when you can try to get the test kit so you can do when you need to and keep a closer eye on it


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## Big Dog

That is real nice. Great work.


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## Totem44

What did you use to cover the foam board


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## majerah1

Looks nice!


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## joeyd71

I used 1 quart of Drylok masonry waterproofer/sealer. It is white, but I mixed concrete dye with it to give it the coloring. Basically I put down one base coat of one color, then dabbled over that color with a different color...and so on and so forth.


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## rw5579

Nicely done, any pics showing how you concealed the filter and heater?


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## joeyd71

rw5579 said:


> Nicely done, any pics showing how you concealed the filter and heater?


Actually I do have some.

This picture below shows the suction cup (that was siliconed on) which holds the heater.










This picture below shows how the filter goes into the background.










And this picture shows the whole thing from the back. You can see the little cave that I made for the filter and heater. Also take note of the back of the aquarium and how I did not paint that. I heard that the silicone wouldn't adhere to the foam as well if it was painted. It doesn't matter anyways because that side faces a wall.











I should also mention that I used some plastic mesh to try and keep fish from hiding back there in the cave. I am an idiot and I sealed up every opening, except for the most obvious one (at the top). So occasionally a fish will hide back there, but they are smart (and small) enough to find their way out.


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## rw5579

Greatly appreciate those additional pics!!!


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## joeyd71

Got some new fish today. 6 harlequin rasbora, and 2 golden wonder killifish. Hopefully everybody gets along. I've never had killifish, nor was I familiar with them....but they looked cool.

Also getting ready to put my Malaysian driftwood in, but I want it to soak a little longer. Also have some plants that I put in- a aponogeton bulb, and 2 other mystery plants that I plucked from the river. I had them sitting in a bucket for about a month, and I treated/cleaned them for snails and whatnot this weekend too.

More pictures to follow once everything is set up.


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## theguppyman

Very Nice. Great work


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## Summer

That is really awesome! You should be proud!


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## joeyd71

I had to get rid of my two golden wonder killifish after 2 of my harlequin rosbora's vanished.....
also picked up some long fin zebra danios this weekend.
the malaysian driftwood I put in has really stained the water, and I need to change it about once every 2 or 3 days. Doesn't bother me too much though.


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