So I decided to dismantle my planted tank which was not going quite as well as I would have hoped. I thought back to a meeting where Steve Green demonstrated with great artistry and skill how to construct a 3D background.
I thought back and remembered all the things he said in the demo and then went and made the thing. I managed to scab some foam from bunnings and I also bought silicone, expanding foam, oxide coloring in black and an orangie colour at the same time to cover up the fact that I wasn't one of those all take and no give sort of scabs.Bought all the ingredients home and set about sticking pieces of foam on pieces of foam.
I basically filled the gaps between foam pieces with expanda foam and cut it to shape rather than use a blow torch, closer to the Tanganyikan reefs I was modeling it to.
After the foam was cut to a very precise shape (read: random slicings here, there and everywhere) I mixed cement and coloring and proceeded to render the whole thing.
I had to do the main back part in two pieces and join them in the tank. As you you can see in the full tank shot at the bottom left was going to be a void for the heater but silly me went and added more foam to the top of the tank just under the spray bar and covered up the hole where the heater lead was going to come up behind, now the heater is pushed right in the very right hand corner.
All in all a pretty dodgy end product, lots of small pieces of foam I missed with the render (which is what happens when you do things at night under the patio lights) if you look at it closely. These are things that will improve when i make my next one.
20141027_205435 (1024x576).jpg 334.54KB
9 downloads
20141027_205500 (576x1024).jpg 315.86KB
9 downloads
20141110_170414 (1024x576).jpg 296.92KB
9 downloads
note photos taken with camera phone in case you were wondering
