latex rock backgrounds

[Bad Inferno]

I was looking at a fish shop in abbottford this week and saw a 4' tank that they had an internal fake rock wall, covering the entire back of the glass, (that rubbery stuff molded into what looks like a rock face..) Looked great as they had used silastic up the sides to hold in place and used some light brown colour substrate stuck to the internal corners over the silastic.

It did look incredible however:

1. wouldn't you get mold growing between the glass and background
2. the face was quite rough to touch..it was like it was impregnated with very fine gravel...I would think the discus would scrap themselves.
3. algea growing on the background would be terrible as it would be difficult to get off as the face is so rough.

I had seen individual rocks made out of this stuff however never a complete sheet that you could put across the entire back of the tank.

what do you think....

[Dee]

Hi BadInferno,

I have just finished installing one of the backgrounds you have mentioned. Here's link for where to get them online ... http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/in...sort/1a/page/2

I siliconed it in place and let that dry over night. I then ran a bead of silicone along all edges that touch the inside sides and bottom to seal it, worked well. You will also have to trim it slightly as it is slightly oversized, don't trim too much as you want a tight fit anyway.

My tank has only been set up a week and is cycling, so as to algae removal I can't really comment yet, I assume you would use a toothbrush or similar. I was initially going to also silicon a sheet of glass (suitbale thickness) infront of the "rock wall" to prevent scratches etc, but my dog broke the piece of glass I was going to use but yeah it's a pretty coarse surface, I'm going to risk it.

I have gone for a painted BB tank with the rock wall and I must say it looks pretty good, alot better than I thought it would. I will post pics as soon as my mate returns my digicam

Anyway HTH

Cheers,

Dee

[oscar]

I love these things.

I'm getting a new 8x2x2 on Wednesday next week and would dearly love to put one of these things aolong the back but it gets pretty expensive.

Regarding the algae bit. I have seen some of these that have been installed for a while and have algae (not the long stringy crap, just the run of the mill layer of green) and they actually look not too bad with the algae there. Personally i wouldn't attempt to clean the algae off once it is established. You still get the 3D surface that make variations in light and shadow.

Additionally, back in the day (i'm not sure if they have improved the formula) the paint layer tended to become a bit fragile with age, so using mechanical means of cleaning could damage it. Leaving you wanting algae to grow back and cover it up again.

[goldenpigeon]

if you got one of these things i guess you would go for the good set up with UV and excellent filtration. if i had one of these things i would install about 20-30 ottos to make sure it was kept clean for those that have these things would large gibbiceps or other plecs be a problem as they could probably cause it damage?

[Bad Inferno]

would it be better to let water circulate behind the background or try and seal it completly. ? I thought that if you did seal it (and it will leak) the water trapped behind would be very stagnant and become toxic after some time and leach back into the tank.

If water could get up through the bottom (only seal the sides ) and cut some slots that you cannot see at least you could get some water movement behind ???

I really do not know so don't take this with any credibility however I worry about toxin's as I have been told they can even accumulate under the gravel. and when you reove plants it could release some nasties....

I do want one...oh and a new tank to put it in

[Merrilyn]

I have a friend who had a magnificent tank set into the wall, with one of these fake rock backgrounds. It looked gorgeous, but she always had fish dying in the tank, so much so, that the family dubbed it the tank of death.

After tearing the tank down as a last resort, she discovered that some water had leaked behind the fake rock, and had turned putrid. She solved the problem by making holes all along the bottom of the background, and adding airstones in three places. This kept the water circulating, and ended the problem.

[mcloughlin2]

U can buy rock backgrounds that are what seems to be normal foam that has been moulded into different designs... :P

It is pretty heavy and fits practically flush up against the back of the tank so no water can just sit behind it...

I have only ever seen them at Neptune aquarium so it might be worth going for a little look ....

It isnt rough its quite smooth so i doubt it could scratch your discus but u may have to have one ordered in for u because ATM i think they only have one that covers the back of a 2 foot tank ...

-Sam...

[Dee]

Hey All,

Merrilyn, thank you for posting that info regarding rock walls leaking ... I'm glad I found that info out before adding any fish !

Looks like I may be rethinking using the rock wall hahaha ... oh well... thanks for the info guys !

Cheers,

Dee

[lesxda]

I got a back groung for my 4 foot tank it came in 3 pecies, so you can slide it in as it was molded and hard, had some dead water space behind it. we did not adhere it to the back of the tank, the discus love it they sliped behind the back as it was not 4 ft it was 2 inch short and after 2 weeks I removed the background and now I can see all the fish.