# Whats your favorite background



## Amphinityfrogs (Jan 30, 2013)

So over the years I have played with several different ways of making a background. Greatstuff foam, gorilla glue, and kitty litter. Some I like some I'm not to fond of. What's your favorite background method and why?


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## redfrogger (Nov 6, 2010)

Silicone driftwood to back. Small amount of Black Pond foam around wood (ancoring it in place). Use brown Silicone and smear over foam. Add substrate, peat moss, orchid bark, wood chips etc. Easy and natural looking.

Silicone cork bits in a mosais design and stuff sphagnum moss in between (thanks Doug). Very Easy


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## Amphinityfrogs (Jan 30, 2013)

redfrogger said:


> Silicone driftwood to back. Small amount of Black Pond foam around wood (ancoring it in place). Use brown Silicone and smear over foam. Add substrate, peat moss, orchid bark, wood chips etc. Easy and natural looking.
> 
> Silicone cork bits in a mosais design and stuff sphagnum moss in between (thanks Doug). Very Easy


Thats the method I started with, and I think its the one I'm going back too. I like gorilla glue cause its cheaper but It just doesn't look as good.


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Easy, tree fern panels silicone in place. But only if the time is taken to square them up with a jigsaw so they fit tightly together. It doses not look great when you have to wedge moss or other junk into the cracks because they're all trapazoid shaped.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

I like my cork/sphagnum moss mosaic method, since it can be used in part with drift wood and really any other method. Which is good since I like treefern too and I'm starting to move away from wood based tanks and go with rock based hardscapes....Just like the look more of the rocky tanks. The plan is also to go more to backgrounds planted with mini orchids and such.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

I don't think it's much of a secret that my favorite background method is Dave's cork bark mosaic.


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

I like the look of the cork bark mosaic, but having tried it yet. Cork bark is so expensive though. I,m also partial to the zoo med cork tile and forest tile.


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

I like the GS and driftwood method best, mostly because it looks pretty good from the start. I also like epiweb, but the downside is that its really ugly the first few weeks. It is worth the wait though


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## TheCoon (Feb 8, 2011)

Tree fern panels or a solid cork bark tile give that dark, sleek look that I really enjoy. It provides a great contrast to the frogs and plants.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

pdfCrazy said:


> I like the look of the cork bark mosaic, but having tried it yet. Cork bark is so expensive though. I,m also partial to the zoo med cork tile and forest tile.


I've used those in my method....Makes one piece go a lot further when you break it up and put the moss between it. Natural rough pieces tend to look better, but are harder to get to fit together right sometimes. The zoomed and other cork tiles are really handy when doing corners and sides.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Sammie said:


> I like the GS and driftwood method best, mostly because it looks pretty good from the start. I also like epiweb, but the downside is that its really ugly the first few weeks. It is worth the wait though


All that can be used with my method too!  ...it goes with everything. I'll be trying some epiweb in the FX fairy viv I think for portions of the background and side walls.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Pumilo said:


> I don't think it's much of a secret that my favorite background method is Dave's cork bark mosaic.


Awww thanks... I accept frogs and Tads as royalty payments


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

Dendro Dave said:


> All that can be used with my method too!  ...it goes with everything.


Yeah, I tried that method once, it looked good and all, but the thought about it not being glued together kept me up at night. I'm kinda ocd-ish

It IS a good method though, just not for me.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Sammie said:


> Yeah, I tried that method once, it looked good and all, but the thought about it not being glued together kept me up at night. I'm kinda ocd-ish
> 
> It IS a good method though, just not for me.


How is it not glued together? Every piece of cork bark, tree fern, or ghost wood, is firmly glued in place. A piece of sphagnum moss working loose cannot possibly harm anything. Soon enough, live mosses and the roots from vines and epiphytes will lock the sphagnum into place.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Sammie said:


> Yeah, I tried that method once, it looked good and all, but the thought about it not being glued together kept me up at night. I'm kinda ocd-ish
> 
> It IS a good method though, just not for me.


Ya it actually stays in place pretty good though, especially once plants root into it...and it is very good for facilitating that...but in my 20H I did have a few issues where my gaps were to wide and where I had trouble getting some plants established, or ripped out ones I didn't like and had gaps in the moss where I could see the glass.

The good thing though is this type of background is easy to fix...just shove more wet moss in, plant some different plants...and wait. It usually won't go anywhere.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Pumilo said:


> How is it not glued together? Every piece of cork bark, tree fern, or ghost wood, is firmly glued in place. A piece of sphagnum moss working loose cannot possibly harm anything. Soon enough, live mosses and the roots from vines and epiphytes will lock the sphagnum into place.


Yep... but, some of the "art" with this type of background is creating gaps you can get away with and how exactly you attach the cork and stuff. 

Generally I try to leave the edges open...not create a seal around them, but instead use one glob of silicone or whatever in the center so that I can shove the moss in behind the pieces to some extent to help "clamp" them into place. Also sometimes silicone is the way to go attaching things...other places, especially with driftwood and rock, gs foam is a better option...but not always. So there is a little skill involved in getting it all to work out...some people will naturally be better at it, or take to the method more easily then others.

U can use silicone to help attach the moss in the cracks too...its just difficult sometimes because usually you are going to want to put the moss in wet...but if you can get some attachment with foam/silicone and get that attached moss to weave into the other moss it will help hold it all together...of course don't plant plants into the stuff before he silicone dries. You could silicone in a thin layer first just so if the friction/clamped stuff does fall, there will still be something there hiding the back glass...and may even grow moss if it is to caked with silicone/foam.


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## Amphinityfrogs (Jan 30, 2013)

I never tried the mosaic method. I guess that is what my next tank shall be. It looks great and I don't have to sand or carve anything. Sounds like a win to me.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Amphinityfrogs said:


> I never tried the mosaic method. I guess that is what my next tank shall be. It looks great and I don't have to sand or carve anything. Sounds like a win to me.


Sometime you have to carve/break the cork to get the pieces to fit and keep the gaps from getting so wide the moss won't stay put...or find the perfect pieces to fit together like a puzzle. 

The nice thing about the zoo med and other flat cork tile products, is basically you can just break them into pieces and those pieces will be like puzzle pieces that all complement each other, while just using a box of rough cork means sorting through and turning pieces this way and that to try and get them to complement each other...also the colors tend to be more uniform with the cork tiles if you can get ones that all match, and I like the colors to match for the most part. I don't want really dark cork on one side, and really light greyish cork on the other usually.


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## Sammie (Oct 12, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> How is it not glued together? Every piece of cork bark, tree fern, or ghost wood, is firmly glued in place. A piece of sphagnum moss working loose cannot possibly harm anything. Soon enough, live mosses and the roots from vines and epiphytes will lock the sphagnum into place.


I realize that even if a piece of moss were to fall of it wouldn't hurt anything in the tank, just at I know that it doesn't matter in which order I do the dishes, but I still do it "my way" or else I can't stop thinking about it. Its more for piece of mind

But as I said: It IS a good method though, just not for me.


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## vivbulider (Jan 23, 2010)

I love the good foam concrete rock walls but I'm not very artistic when it comes to rocks I normally use the gs glue and coco fiber/peat moss


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## Amphinityfrogs (Jan 30, 2013)

Sammie said:


> I realize that even if a piece of moss were to fall of it wouldn't hurt anything in the tank, just at I know that it doesn't matter in which order I do the dishes, but I still do it "my way" or else I can't stop thinking about it. Its more for piece of mind
> 
> But as I said: It IS a good method though, just not for me.


To ease your ocd you could silicon some ABG mix between the tiles then put the moss over that maybe. Then if some moss fell you see dirt. lol


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

I prefer anything that exhibits good artificial rock work. The carved foam ones are pretty good but as I don't have the talent for that, I cheat, and use molds. :-/

But you can't go wrong with the Great Stuff/silicone method. I use that to blend in the rock work and drift wood. Just try to remember to use the depth of your tank. Try not to make the tank go from being flat soil to immediate vertical background. Like a sharp 'L' if looking at it from the side. I try to incorporate a slope as much as I can when the depth allows.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

vivbulider said:


> I love the good foam concrete rock walls but I'm not very artistic when it comes to rocks I normally use the gs glue and coco fiber/peat moss


Me too...but I am kinda artistic so I'm torn between making my own and buying some. 

Here are some that look good...but I'd probably repaint them grey and stuff...I don't like brown/red rock.

(Some of the foam options are decently priced, while the "aqua" and "reptile" ones are a bit more)...and foam will work fine.
Aquarium, Reptile & Pet Backgrounds | Universal Rocks

Search for "Penn plax reptology backgrounds" too, they have some nice ones.

Searches for "aquaterra backround" , "Hagen background" or "hagen marina background", "underwater treasures background", or "designs by nature background"...maybe use the modifier "3d" in some of the searches.

Also other hobbies like model trains use similar stuff for that we'd use...I've found some great fake rocks/backgrounds that are often cheaper then what is marketed for aquriums/reptiles but and maybe smaller but could still be very useful. 

There is no rule that says you can't repaint, cut up, break these, or combine multiple ones to meet your purposes. 

Also do an amzon and/or google and google shopping search for 3d aquarium backgrounds and you'll find other brands... Or do a google image search and then when you see a background that looks commercially made or seems to be on a vendor website click the link and see if you can purchase it through that site...I find a lot of products to buy that aren't listed on amazon, google shopping or ebay by doing image searches and then checking the websites that are hosting the image which often turn out to be places you can buy that product.

Here are some relevant threads I've done on this subject...
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...-mosaic-living-drip-wall-pond-method-how.html

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...ng-backgrounds-model-train-hobby-sources.html

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/pa...lated-rippling-water-fx-light.html#post545275

2 good sites for model railroad rocks/backgrounds
http://www.eurorailhobbies.com
Hobbylinc.com - Discount Hobbies up to 60% off

Noch GMBH & Co makes a lot of this stuff and it can be worth doing image searches to see what some of it looks like, or checking out that companies site for pics because often some of the hobby site pics don't really give you a good view.

I.S.L.E. Laboratories is another good maker of realistic rock stuff...

and a.i.m products and faller are 2 other companies with some decent stuff.

Hard to find some of the best stuff in stock though. Seems to sell out fast, and some substantial internet digging may be needed to find it in stock somewhere...maybe even europe as some will ship here.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

VivariumWorks said:


> I prefer anything that exhibits good artificial rock work. The carved foam ones are pretty good but as I don't have the talent for that, I cheat, and use molds. :-/
> 
> But you can't go wrong with the Great Stuff/silicone method. I use that to blend in the rock work and drift wood. Just try to remember to use the depth of your tank. Try not to make the tank go from being flat soil to immediate vertical background. Like a sharp 'L' if looking at it from the side. I try to incorporate a slope as much as I can when the depth allows.


Ya you do good with those molds....I like a lot of your rock work and you and some others peoples stuff along with the rock work done in aquascaping is what has moved me away from wood based hardscapes.

Are you still making/selling them? I see your site is still active so I assume so. 

You might check those railroad sites I posted...they sell a lot of molds to make most of the rock products that you can buy premade on there. 

Like I think they sell a mold for these...









Which are some of my favorites... each one is only a 3-6 inches I think but put together with some moss in between could over a lot of area and look a lot like that seiryu and similar stone that they use in aquascaping...which I love, but is like 3.99 a pound most places.


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## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

As most of the people here, I like to limit the usage of silicone/titebond to cover the background. I got myself a good amount of cork tiles, cork tubes, drift wood to cover the background, fake rocks work well to. I do not mind the use of GS at all to put all the pieces together and use a lot of moss to fill in the gaps. I actually put the moist moss in the gaps when GS is fresh so it will glue it at the same time, when I have open gaps I use a bit of gorilla glue to add more. I like this system, you have absolutely no weird smells of chemicals using GS and gorilla glue. They dry fast and you don't need a lot of time for curing.
Alberto


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

A&MGecko said:


> As most of the people here, I like to limit the usage of silicone/titebond to cover the background. I got myself a good amount of cork tiles, cork tubes, drift wood to cover the background, fake rocks work well to. I do not mind the use of GS at all to put all the pieces together and use a lot of moss to fill in the gaps. I actually put the moist moss in the gaps when GS is fresh so it will glue it at the same time, when I have open gaps I use a bit of gorilla glue to add more. I like this system, you have absolutely no weird smells of chemicals using GS and gorilla glue. They dry fast and you don't need a lot of time for curing.
> Alberto


I think I'm about to go on a spray urethane clear coat, and spray on plasti-dip spree... Both products seem really useful, and either can be used to help water proof/seal things. You can make some pretty cool rocks just carving black waterfall foam, or regular light colored GS and paint it with spray on plasti-dip....or just regular spray paint and maybe seal it with clear polyurethane just to be safe....and plasti-dip can be removed fairly easily.


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## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

Dendro Dave said:


> I think I'm about to go on a spray urethane clear coat, and spray on plasti-dip spree... Both products seem really useful, and either can be used to help water proof/seal things. You can make some pretty cool rocks just carving black waterfall foam, or regular light colored GS and paint it with spray on plasti-dip....or just regular spray paint and maybe seal it with clear polyurethane just to be safe....and plasti-dip can be removed fairly easily.


Well, I would try to stay away from things that have harmful chemicals even if you seal it. There are paints out there that are safe, I would stick with GS and gorilla glue with a lot of moss and safe wood to make it look as natural as possible.


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## A&MGecko (Sep 17, 2010)

This is one of my new build I am just starting to plant now. I used GS, gorilla glue and a lot of moss, cork tube, slabs, drift wood.


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## Blue_Pumilio (Feb 22, 2009)

I'm really liking the tree fern right now, along with good faux rock.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

A&MGecko said:


> Well, I would try to stay away from things that have harmful chemicals even if you seal it. There are paints out there that are safe, I would stick with GS and gorilla glue with a lot of moss and safe wood to make it look as natural as possible.


As far as I know acrylic based spray paints are pretty safe, as is silicone once it is cured.... And a clear coat of polyurethane should would just be icing on the cake. The plasti-dip stuff should be safe too once cured.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

YesI still sell them. It just takes me forever to get stuff made up and out the door these days as my day job has eaten up almost all of my time. I've got 3x the molds now than I have on the website but I haven't had the time to even cast them out once for pictures since I made them on my Hawaii trip last May. I made a ton of new rock and banyan tree molds but without the time to cast them, they just stare and taunt me in the garage.

I've seen those railroad molds you showed. I like them and I like their intricate details, but I feel the scale is off which is why I haven't used them, plus since it was someone else's work, I'd feel wrong casting their molds and selling them as my own. 

But yea, artificial rock work is lot of fun and the only reason I still do it.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

VivariumWorks said:


> YesI still sell them. It just takes me forever to get stuff made up and out the door these days as my day job has eaten up almost all of my time. I've got 3x the molds now than I have on the website but I haven't had the time to even cast them out once for pictures since I made them on my Hawaii trip last May. I made a ton of new rock and banyan tree molds but without the time to cast them, they just stare and taunt me in the garage.
> 
> I've seen those railroad molds you showed. I like them and I like their intricate details, but I feel the scale is off which is why I haven't used them, plus since it was someone else's work, I'd feel wrong casting their molds and selling them as my own.
> 
> But yea, artificial rock work is lot of fun and the only reason I still do it.


Understandable...I thought about using them to make some rocks and possibly sell on here but ya basically the same thing kinda stopped me...don't like profiting from other peoples work.

Looking forward to seeing pics of the new stuff once it is cast


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## jpstod (Sep 8, 2005)

Being non-artistic

I use Universal Rock (Universal Habit) backgrounds...easiest for me to get as I can drive down to Garland and pick up in person

I have seen VivariumWorks in person and would recommend them also..

I Love NARBC ARLINGTON


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