Niels D
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2011
- Messages
- 1,283
- Reaction score
- 89
- Points
- 48
- Location
- A little village called Terheijden
- Country
- Netherlands
Already made a background in topic:
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ria-etc/83515-making-background-new-tank.html
I wasn't too pleased with the result in the end. I've found another method on dendroboard. Tried it immediately with this result:
Take a peace of (hard) foam for roof isolation. Known brands are "Roofmate" and "Kingspan". It's way easier to carve, shape and model.
I wanted a tree trunk in the middle, so I didn't cover it. In the end this wasn't a good idea. First I put a layer of uncoloured grout on it with a brush. Made it almost as thick as custard pudding. The important thing is that you add an acrealic polymere through the mixture (1/10). I've used a brand called "Flevopol". This makes everything bind better.
Once the layer is dry you put on another layer of grout, only thinner and darker. The grout specially made for in between tiles comes in different colours, so I'm using a couple. You'll have to use polymere with each layer. After you've put on the second layer, rub it with a wet piece of cloth. The proud parts will turn lighter, because you scrape off the dark upperlayer.
You can put on a third or even a fourth layer. For the last layer you should make a mixture as thin as water using only black grout and rub it of immediately after it's applied, so it only remains in the tiny cracks.
Then cover the whole background with just the polymere. Once dry it becomes transparant. This way you don't have to use an epoxy resin, which makes everything look like plastic.
To make a trunk I used expanding foam. I wanted to make it outside the tank so I covered the background with plastic before I used the foam. Allas the foam didn't fill the entire corner this way so I ended up putting the foam directly on the background. If I'd covered the background entirely it wouldn't have mattered.
Carve the foam into the shape you want. I admit that I could've done this better, but it was hard working inside the tank. Use the polymere again, because you need to cover everything with grout just like the first step for making the "stone" background. Cover the trunk with strings dipped in the grout as well. This will help you get a vine shape if you put on a second layer. Make this layer as thick as the first, because you're nog colouring yet.
For colouring you can use the same method as described above. I got brown colours using clay powder. Works very well. I've used three layers. Because I had to work inside the tank and "stone" got a little messy with the brown grout.
First layer with colour
Second
And the third. Cleaned up the "stone" using grout again. Tank's finished!
I have to practice making the "wood". I've used the method for making backgrounds for my invertebrate tanks. These vines look a bit better.
http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-...ria-etc/83515-making-background-new-tank.html
I wasn't too pleased with the result in the end. I've found another method on dendroboard. Tried it immediately with this result:
Take a peace of (hard) foam for roof isolation. Known brands are "Roofmate" and "Kingspan". It's way easier to carve, shape and model.
I wanted a tree trunk in the middle, so I didn't cover it. In the end this wasn't a good idea. First I put a layer of uncoloured grout on it with a brush. Made it almost as thick as custard pudding. The important thing is that you add an acrealic polymere through the mixture (1/10). I've used a brand called "Flevopol". This makes everything bind better.
Once the layer is dry you put on another layer of grout, only thinner and darker. The grout specially made for in between tiles comes in different colours, so I'm using a couple. You'll have to use polymere with each layer. After you've put on the second layer, rub it with a wet piece of cloth. The proud parts will turn lighter, because you scrape off the dark upperlayer.
You can put on a third or even a fourth layer. For the last layer you should make a mixture as thin as water using only black grout and rub it of immediately after it's applied, so it only remains in the tiny cracks.
Then cover the whole background with just the polymere. Once dry it becomes transparant. This way you don't have to use an epoxy resin, which makes everything look like plastic.
To make a trunk I used expanding foam. I wanted to make it outside the tank so I covered the background with plastic before I used the foam. Allas the foam didn't fill the entire corner this way so I ended up putting the foam directly on the background. If I'd covered the background entirely it wouldn't have mattered.
Carve the foam into the shape you want. I admit that I could've done this better, but it was hard working inside the tank. Use the polymere again, because you need to cover everything with grout just like the first step for making the "stone" background. Cover the trunk with strings dipped in the grout as well. This will help you get a vine shape if you put on a second layer. Make this layer as thick as the first, because you're nog colouring yet.
For colouring you can use the same method as described above. I got brown colours using clay powder. Works very well. I've used three layers. Because I had to work inside the tank and "stone" got a little messy with the brown grout.
First layer with colour
Second
And the third. Cleaned up the "stone" using grout again. Tank's finished!
I have to practice making the "wood". I've used the method for making backgrounds for my invertebrate tanks. These vines look a bit better.
