DIY Sand Background

[Nutter]

Here's a couple of pics of my diy sand background that I've made up for a 5gal tank. I still have to stick a couple of thin bits of wood to it yet so it's not the final product. (that's why there are patches without sand)

All I did was cut a piece of plywood to the size I needed, worked out where I want to hot glue the bits of wood & put a little making tape over those spots. I put a thick layer of polyurethane varnish over the wood, removed the making tape & then covered the whole thing with sand I dug up from my backyard. Let it dry for 24hrs & then slipped it in behind the tank. It's just held in place with a couple of pieces of duct tape.

I'm not real happy with the finish this sand has given me but the general concept seems to work. I'm starting on a couple other designs that 'm going to trial as well with a darker, coarser sand & another one that uses fake plants, river pebbles & bits of wood.

 

[ryanr]

not bad at all Nutter, I like the concept.

Not sure if this would work, but wondering if going from darker sand (i.e. same colour as substrate) progressively blending and getting lighter up the tank ??? Could possibly result in an awesome illusion of infinite depth

Again, love the concept!

 

[Nutter]

I like that idea Ryan. I've got plenty of shades of sand around here to do something like that to.

I think it would create a good illusion of depth. I'm going to give it a try. I'll post how it comes out in the next few days.

 

[ryanr]

not sure exactly how it would work, i'm sure there'd have to be some angles in there to give a true depth perception, like maybe a triangle shape that starts as wide as the substrate and gradually thins toward the top, with the lighter sand around.... i'm not sure, might take a bit of 'mock up' before committing to glue....

 

[Jrobber]

Wow, Nutter that looks really cool. Nice work.

 

[ilikefish]

I love the concept too!... but I'm going to be frank... the sand (this time anyway) IMO was just too fine and to different from the substrate so it looked off... I think it also made the tank look small... But still. Great work!

I think it would create a good illusion of depth. I'm going to give it a try. I'll post how it comes out in the next few days.

I think this ^ with coarser sand would look phenomenal!

 

[bolivianbaby]

It looks fantastic! Good job!

 

[Nutter]

I love the concept too!... but I'm going to be frank... the sand (this time anyway) IMO was just too fine and to different from the substrate so it looked off... I think it also made the tank look small... But still. Great work!



I think this ^ with coarser sand would look phenomenal!

I agree 100%. That's why I'm not very happy with the result but it is only an experiment so I'm not too worried about it. I just went with sand from the backyard rather than use the good substrate sand that I have to travel 120miles to get. Now that I know it works I'm going to do one with the good sand you can see as the substrate in the tank. The tank if anything actually looks bigger than it did with a solid black background. It is a very small tank to (only 2.5gal). The fighter has it as a temp home because one of the kids damaged his 5gal permanant home. He's got this one for a few days while I replace one of the side panes in his proper home.

I'll post pics of the one I do with the coarser, darker sand & when I do the one with the different grades & shades of sand to.

 

[ilikefish]

I agree 100%. That's why I'm not very happy with the result but it is only an experiment so I'm not too worried about it. I just went with sand from the backyard rather than use the good substrate sand that I have to travel 120miles to get. Now that I know it works I'm going to do one with the good sand you can see as the substrate in the tank. The tank if anything actually looks bigger than it did with a solid black background. It is a very small tank to (only 2.5gal). The fighter has it as a temp home because one of the kids damaged his 5gal permanant home. He's got this one for a few days while I replace one of the side panes in his proper home.

I'll post pics of the one I do with the coarser, darker sand & when I do the one with the different grades & shades of sand to.

Aww poor fella... And can't wait!

 

[kipkapst7]

Awesome idea, looks really good, wonder if it would look as fantastic on a huge tank, or if it would look weird and fake? I love this on a little tank, thinking about doing it in tinted black sand on my 10g