Aquarium backdrop - the finishing touch to aquarium design

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Any aquarist will tell you that everything is important: not only the filling of the home pool with the population, not only its internal design, but also the panorama translucent from behind. An unfortunate or missing backdrop for an aquarium can ruin a lovingly crafted fish house. Agree, if before your eyes there is a bewitching underwater world, albeit in miniature, and cheerful wallpaper in a flower shines through it, the magic is somehow lost. So a real aquarist will certainly pay attention to the design of the "rear".

Rear wall views

All varieties of outdoor design can be divided into two groups.

1. External background for the aquarium. It is easy to install (most often it is a film glued on the outside), inexpensive, does not overgrow with algae, so it is always as good as new. Disadvantages: you can immediately see that this is a "back". The simplest representative of the lineup is just a painted aquarium wall.
2. Internal splash screen. The most natural look, volume and complete beauty are the main advantages. Requirescompliance with certain rules: materials - only non-toxic and do not change the composition of the aquatic environment, plus thoughtful fastening. Disadvantages: if you decide to change the design, especially in a large aquarium, you will have to puff seriously - the thing is overall. In addition, the voluminous background for the aquarium takes up space for its inhabitants, which is especially bad if the tank is not painfully wide.

Despite the negative aspects and the difficulties associated with them, people still prefer 3D-style screensavers and most often make them with their own hands, adjusting them to the design idea.

Masonry

One of the most successful decorations that can fit into any decoration created inside the fish house. The easiest way to build such a background for an aquarium is from decorative stones. They only need sealant. Each pebble is cut in half so that one side becomes even and fits as tightly as possible to the glass. In order for the gaps to be invisible, the stones are turned, after which they begin to lay out. This is done on dry glass, from bottom to top, the pattern is selected intuitively or according to a plan previously developed and imprinted on the sketch.

When the sealant, which fixes the elements, dries out (this may take a day), the aquarium is filled with water and left for three days. This time should be enough to wash out all possible foreign inclusions. After that, fresh water is poured and the residents are transplanted.

Eternalwood motif

No less versatile background for the aquarium, which will harmonize, again, with any internal surroundings. Only glue will have to be bought for him - everything else is found in the nearest forest, well, or landing. You just need to find a dead tree (not an oak - it releases tannins that are harmful to fish for a long time) and peel it off. Then the algorithm is as follows:

1. The bark is soaked to remove dirt and extract insects.
2. The raw material is divided into pieces according to the final idea.
3. The bark is boiled; every half an hour the water is changed to eliminate tannin. Approximately the process takes from 2 to 3 hours, but may take longer.
4. When hot and wet, the leveling material is placed under the press.
5. After drying, the inside is cleaned to evenness with a knife, sandpaper or planer.
6. Elements are glued with sealant similar to decorative stones.

Twigs and driftwood can be used to enliven the landscape. Before launching the fish, we follow all the same precautions.

Avant-garde Aquarium Backdrop: Making Miracles With Your Hands

In cases where you need a more plastic material to decorate the back wall, you can use polyurethane foam. With its help, you can create both the surface of the moon and fancy volumetric patterns. It is noteworthy that such a background for an aquarium can also serve as a refuge for small fish, if you make caves in it. One balloon of foam is enough for two squares of the wall, and the thickness of the layer should be at least 3 cm.

A piece of polyethylene is laid on the floor and moistened. Foam is sprayed onto it and smoothed out with a spatula, also wrapped in foil. To create caves, you can insert a piece of pipe, again wrapped in a film, or cut them out later. While the foam has not yet set, a thin layer of earth / sand is poured, and on top - more foam, with the formation of the intended relief. You can put snags or small pots. A day later, the foam is painted with epoxy with toner, after which the finished "back" is fixed on the wall with a sealant.

Live background

It is considered the most difficult to make, takes the most time, because it has to "grow" by itself, but at the same time it is a masterpiece of design. To create a lively background for the aquarium, you will need a stainless steel mesh that is attached with suction cups inside the tank. It is better to stick more suction cups so that the backdrop does not come off and float as it grows. The mesh is taken twice as large as the wall being trimmed. Moss is laid out on one half, covered with the second half, and they are fastened with fishing line. The workpiece is fixed in place. The only thing left to do is trim the top, which grows back pretty soon, and after a while your aquarium will have a chic and natural background.