I have now solved the problem of my background, and it worked out quite well in the end. One thing keeping me from taking the plunge (other than having enough money gathered together) and getting my Africans is that every time I walked by the tank I was bothered by the reflection of white sand on the back glass. You will recall that I simply had the plastic paper type of black background, taped to the back outside of the tank.
I kept kicking myself for not handling the background problem when the tank was empty, which is the rational and sensible time to do it. The idea of making a custom 3D background, all the rage on the aquarium forums, just gave me a headache to think about, and besides that I would always know it was not really rock, but faux rock. That, over time, would begin to bother me for sure.
I had the idea I was going to get sheets of Plexiglas and smear silicone on them, and then sprinkle black sand onto the silicone, and create a matte background that way. This could simply be cured and slipped into the tank as-is, without draining the tank and starting things all over.
I went to the hardware store and was alarmed at the cost of the Plexiglas. I saw next to the Plexiglas was some plastic board, which is hollow and made of styrene, I think. Very light and can be cut to fit with a hobby knife. I was pondering the idea of this material and its safety in an aquarium when the concept of slate crept back into my mind.
I had been to the landscape supply yard several times this summer and did not find any flat rock that was thin enough (I thought) for this application. After debating about my silicone and sand concept for a while I abandoned this and decided to head back over there and go ahead and get some slate - I knew I could get pieces 24" x 12", and that meant I needed 4 pieces, leaving room for the outflow box (this hides my intakes) and giving me a couple of extra inches that was not critical. I could place them along the back of the tank without having to drain the tank and starting over. They could be propped along the back and give a sheer solid wall effect that would not be completely natural looking, since the slate pieces are rectangles and very obviously cut by hand, but I thought they would blend in and be unobtrusive. They would be made of actual rock, and I preferred this.
I went to the landscape supply and picked out 4 slabs, and brought them home. They were very cheap. I scrubbed and rinsed, scrubbed and rinsed for a while and then happily began to install them.
Whoops! I know my tank is 24" tall and because of the large canopy I did not have to worry about the slate sticking up out of the water just a bit, right? Wrong! I forgot about the thick glass center brace that covers about the middle third of the tank. This means the slate was too tall, except on each far side. Ugh. You can't imagine my frustration. I just wanted a simple fix and plopping these straight pieces in side by side was going to be perfect. Now what? I hauled them out and decided I'd use a small hand held sledge type hammer (no shortage of hammers around here, of all shapes and sizes) and chip off the tops of these pieces. I thought about using a saw with a diamond blade, but that would be a delay, and I am not having delays once I get something started!
Also, I thought a jagged edge on the top would be a nice effect if it would be visible. I started by placing one of the slabs (1" thick) on the bottom step of the porch and stood on it, then leaned over and began to strike the top edge with my hammer. Nothing. Harder and harder I struck, getting out not a small amount of frustration on this stone. Nothing. The pieces were too thick. I tried to find the heavy chisel (it is actually a splitting maul but has worked well for me on stone in the past) and called my husband in desperation in case he knew where it was. To his credit, he did not even ask me why I wanted it! He could hear the stress in my voice and decided to leave the subject be for the time being. He gave me some clues and I hunted it down. This produced no results, either.
Well, the last strike of my hammer did not chip off anything from the to
p, but the entire slab broke in half on the diagonal! This was not a good thing. I needed 4 pieces, and now I was down to 2. I can't stack a triangular piece with the large side on top to match up with the opposite piece, if you see what I mean, so I was quite bummed.Well, previously I had attempted to split blue stone slabs with a chisel, and though it worked to some extent, the pieces never split perfectly in half due to the fissures and other defects in the stone, and I gave up on that type of stone. I decided I'd give this a try on the slate. Well, let me tell you, slate splits beautifully! I had a 24" x 12" x 1" slab and next thing you know I had TWO 24" x 12" x 0.5" slabs! It is a lot of fun if you are into that type of thing. I don't know why, but it is very satisfying.
Anyway, I split the remaining three slabs and I wound up with more slate than I needed, and thinner pieces, which was better. The other good thing is that once they were split to half-inch thickness I could chip off the tops just fine, and I was able to line them up across the back of the tank without any difficulty. Whew!! Sometimes I get lucky, let me tell you.
You can see in the pic above (still home for the goldfish, which are going to go to a tank in my office at work when I get my frontosa) the finished product, with the slate and the jagged edges on top. The far right piece is one that broke accidentally on the diagonal, but I don't mind it and it is where I will suction my powerhead that is to go on that side of the tank. I am very happy with how this turned out, and am also happy that I have been able to wait an entire month to allow the tank to settle in somewhat. Another month would not hurt, and with my schedule as it is right now it may, in fact, be another month before I exchange goldfish for frontosa, as well as a trio or two of compressiceps, I think.
Please do not forget to admire how I have painstakingly managed to hide equipment. The outflow box on the far left that houses my intakes and heater is completely hidden in shadow, and the outflow pipes are next to it, but you can't see those, either, due to careful placement of my puck lights. This is a huge accomplishment for someone who really hates to see any equipment at all, not to mention this being a bare tank without decor to hide things like I have always done in the past with ease. Driftwood and plants have always been key players, but I don't have those in this tank, so hiding equipment has been on my mind a lot in the planning of this tank. It still looks bare and unfinished, but I can picture the blue and black frontosa gliding about, and it is going to look great someday!
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