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Hamza
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Joined: May 29, 2007
Posts: 2181
Location: Hyderabad
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 Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:57 am Post subject: Updated 31/10/2010- Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Hi,
Of late I've been bitten by this bug, thanks to a few people namely; Salman and Dev(severumkid) for showing their paludariums and spreading this infection and Shahid bhai(Raushy), who actually called me up to discuss the plans for his setup.
Here am starting the journal from the beginning, this includes not just the setup but also a bit of my 3d styrofoam background with a waterfall feature which is in process now.
Specifications
Tank size - 12(l)x8(b)x12(h)
Full Capacity: 5g
Actual capacity after filling to desired height: 1.5-2g
Filtration+waterfall done by a miniHOB 150lph
I'll be using RO water for this setup
Plants:Undecided, I've got some resurrection plants(ferns), collected some mosses(wild, growing on bricks), I also have some mosses and crypt parva to grow in submerges areas will be getting some HC for emersed growth as well.
My choice of plants is very limited here as this is a very tiny setup.
Here goes the background...
Materials used
2 sheets of Styrofoam 1" and 1/2" respectively.
some fevicol
a sharp knife
some sheets of sandpaper
ruler and marker and pins
concrete and so on...
The first step, stick all the layers together as desired, you can cut them randomly, no strict measurements required. I gave it a depth of 7" front to back. Ofcourse, this should be planned on paper first. Pins come in handy when you are doing the trial model before pasting and also to hold together weaker bits.
Then, smoothen all the edges with a fine grade sandpaper*, and then followed by leveling all layers.
*I did a few trials with various blades and I found sandpaper to be the best method the carve out the stones of desired shapes
Heres the result after working on it for 2-3 hours, patience is a great virtue here.
Heres how the things will go in...
All the above was done a couple of days ago, this is a picture from today after giving it a fresh first coat of cement. The cement has been applied using using a 1"paintbrush. the cement layer maybe about 3mm to 1cm thick. This will be smoothened at certain desired places with the second coat of ccement.
heres the housing for HOB inlet
Further I plan to do another coat of cement, then maybe some color if I feel like doing it, then it'll be soaked in water for some good time before it'll be siliconed to the back of the tank. But I'll certanly appreciate your suggestions for coloring this, especial the kind of paint to be used, etc.
Initially I was a bit reluctant, but now I realize that it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience working on 3d background and I reckon everyone must try it atleast once. I am planning to do one more for my larger tank.
Thats it for now, will keep you updated on further developments.... |
Last edited by Hamza on Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:07 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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Jaisankar
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Joined: Aug 23, 2010
Posts: 30
Location: Chennai
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:57 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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| good work and keep updating us all with the pics. |
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Scorpio
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Joined: Dec 07, 2007
Posts: 2381
Location: Delhi
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 8:48 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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| Nice |
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rasikanayak
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Joined: Jan 25, 2005
Posts: 2927
Location: Bangalore
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 9:05 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Nice concept and looking good, Hamza.
Will be keenly watching this thread 
Regards,
Nayak. |
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mudjawd
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Joined: Sep 14, 2008
Posts: 1228
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 9:41 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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| ahem.........nice looking one. but what all plants do you plan to keep and where will you plant them apart from that HC area. |
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anandflower
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Location: Madurai,Tamilnadu
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:47 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Hi,Nice work ,can you throw some light on how you prepare the concreat, it is just Cement and construction sant mixture or something else.
Can we use white cement . |
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mohang_j
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Joined: Nov 05, 2009
Posts: 43
Location: Konanakunte , Bangalore
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:49 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Good work Hamza,
I had tried the similar background with thermocol (as plug) and fiberglass material. But did not complete it due to the time constraint. I will be doing it again after 6 -9 months. You have to coat at least 5-6mm thick concrete otherwise it will start peeling. You have to use two part Epoxy paint which is food grade to finish. It will cost about 250 Rs per ltr (moderators--since this is a diy I hope quoting prices are ok if not please delete ) for white colour. Other colours will be slightly expensive. |
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sid_p
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Joined: Mar 19, 2009
Posts: 324
Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:36 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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That looks awesome Hamza. I am going to try that for sure
Can you please share the composition of the concrete? |
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rimpel
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Joined: Nov 24, 2009
Posts: 639
Location: Punjab (Ludhiana)
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:42 am Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Very Nice!  |
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amitgh
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Joined: Apr 25, 2009
Posts: 151
Location: Pune
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 4:41 pm Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Very interesting! and great step by step pics and guidance. 
Please keep updating the post as am very interested to see the outcome and learn on building the 3d backgrounds. |
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Mohammed Mudassir
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Joined: May 20, 2008
Posts: 1262
Location: City of NAWABS- Hyderabad
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:58 pm Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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cool one bro,
will drop in somtime to have a look |
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hrishi007
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Joined: Jan 31, 2009
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| Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 10:46 pm Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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another of mr hamza's genius ideas..awesome..keep us updated..
btw,is styrofoam and thermocol the same? |
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Hamza
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Joined: May 29, 2007
Posts: 2181
Location: Hyderabad
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| Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:58 pm Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Thank you everyone, great to see your responses
@Mudassar..this tank is so small that it'll ruin the scape if I use plants with bigger texture, so, I'll be sticking to HC, ferns(maybe) and some terrestrial mosses as well. Lets see how it turns out.
@Anand and Siddharth..Am not that technical and know quite a little about masonry(as this is my first trial with cement, never used it earlier). For first layer I mixed some cement with fine sand and made it thick enough so that it sticks to the Styrofoam. Sorry I dont remember the ratio. I think white cement is a bit weak and I had been through a lot of similar DIY projects and found that many people used the normal gray cement, so went ahead with it.
@Mohan..Seems you've got some good practical experience of this, you are very right about thin layer getting peeled off. I see that now, I have done another layer of cement(just cement) today, will do it couple of times to make it thick enough. Thanks for the epoxy tip as well.
But I have a little concern regarding epoxy coat, I definitely dont like it to look glossy as an end product, so any suggestions how to give this a coarse natural look?
@hrishi..yes both are same.
Will be posting an update in a while... |
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Hamza
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Joined: May 29, 2007
Posts: 2181
Location: Hyderabad
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| Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 7:28 pm Post subject: Re: Journal - Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Now heres an update...11/10/2010
Did a second coat of cement(without any sand), was a bit flimsy after the first coat, but now it fees strong and firm and a lil heavv too. This was done around 5 hours back from now and isnt dry yet.
side view to show the protrusion
And you might be looking at some minor glitches in above pictures if you have a keen eye, here are some close ups of that. This is the courtesy of some pigeons in my neighborhood, they love to peck everything...I hate them 
Have to cover this up in next coat as its semi-dry now and new layer of cement wont hold on it.
And the messy background is a small balcony that I use for most of my DIY projects. |
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mohang_j
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Joined: Nov 05, 2009
Posts: 43
Location: Konanakunte , Bangalore
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| Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 10:30 pm Post subject: Re: Updated 11/10/2010- Nano Paludarium(3d background) |
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Hamza,
If you want good strength then you have to coat the concrete with the proper epoxy resin (The one which is used to make boat) or even araldite will do. Last time when i checked epoxy resin was about 800Rs per ltr in Bangalore. I can share some contact info if you are interested. you can mix very fine sand, talc, sawdust and then if required add colour pigments to it for the matt finish. If you plan to use paint then mix a small quatity of very fine sawdust to get the matt finish. You may also get the matt finish paint if you search hard. |
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