# This is my first attemped at a DIY background for my frogs!



## Froggiestyle (Aug 16, 2011)

OK only a few of you people know i was making a custom background.

This background cost me around $60 in total.

The ingredients i used was:
1. Styrofoam block (can get for free if you know people in transport) i just brought it from Clark rubber.
2. Liquid Nails
3. Grout, they say try to get it without fungicides but have fun trying to find that. but i red an article about it and its not toxic when fully set.
4. Paintbrushes (got mine from bunnings)
5. Non toxic acrylic paint ( which nower days is enviroment friendly so its all children safe)
6. A non toxic sealer ( which i used "Mod Podge" its good for high humidity enclosures or you could use "shields all")
7. Clear toxic free silicone. (aquarium silicone is fine.


OK This is how i made my custom background with a waterfall.

Before i start this is my first attempt at something like this so its not 100% perfect but looks ok.

Step 1.

First of all i got a thin layer of Styrofoam which i used for my basic backing in case i made a mistake and could easily start over again instead of stick it straight to the tank and there for would have a lot of problems trying to remove it if i made a mistake.

This is the backing piece i used.







Step 2.

This one was the most messiest part of the whole project. Styrofoam goes everywhere once you cut it up. so its best you do it outside in the shed or a spare room or something and not do it like i did on the dinning table. This was everywhere and when i girlfriend saw what i was doing when she got home i ended up sleeping in the spare room for almost a week :-( this my project.

Ok what i did was i cut all sorts of different size blocks/cubes and then i made 5 Large blocks to use them as my ledges for my frogs to sit on and i have them in varies spots for them to regulate there body temperatures.

Then i used the liquid nails once i was happy with the position with my blocks/cubes and stuck them all down on my backing thin layer of Styrofoam and also the same with my waterfall, for my waterfall i used the off cuts of the backing layer to make it. then it left a gap either side for the hose to go through to the top for the waterfall.

This is what i came up with.














I let that dry for about 24 hours before moving to the next step.

Step 3.

Before i started grouting i got my Stanley knife and cut off all the bits i think wouldn't look good and the finish and made them all kind of shapes.

Once that was done i used the OLD vacuum cleaner and sucked up all the loose Styrofoam so i had nothing left on there.

Then Comes the grout i used daveo Sanitized color grout from bunnings and has biocides added which is basically the same as fungicides.
I brought 3 packets of that and it happened to be on special when i got some. $18 in total. i got a white, mocha and a dark brown so when i did the first coat and 2nd n 3rd using different colors i knew where i had been and what i had missed. You can use the same color of you like and just add some acrylic paint to make the grout different color but i did it that way because the dark brown was my finish color of the background.

This is the 1st layer of grout ( i let this sit for 24 hours before applying more and this has a total of 4 layers.

1st layer which is the white.






2nd and 3rd layer which i used mocha and i little added brown acrylic paint.











and the 4th layer which finshed off with my final color.






That took me a total of 4 days to finish the grouting and let it sit for another 36 hours.

Step 4.

once it was dry then it came to painting the water fall to make it stand out.
i used a French blue and i applyed 3 layers on it and let it sit for about 2 hours before doing anther coat, total of 8 hours to let the last coat dry.

This is it.






Then once it dryed i didnt know what to do next but i ended up coming up with this, again another 3 layers.






Ok once that was done i waited another 8 hour but it was 11 pm when i did that so i attacked it the next day after work.
What i did here was i got some white then i once i dipped it in the white i wiped basically all the white off then then i went over the blue and it left white spots and strips over the blue to give it a little of an affect also did the same affect with a light brown which is called raw sienna it gave it a really nice look ( i was actually surprised how good it came out.

This is what it came out like.














Step 5.

Once all the painting was done i left it another 24 hours. i got some 6mm hose and stuck it up the side so it was ready for when i had to install it in the tank otherwise i wouldnt have a hope in hell.

Now it came to the "mod Podge" i put 4 layers on it, but you can put more on it if you like but 4 is enough as its only for frogs not lizards or monitors then you would have to add more.

this is some picture of me applying the Mod Podge and pictures of when it dried out.










This is the picture of the mod podge i used, i used a Matt finish so it wasn't as shiny as a gloss finish.





This is the pictures after all layers are done and dried for about 24 hours.


















Last Step before i install it, what i did was grab some left over silicone i had for previous tanks and i put silicone over where the water is going to run down so it don't eat away the mod podge and the acrylic paint that i applied.


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## MSD Reptiles (Aug 16, 2011)

Well done mate!!! Nice DIY guide... thanks heaps!!


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## bugeye23 (Aug 16, 2011)

amazing work mate keep it up


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## nico77 (Aug 16, 2011)

Looks good , whats going under the water fall to catch the water ? 

cheers nico


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## J-A-X (Aug 16, 2011)

looks unreal, cant wait to see it in the tank


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 16, 2011)

nico77 said:


> Looks good , whats going under the water fall to catch the water ?
> 
> cheers nico



There is a water part and land part so the waterfall is going to go into the water side of the tank.

Cheers,
Troy

Ok here is some picture of it in the tank. haven't glued it in yet because i wanted to test the waterfall before i did and it was lucky because the water goes everywhere and doesnt stay in the waterfall section. so what i have to do is no point getting another pump because it will do the same thing. i have to apply more silicone on it and make some glooves and patterns in it so the water can HOPEFULLY follow them grooves without going all over the background itself.

Here is some pictures


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## nico77 (Aug 16, 2011)

have you tried to use a tap on the pipe so you can adjust the water flow ? it might help control where the water goes .

cheers nico


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## mad_at_arms (Aug 16, 2011)

Thats a great first go, don't be selling it short.
Do you have any more pics of the water pipework?
Can you adjust the output on the pump?


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 16, 2011)

yeh i can it have 5 speeds and its on the lowest it can go, think this one is a aqua one maxi 103 1200 L/Hr but the water doesnt seem to run down the middle so i turned it up full and it didnt the same thing so im going to have to reapply silicone and put some lines in it to heopfully get the water running down into them grooves


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## mad_at_arms (Aug 16, 2011)

Do you have a strip of flyscreen? that might diffuse the flow and keep it from falling so fast.


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 17, 2011)

i Just tried it and i think the water flow is way to powerful i think i have to downgrade to the smaller pump.Iill get the maxi 102 500 L/Hr instead that should do the trick i think.


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## J-A-X (Aug 17, 2011)

from looking at the pics it looks like the top and bottom are the same depth, as in the same distance from the back, if you had angled it (like a slide) it may have reduced the splash, ridges of silicone are a good idea


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## Virides (Aug 17, 2011)

You can take advantage of water tension here.

If you were to form pits in the pipe surface with sharp edges (not dangerously sharp, just not smooth) the water will tend to cling to the surface. Much like water running down the face of rocks. Then have a small tube at the top pointing directly up close to the surface of the back panel away from the face and build a small dam around the hole with an opening towards the pipe. The water will flow over the edge without too much lateral inertia and creep over the edge. You would have to adjust the flow rate so that the water will flow down without dropping off. The flyscreen mesh would work provided that you adhere it to the pipe and offset it from the surface of the pipe by about 1mm.

Dusting the surface with granular sand would also work and be more natural in appearance.


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## nico77 (Aug 17, 2011)

if its still to fast i think you should cut the pipe and add a tap and re join the pipe/hose so you can reduce the flow a bit more , you should be able to find a small tap fitting in the gardening section at your local hardware store for a couple of bucks .

cheers nico


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 17, 2011)

YES!!!!!!!!! i fixed the problem i thought instead of pulling it all apart and mucking around with it i thought i would of tried another layer of silicone and with the end of the paint bush put some grooves in it.

Stuck it back in and tested and it worked a treat, but i am going to make another one soon for another set of frogs and ill keep these suggestions in mind.


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## J-A-X (Aug 17, 2011)

Well done! I'm glad you didn't have to pull it apart, and I bet you are too


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 17, 2011)

yeh i sat down today and thought about it for about 2 hours and i thought that's my only hope i had and it came off


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## Froggiestyle (Aug 30, 2011)

That's the lot, just going to add more plants on the weekend


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## gardinator (Aug 31, 2011)

thats awesome  can i just ask where did u get that colour paint for the rocks coz i cant find a good colour and thats exaclty what im looking for. i got colours for a rainforest theme but i want to make one like that too !! thanks


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## mad_at_arms (Aug 31, 2011)

Great work mate, glad it worked out.


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## Froggiestyle (Sep 4, 2011)

gardinator said:


> thats awesome  can i just ask where did u get that colour paint for the rocks coz i cant find a good colour and thats exaclty what im looking for. i got colours for a rainforest theme but i want to make one like that too !! thanks


 
well it actually is half paint half grout,

I used the deavo sanitized coloured grout for my final coat, I used the dark brown colour You can get from bunnings.
Then I used the "raw sienna" acrylic paint with a paint brush


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## gardinator (Sep 5, 2011)

ohh ok thanks for that


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## Froggiestyle (Sep 7, 2011)

My frogs are yet to sit on the ledges I made. Think it might have been a waste of time. But see what happens on the long run.


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