Any aquarist will tell you that everything is important: not only filling the home pool with the population, not only its internal design, but also the panorama that shines through from behind. Unsuccessful or missing background for the aquarium can ruin the whole impression of a lovingly created house for fish. Agree, if before your eyes there is a bewitching underwater world, albeit in miniature, and through it, cheerful flower wallpapers shine through, the magic is somehow lost. So a real aquarist certainly pays attention to the design of the "rear".
Types of back wall
All varieties of outdoor design can be divided into two groups.
- 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 like new. Disadvantages: it is immediately obvious that this is a "backdrop". The simplest representative of the lineup is simply the painted wall of the aquarium.
- Inner saver. The most natural look, volume and full beauty are the main advantages. It requires compliance with certain rules: the materials are only non-toxic and do not change the composition of the aquatic environment, plus reasonable mounting. Disadvantages: if you decide to change the design, especially in a large aquarium, you have to puff heavily - the thing is overall. In addition, the volumetric background for the aquarium takes away space from 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, customizing them to a design idea.
Masonry
One of the most successful designs that can be entered into any decoration created inside the fish house. The easiest way to build such a background for the aquarium is from decorative stones. They only need sealant. Each pebble is cut in half so that one side becomes even and fits as tight as possible to the glass. In order for the gaps to be invisible, the stones are grinded, after which their laying out begins. This is done on dry glass, from bottom to top, the pattern is selected intuitively or according to a plan developed in advance and captured on the sketch.
When the sealant, which fixes the elements, dries out (this can take up to a day), the aquarium is filled with water and left for three days. This time should be enough to wash all possible foreign matter. After that, fresh water is poured and the residents change.
Eternal motive - tree
No less universal background for the aquarium, which harmonizes, again, with any internal surroundings. Only glue will have to be bought for him - everything else is found in the nearest forest, well, or in a landing. You just need to find a dead tree (not an oak tree - it gives off tanning substances harmful to fish for a long time) and peel it. The algorithm is as follows:
- The bark is soaked to remove dirt and remove insects.
- Raw materials are divided into pieces in accordance with the final idea.
- The bark is cooked; every half hour, the water changes to eliminate tannin. Approximately the process takes from 2 to 3 hours, but can last longer.
- In the hot and wet state, the leveling material is laid under the press.
- After drying, the inner side is cleaned to flatness with a knife, sandpaper or a plane.
- Elements are glued with sealant similar to decorative pebbles.
To revitalize the landscape, you can use branches and driftwood. Before starting the fish, we observe all the same precautions.
Avant-garde background for the aquarium: do wonders with our own hands
In those cases when you need more plastic material to decorate the back wall, you can use mounting foam. With its help, you can create the surface of the moon, and bizarre volumetric patterns. It is noteworthy that such a background for the aquarium can also serve as a refuge for small fish, if you make cave indentations in it. For two squares of the wall, one balloon of foam is enough, and the layer thickness should be at least 3 cm.
A piece of polyethylene is laid on the floor and moistened. Foam is sprayed on it and smoothed out with a spatula, also wrapped with a film. To create caves, you can insert a piece of pipe, again shrouded in film, or cut them out later. As long as the foam has not grabbed, a thin layer of earth / sand is poured, and on top there is still foam, with the formation of a planned relief. You can put driftwood or small pots. A day later, the foam is painted with epoxy and toner, after which the already finished "back" is fixed to the wall with sealant.
Live background
It is considered the most difficult to execute, it takes the most time, since it should "grow" 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 mesh, which is mounted inside the tank with suction cups. It is better to stick a suction cup larger so that the back does not come off and float as it grows. The mesh is taken twice as large as the trimmed wall. On one half, moss unfolds, hides behind the second half, and they are fastened with fishing line. The workpiece is locked in place. All that remains is to trim the top, which grows pretty soon, and after a while your aquarium will have a chic and natural background.