Here's my 10g DIY sprayfoam background...

From the start, here is the sprayfoam as it came out of the can. I used an old broken tank as the mold for it, but after doing that, I would recommend using something breathable like a cardboard box, so that the foam dries faster. It will take approximately 3-5 days for it to completely dry in against glass. The black that you see under the foam is a UGF, and the tubes you see will go from under the UGF to a HOB filter and an air pump.



Next I painted the back glass of the real aquarium with a blue background.



Over the blue background and over the bottom I painted it with flat black, this is so that from the back it appears black, or if the gravel is thin, you won't be able to see through the bottom. This picture was taken from the outside bottom view of the tank. When I get done building the new stand, it will be housed in a flat black cabinet, so the flat black back pannel won't reflect any light inside the cabinet.



After the foam dried, I hollowed out the back of it into a cave, this provides the fish a safe place, as well as reducing the upward force exerted by the foam. It's important to let the foam dry completely, otherwise it will collapse somewhat after hollowing out the back. I painted it, and glued the UGF down to the bottom of the aquarium with GE silicone. I tried first with the foam because it seemed to adhere so well, but found out quickly that it doesn't adhere well after about 12 hours underwater. So make sure you adhere it with the GE silicone to the UGF, the foam will stick well to the UGF as it will have seeped through the holes in the UGF. Let this dry for a VERY long time, as silicone doesn't dry very quickly against the glass. Finally I used some more spray foam that I had worked well into a sticky paste to stick the plastic plants down to the front side of the UGF. When you do this, the foam will expand a little bit, so make sure you put weight on the plants, or the foam will lift them up... but by putting weight down on them, the foam will expand through the cracks in the UGF to hold the plants very securely. Finally I added the gravel back on top, and here is the dry picture.



Here's a picture of the tube routing for the HOB filter, which supplies all of the UGF suction...



Finally, here's the complete picture with fish. This project is fairly easy for beginners, as long as you follow the EXACT directions on glueing it down. Believe me, there's nothing more frustrating than having it glued down and ready to go, then waking up the next morning to find the whole thing floated to the surface overnight.



This spray foam is great for making lava rock, as it just naturally looks like that. However, for granite or other rock backgrounds, I would recommend using styrofoam, as cutting the sprayfoam will look anything but natural.

looks nice!

thats cool i am thinking about making a full background like that once i get my tank up and running

If you need any help or information on styrofoam backgrounds, Sergeant Major and I have done a lot of research on them. I'd like to try one, but I'm a little tight on money right now. If I ever get a bigger tank, I've got a bunch of styrofoam sheets. I'm going to find some cement and make a background for my 10 gallon.

That looks really cool.

Kind of off topic, but

are those fancy guppy males in the tank? I'm curious because I am thinking about just keeping a group of males instead of both males and females. I really want to try to find a home for my females.

Maybe I should ask the lfs.

I have 2 adult females 1 orange and 1 black

2 female fry about 1 inch each 1 is black and 1 is probably going to be a red/blue verigated female. Both look really nice.

My male is very nice. I can't figure out how to post pictures.

Any ideas on ways to find someone that might want them?
Thanks!

any big fish you have might be interested in giving them a home

Yes, they are fancy guppies... all the males just happened to line up for that shot. There were also 3 females off-camera. This is actually now my feeder breeder tank. Who says feeder tanks have to be ugly? :D

What type of paint did you use to add color to the foam?

v/r, N-A

I used a "high heat" ceramic spraypaint (available for about $8 from Home Depot) on the inside decoration, and normal spraypaint (about $4) on the back and bottom.

I actually no longer have this tank. The tank glass was destroyed in an ill conceived attempt to drill an overflow hole in the side.