It's on: übercool shadowbox background (posting pics now)

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Alton and Ace for the inspiration for this. I think I am going to like this!

I just ordered the lighting for the shadowbox:
a single bulb 80w retrofit kit from Tek2; the bulb will be a Giesemann Actinic +

My plan is this:
make a picture frame style frame out of nice oak boards. Fairly affordable since they're only 4" wide, 1" thick...
Groove them in front with the table saw to hold the acrylic front panel.
Either sand a sheet of acrylic or see if I can buy a frosted sheet of plexiglass to make it 'blurry'. I don't want it too frosted or else it might end up too milky white.
I am actually going to use a long strip of the adhesive vinyl I bought so I can add a gentle curve to the corners and line the box with that after I spray paint blue over it (slightly gradient).
Make a couple of skinny fake rock hills out of rubble and spray paint them dark.
Those will go in front of the vinyl background and right behind the frosted acrylic sheet.

Got to make box a little taller than tank to fit the light in out of sight.
If all goes well I can mount the background to the wall before the tank comes and when it gets delivered I can just park it right in front of it! :)

I'll need to build some eggcrate rock structures to hide the corner overflows. All I can think of is zip ties and super glue right now. I do NOT want to use foam.

So anyway: Going shopping for some stuff tomorrow. If you can anticipate any problems/error with my picks tell me know before I haul it home. ;)

I am hoping the finished product will look somewhat like this:
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o206/dogstar74/img_8463.jpg
(minus the SPS and tang of course ;) )

[Bill S]

How very cool!

[hobogato]

i am really looking forward to seeing this!

[pepper]

This looks like it is going to be awesome!

[allan]

Ugh, just what I needed to see, yet another reason for me to redo my aquascape.

Really looking forward to this Karin.

[Europhyllia]

Just priced the acrylic. It would be $100 for a 3'x6' piece frosted (Regal Plastics) or $50 if I just buy a clear 3'x6' at Lowes and gently frost it myself.
Was doing some frosting on a test piece with very fine sanding sponge and I think I like that better anyway so I can control just how frosted it is.
Plus I am great at scratching up acrylic!

[allan]

Karin, I wouldn't imagine that this would call for a very thick piece of acrylic. What thickness were you looking at? Seems to me that you are pricing the 1/8th or 1/4"

[Europhyllia]

Apparently the frosted is offered only in 1/8 or 1/4 and I priced the 1/8" since it was the thinnest it was available in.
I am guessing the clear one at Lowes is thinner (hence cheaper :) ) and that's fine with me. Like you said since it doesn't have any structural purpose it doesn't need to be very thick at all.
Should just slide ride into the grooves I make towards the front of the boards and provide some diffusion/blurriness...

[allan]

I'm kind of excited to see how that turns out. I never thought to cover my overflows with rock and leave the middle open, but I did like that image up at the top.

I would have to work on the tank this weekend and see what kind of structural obstacles I'll have to over come.

When's your tank coming in? You must be jonesing pretty hard about now.

[Europhyllia]

When's your tank coming in? You must be jonesing pretty hard about now.
I do. No idea when it comes in but the plus side with all the waiting is that it gives me time to think of other stuff like this.
If the tank would have come in right away I would have just slapped some paper background on it. lol
Time to think and plan gives opportunity for new ideas. :)

[Mr Cob]

This will look great Karin. I have often dazed into the pic of that tank. I frequently search the net for new and cool backgrounds and ways to display our reef setups. That one has to be one of the coolest I have seen.

Couple of questions and comments:

-I may have overlooked it, but how do you plan to keep the back clean? This will be super sweet, but only if you can keep the back glass clear of algae, sponges and life from growing on it.

-What type of corner overflows will you have? You mentioned covering them up with eggcrate and rock.....without foam I personally would not use the eggcrate because it will show. Depending on what type of overflows you have I would just drill holes into the overflow and use black heavy duty zipties to position rock to it. I did this on my tank and with the right pieces of rock and placement the zipties can be completely hidden easily.

-I would just take the time to do it right and purchase the frosted acrylic. I know it costs more but personally I can not imagine the "painted" acrylic or "sand papered acrylic" looking flawless. It seems that if it has imperfections then it will easily show through the glass and perhaps be distracting.

Good luck Karin, can't wait to see this all come together. I think you taking the plunge into this will motivate others to do the same. I would much prefer this over foam because I like the look of depth. I would have a darker blue than seen in the pic too. Only reason keeping me from doing something like this is the ability to keep the back glass clean.

Thanks for sharing your process. We will all copy you now! :)

[Kristy]

This is probably a "no duh" kind of comment (how does that translate from German!?!) but as long as you are doing gradient coloring from darker bottom to lighter on the top, you might also want to do the same with darker on the ends and lighter in the center (both with the color of the blue and the position/spread of the lighting itself) to further de-emphasize the corner overflow areas.

[Europhyllia]

Good points!

-I may have overlooked it, but how do you plan to keep the back clean? This will be super sweet, but only if you can keep the back glass clear of algae, sponges and life from growing on it.
I was planning to get one of those 35" blades on a stick things. Any experience with them? (I was also thinking it would be really cool if somebody invented a hybrid between a mag float and a Roomba! lol)

-What type of corner overflows will you have? You mentioned covering them up with eggcrate and rock.....without foam I personally would not use the eggcrate because it will show. Depending on what type of overflows you have I would just drill holes into the overflow and use black heavy duty zipties to position rock to it. I did this on my tank and with the right pieces of rock and placement the zipties can be completely hidden easily.
I loved how nylon rodding turned out for me so I was going the MarcoRock instruction route again and filling the gaps with mortar (still got to research mortar types some more):
http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=49 (scroll to the bottom)
That way should I ever sell the tank it can be brought back to original condition by removing the egg crate covers.

-I would just take the time to do it right and purchase the frosted acrylic. I know it costs more but personally I can not imagine the "painted" acrylic or "sand papered acrylic" looking flawless. It seems that if it has imperfections then it will easily show through the glass and perhaps be distracting.
That was my concern about the painted acrylic. I didn't see myself being able to do that right. I've been testing sanding this morning though and found something that looks like a wool sweater that went through the dryer. Very soft and as long as the surface is clean doesn't leave any spiral marks - just a nice gently blurring. My concern with the premade frosting is that it will be too frosted and end up being too 'milky white'. I asked and there is only one level of frosting available. In my trials this morning I found I could achieve enough blurriness with very little frosting. Like you I'd like the end result to have slightly darker colors. So besides the price what appeals with the DIY frosting is control over the level of frostiness. I'd practice some more on technique of course. Maybe see if things change if I use the wool sweater pad wet, etc.Thanks for bringing up these questions! :)

[Kristy]

(I was also thinking it would be really cool if somebody invented a hybrid between a mag float and a Roomba! lol)

Well, actually...

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/06/11/eheim-powerscraper-is-a-motorized-algae-cleaning-blade/

Eheim Powerscraper is a motorized algae cleaning blade (http://reefbuilders.com/2010/06/11/eheim-powerscraper-is-a-motorized-algae-cleaning-blade/)

http://reefbuilders.com/wp-content/themes/ReefBuilders/images/left_cap.jpg Posted on June 11th, 2010 by Adam Blundell (http://reefbuilders.com/author/adamblundell/)http://reefbuilders.com/wp-content/themes/ReefBuilders/images/right_cap.jpg 9 (http://reefbuilders.com/2010/06/11/eheim-powerscraper-is-a-motorized-algae-cleaning-blade/#comments) Leave a comment (http://reefbuilders.com/2010/06/11/eheim-powerscraper-is-a-motorized-algae-cleaning-blade/#comments) http://reefbuilders.com/files/2010/06/power-cleaner-eheim.gif (http://reefbuilders.com/files/2010/06/power-cleaner-eheim.gif)
The Eheim Powerscraper is a motorized algae scraper that borrows from the technology of powered toothbrushes and razorblades. In a rather stunning marketing move Eheim has elected to not share any photos nor details on their upcoming Eheim Powerscraper. This is not all that uncommon as many manufactures are tight lipped on upcoming products until they are ready to roll them out the door. What is a bit of a shocker is that Eheim took this approach despite the fact that they have already unveiled this item during last month’s Interzoo. Their current plans are to release full technical specifications later this summer. What we do know is that the first seen Powerscrapers look much like an electric shaving razor with a scraper blade and we may have even spotted one fitting on the end of a stick or long handle. While many hobbyists are well versed in the applications of electric toothbrushes for cleaning tanks, electrical blades are certainly absent. Hobbyists needing to do some serious coralline removal with a powerful scraper will simply need to wait 4 more months when the anticipated $50 Powerscraper becomes available.
update: thanks to Acuaristica (http://www.acuaristica.com/blog/2010/06/eheim-powercleaner-el-rascavidrios-de-eheim/) for sharing these digital renders of the Eheim powerscraper, or powercleaner, or power-whatever it is going to be calledhttp://reefbuilders.com/files/2010/06/powercleaner-eheim.gif (http://reefbuilders.com/files/2010/06/powercleaner-eheim.gif).

[Europhyllia]

Oh but I want it to just bounce around by itself from tank corner to tank corner without me holding it. It's a nice start though! I think it will do. lol

[Mr Cob]

lol, kind of like the pool skimmers!

[Europhyllia]

lol, kind of like the pool skimmers!
exactly!
The snails could ride the RoboMagFloat like cats like to ride the Roomba vacuum robot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

[Europhyllia]

by the way the original design for the tank pictured in the first post is different from what I'm trying out. Here it is (in German of course because German engineering is awesome. I think we probably invented aquariums too...):
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o206/dogstar74/uwe4.jpg

[ErikH]

Das ist uber schon!

[chrisfowler99]

I was also thinking it would be really cool if somebody invented a hybrid between a mag float and a Roomba! lol

You mean like this thing?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBh6FyDpFS0

[Europhyllia]

YES!
Does it have an urchin sensor (like garage doors can detect kids and cats)?

[chrisfowler99]

YES!
Does it have an urchin sensor (like garage doors can detect kids and cats)?
No idea.

Here's the URL: http://agiaquatics.com/robosnail.htm

Also requires a magnet on the outside to work...and can only stay on one pane of glass. Has to be moved by hand to another.

I don't think it's the perfect solution...yet. :(

[Europhyllia]

Okay I spray painted some rocks and sanded some acrylic. I think I like the fine texture I get with 0000 steel wool best but to blurr something at such close distance it actually takes quite a bit of frosting.
I am reconsidering just buying the pre-made frosted sheet. Since the light shining behind it is blue I am hoping the glow would have to be blue -not white even if the unlighted acrylic would look milky white, right?
Regal said I could swing by and look at samples. Maybe I'll take a rock along! lol

[jroescher]

It would be really expensive, but a large digital picture frame mounted against the back with some really cool scenes that slowly changed from day to night scenes. Maybe Rob could find some interesting paintings to cycle through. Maybe even use a LCD or plasma TV capable of displaying digital files, or even videos. Expensive, but you could accomplish the look you wanted, and change it depending on your mood.

[Europhyllia]

lol. even our big screen TV is only 32 inches diagonal. I don't think we're in the market for a 72" wide digital picture frame... :D
All kidding aside I really don't want the background to take over.
I don't want it to be so interesting that people keep staring at it. I like that just by the nature of it I could change the background later on just by switching out what I put in the box but overall static and without much decoration is perfectly fine with me.
I am just trying to achieve something that will make the main focus (the livestock in the tank) look a little less boxed in.
Maybe it will work. Or maybe I'll just end up with an extra 80 t5 tube at the back of the tank.
I am hoping it will be decent enough to use though. :)

[txmike]

Karin call texas scenic and see if they have a jel sheet in a frosted that is in the size range you are looking for .a lighting jel is real thin (.010" i think)made of polycarb.stuff is great and best of all it is cheap.if you go over there they have a few 100 dif colors of the stuff.

http://www.texasscenic.com/

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Mike I'll call them in the morning

[Mr Cob]

It would be really expensive, but a large digital picture frame mounted against the back with some really cool scenes that slowly changed from day to night scenes. Maybe Rob could find some interesting paintings to cycle through. Maybe even use a LCD or plasma TV capable of displaying digital files, or even videos. Expensive, but you could accomplish the look you wanted, and change it depending on your mood.

Dang John...getting high tech man!

[hobogato]

what a fun project! i cant wait to see what you come up with

[Europhyllia]

actually was just getting ready to PM you for your input...haha

[Europhyllia]

I am up way early because I am waiting for the plastic stores to open. The color issue with frosted glass has been worrying me and I now think buying a tinted sheet will be the answer.
I am pretty excited about seeing what's available -hence not sleeping.
Would like to head into town for samples when the kids are up.
If I am lucky they will sell me small pieces to take home and test with.

[Mr Cob]

so, what's the verdict Jane?

[Europhyllia]

verdict is blue acrylic from Allied ($40 cheaper than Regal for same stuff)

[Mr Cob]

Nice. Would have never thought of that. Did you pick it up today? Can't wait to see some pics.

[Europhyllia]

should arrive monday

[saabtech]

this is going to be very cool! great post, keep it up.

[Europhyllia]

couple of sneak peeks:
http://www.dominopads.com/shadowtest1.jpg
left side is untouched acrylic; right side is treated with super fine steel wool for that hazy/in the distance look which of course also hides the detail on my crummy spray painted rocks better...
Sweet-talked the nice people at Allied into giving me a little piece to play with even though I already picked out the color and ordered it. Would definitely recommend that place. :)

http://www.dominopads.com/shadowtest2.jpg
figuring out the details on the box/frame. I need at least 3" on the inside for the 80w T5 fixture. Also want to be able to mount this on the wall and still be able to slide top board off for bulb changes, etc.

I love the blue acrylic. It will be fun to see what it looks like with different bulbs. I am imagining blue bulb for a deepsea look, white for reef crest and maybe a 6700 yellowish midday bulb to turn the upper region into more of a turquoise shade like you see in the Caribbean diving pictures. Maybe I am just dreaming now though. lol

So far I like it pretty well. I think the only thing able to screw this up if the background and that's easily changed if it doesn't turn out right. :)

[Mr Cob]

Now that is sweet! I love that blue acrylic. This is going to look great Karin. Good job. Thanks for sharing.

Side note....glad to see you playing with some blues even if it just a shadow box....haha!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks. Should be able to finish box and background this weekend (more pics to follow).
Acrylic will be here Monday. Light fixture kit will arrive Tuesday.
So I guess by Wednesday I'll know what it will look like lit ;)

I honestly don't see how it could look bad. It's got to be pretty nice, right?

[txg8gxp]

Very cool, That is going to look really nice.

[hobogato]

nice! this is really gonna be cool :)

[Jarob]

this is one of the coolest things ive seen!!

[Europhyllia]

woot. acrylic came in early. I already went and got it so by the end of the weekend box should be ready and only lacking the light.
Wow what was I thinking? 36" by 72" is pretty big... yikes

[Europhyllia]

got the 320 grit from woodcraft (cute store by the way) but don't like the results.
I think I will stick with super fine steel wool and do it by hand. The result of that is much more subtle.
On a 3'x6' piece it will take me forever but I think it will turn out much nicer and hopefully be worth the trouble. :)

[jesserettele]

SOOOO very cool!


couple of sneak peeks:
http://www.dominopads.com/shadowtest1.jpg
left side is untouched acrylic; right side is treated with super fine steel wool for that hazy/in the distance look which of course also hides the detail on my crummy spray painted rocks better...
Sweet-talked the nice people at Allied into giving me a little piece to play with even though I already picked out the color and ordered it. Would definitely recommend that place. :)

http://www.dominopads.com/shadowtest2.jpg
figuring out the details on the box/frame. I need at least 3" on the inside for the 80w T5 fixture. Also want to be able to mount this on the wall and still be able to slide top board off for bulb changes, etc.

I love the blue acrylic. It will be fun to see what it looks like with different bulbs. I am imagining blue bulb for a deepsea look, white for reef crest and maybe a 6700 yellowish midday bulb to turn the upper region into more of a turquoise shade like you see in the Caribbean diving pictures. Maybe I am just dreaming now though. lol

So far I like it pretty well. I think the only thing able to screw this up if the background and that's easily changed if it doesn't turn out right. :)

[Europhyllia]

I learned a couple of things today:
-painting plywood looks terrible -the hardfiber board is really the way to go
-cutting nice 45 degree angles in long boards is not as easy as it sounds.

Will upload pics tomorrow but my design would change if I had to do it over.
Since the plywood is not usable as background I'd probably do the next box with just a few boards as bracing in the back instead of plywood and make a groove for the hardboard that has the background paint on it. (The hardboard is 1/8" in thickness just like the acrylic sheet)

[ramsey]

I hate seeing posts like this because they always make me want to tear down my tank and start over. :P

I think this is going to look awesome! I can't wait to see the finished product.

[kkiel02]

This is going to be cool. Cant wait for the finished product.

[Europhyllia]

Well here's some pics from this weekend:
steel-wool-ed the acrylic sheet:
http://www.dominopads.com/627acrylic.jpg
completed the box:
http://www.dominopads.com/627box.jpg

found out that spray painting plywood is worthless:
http://www.dominopads.com/627hung_box.jpghttp://www.dominopads.com/627hungbox.jpg

went back into town to buy hardboard:
http://www.dominopads.com/627hardboard.jpg

painted hardboard - oh about 4 times (here's one with me trying to create water ripple reflections on top):
http://www.dominopads.com/627painted_board.jpg

got sidetracked because somebody wanted a birdhouse made with the scraps:
http://www.dominopads.com/627birdhouse.jpg

also experimented with some fake rocks made from pet litter...
http://www.dominopads.com/fakerocks.jpghttp://www.dominopads.com/627fakerocks.jpg

I think I'll have to repaint the hardboard again. Ultimately I won't know what it look like until the light fixture is here but I don't think it's the best it can be (yet)

[BIGBIRD123]

Karin, you should have primed the plywood with Kilz first and the spray paint would have worked. taggin' along...

[Europhyllia]

note to self for next time. lol
the hardboard turns out to be pretty convenient since now I can take it easily back out -spray paint it again and then slide it back into the box.
Got to take a little break. My feet are blue. I look like a sunburned smurfette...

[ErikH]

I feel you on the blue feet. I ruined a 500/pair of Kenneth Cole's helping a buddy paint his rockcrawler "John Deer Yella". Looked down and realized my shoes had a nice yella haze to them. No good. :(

I wanted to tell you how jelly I am. It's such an awesome project, I'd bet fading lights would look spectacular, and help give a ton of dimension. Don't ask me where to get them though, I'm just an ideas man. :)

[StevenSeas]

I feel you on the blue feet. I ruined a 500/pair of Kenneth Cole's helping a buddy paint his rockcrawler "John Deer Yella". Looked down and realized my shoes had a nice yella haze to them. No good. :(

I wanted to tell you how jelly I am. It's such an awesome project, I'd bet fading lights would look spectacular, and help give a ton of dimension. Don't ask me where to get them though, I'm just an ideas man. :)

I dont wanna know what you were doing painting a rockcrawler in 500 dollar shoes much less owning them.

Karin, While your at the DIY mode why not just DIY some LEDs in the back on a dimmer circuit easy enough, once you do the first 2 not nearly as intimidating LOL.

[ErikH]

I dont wanna know what you were doing painting a rockcrawler in 500 dollar shoes much less owning them.

Karin, While your at the DIY mode why not just DIY some LEDs in the back on a dimmer circuit easy enough, once you do the first 2 not nearly as intimidating LOL.

You know how it goes, hang out with a friend, drink too many beers, cans of spray paint, then OH **** MY SHOES! :)

[Europhyllia]

okay got more spray paint. Still always feel like I should spray over once more but I did that all weekend so I am just going to quit here (for now)
testing the rocks -might add some gray to lighten them a bit...
8583

[timmytimtim]

This looks really cool. I can't wait to see the final product =).

[Europhyllia]

Karin, While your at the DIY mode why not just DIY some LEDs in the back on a dimmer circuit easy enough, once you do the first 2 not nearly as intimidating LOL.
Nah that's going to be for the main tank ;)

[Europhyllia]

couple of pics from today:
new hardboard painted and fake rocks in place

http://www.dominopads.com/boardnrocks.jpg

blue acrylic in front:
http://www.dominopads.com/acrylicin.jpg
not sure that I like the rocks. I may simplify even further and just go without rocks...
Or paint rocks onto the background
Or switch from blue acrylic to clear but heavier frosted...
Not sure

[Europhyllia]

lights on:

blue bulb
http://www.dominopads.com/bluebulb.jpg

white bulb:
http://www.dominopads.com/whitebulb.jpg

actually love the white bulb!

[txg8gxp]

Very nice, I think the white looks nice.

[Europhyllia]

yeah. I think I will paint the board solid in the bottom color. I didn't realize retrofit kits came with such adjustable wide clip on reflectors. I can have a solid board and still get the lighter on top effect without painting it lighter on top.

[ErikH]

Please stop posting, taking down a 200g to do this would be a huge pain for me. :)

Looks superduperuber!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks Erik. My husband says I should just paint fish on it and it would be cheaper/less water to clean up than getting the tank...
I repainted the thing solid Bahama Sea Blue and have some 800 grit on order to try.
If the grit works out well I may try adding rock brackground again.
Can't wait to see what it will look like with a tank in front! :)

[Europhyllia]

I loved that article on the golden RATIO by the way. Totally plan to incorporate that!
http://www.dominopads.com/tankbackground.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Awesome Karin! Thanks for posting all the pics! This is way cool.

I kind of think you need the fake rocks in the shadow box though, in order to complete the look of depth that the shadow box concept provides.

[Europhyllia]

I agree on the rocks. But I need to perfect the finish on the acrylic to make it really convincing. I am hoping the 800 grit will be perfect: more than steel wool, less than the 320 grit.
Also since I have the board across the bottom and the lid with the light bulb is easily removable I think I will add whatever fake rocks I will be adding after the tank is in front so I can better decide what shapes and locations will work well for this. :)

[Mr Cob]

Yeah, that's what I love most about this little plan you got going on...it's completely dynamic for the most part.

[Europhyllia]

experimenting with random rock shapes cut out of my leftover hardboard...
http://www.dominopads.com/rockshapes.jpg

[txg8gxp]

That looks cool, what about another set alittle smaller in a lighter shade...too add a shadow effect. Just an idea. If that made and sense.

[Europhyllia]

I was hoping I could create more dimension to it with different shades of paint. - too rainy right now to try though... :)

[Bill S]

The one on the left looks like a troll with a wart on his nose...

[Europhyllia]

Haha!
It's actually just the upside down cut out of the other side ;)
Side by side they are too wide for the box.
So I think I will saw off the warty troll nose.

[ErikH]

Make one of them an arch! :)

[Europhyllia]

Remember I already have two arches in the foreground. I'll see what I can do. Maybe add a hole somehwere... :)

[Europhyllia]

spray painted, sea sponged and fake tiny gorgos added:
http://www.dominopads.com/fakegorgos.jpg

[txg8gxp]

I love the little gorgs.....well, how's it look in the box?

[Europhyllia]

Thanks. Sandpaper disks will not be here until Tuesday. Once I try them out I will have a better idea what the final finish will look like. :)

[FireWater]

Looks awesome so far.

Can't wait to see this come together even more. I think the shadow box is going to look amazing. The fish are probably going to have sore noses from smacking the glass thinking they have more ocean to swim in.

[Kristy]

I prefer the simplicity of the cut-out rock formations (vs. the spray painted rocks) because it seems more in keeping with the scale you would need for the visual effect of depth. It looks more like far-off rocks would look to me. This is coming along so nicely!

[Europhyllia]

I agree Kristy. I wish somebody else would have documented this process before so I wouldn't have had to try out all these dead end ideas myself. lol
I think the cut out is a better solution.
I just found out the width of my corner overflows this morning and it seems my rockscape will have to push together a bit or loose the best parts. I'll have to see what it looks like that way...

[FireWater]

So are you not going to paint to add more dimension? If not what about using more of the scrap material and spacers to give depth? Smaller pieces spaced about 1/4 to 1/2" behind those? Can you see my vision or am I lost again?

[Europhyllia]

I was hoping that just the slight texturing would give enough of a far away rock feel (see last pic with the tiny gorgos).
I am really hoping the acrylic will turn out blurry enough to not afford (or require) more detail.
Spacers might be the way to go though especially with me having to push the scape together further. I could have one side closer to the acrylic and the other closer to the back. Is that what you meant with this?

[FireWater]

Yes, kind of. That will work to give it immediate depth. If more is needed I was thinking extra pieces that were smaller would work if they were spaced back farther. Either way it is going to look sweet.

[Mr Cob]

spray painted, sea sponged and fake tiny gorgos added:
http://www.dominopads.com/fakegorgos.jpg

Man...that's awesome. This is like when artists have that breakthrough painting. This is yours.

FABULOUS Karin! I can't wait to see what it looks like.

[Mr Cob]

If you highlight the pic with your cursor you kind of get a feel of what it might look like...

[txg8gxp]

If you highlight the pic with your cursor you kind of get a feel of what it might look like...
Smart...

[Europhyllia]

Thanks! :)
This is wearing me out and I don't even have a tank yet! lol

Talked to Dan at DSA this morning and he said if Gabe could call him with the PO number he could get my tank glued today and ready for more work by Tuesday when they come back after the long weekend. It takes 4-5 days for the silicone to dry between different components. I haven't heard back from Gabe yet. Hopefully he was able to call. Otherwise it's another 5 days from Tuesday. Getting kind of ready to see some water in front of that shadowbox! lol

[Mr Cob]

Man, I really hope mine isn't too late....I'm kind of playing with a deadline here considering mine is for a tank move into a new home. Maybe I should call them on Tuesday and see what the status is. Ugh.

[Europhyllia]

Yours doesn't have Euro bracing. :) Apparently since they build them in stages every component has to dry for 5 days. I've been told euro bracing can't be applied until everything's dry so euro adds another 5 days on top of regular.
I'll see Gabe tomorrow and will ask him what they said.
My anthias are getting pretty antsy too. More aggression in a small tank. I am anxious to get the new one cycling...

[Europhyllia]

just because:
picture of it in the box:
http://www.dominopads.com/rocksinbox.jpg

onbviously still needs some tweaking.
Hopefully the new grit will do the trick. I still need to soften the edges of the cut outs (spraying over lightly with same color as background is my plan)

It also is too crammed if I move it together to avoid the corner overflows. I am either going to drop the rock on the left or significantly shorten it...
Ideas?

[Jarob]

wow that looks so good!!! Im really impressed!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks!
I cut it apart and left one mountain out.
In the original design I didn't figure in how wide the corner overflows would be
(virtual overflows included):
http://www.dominopads.com/rocksinbox2.jpg

I will add overflow box covered to make them blend in more. Simulation here:
http://www.dominopads.com/rocksinbox3.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Looks GREAT Karin. Very natural looking.

Here's the feeling I'm getting....

http://wiv4.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/coral-reef-small.jpg

[robalv]

Hey Rob that is awesome....

[Europhyllia]

Rob Cob I can tell you understand what I am after. Since I got to live with the corner overflows that's actually exactly what I had in mind!
I've spent my nights browsing those Caribbean underwater galleries to get that imagine in my head. It's so important when you paint or create things to have a vision of what it should be in your mind's eye.
Even if it never turns out that perfect it always turns out better than just throwing stuff together without that vision. :)

[Mr Cob]

I'm just so into what you are creating right now. It's fabulous! I expect this will start some type of trend for others to follow or at the very least start being more creative in the planning process of how our home reefs will look. Definitely has motivated me to want to try some new things.

[FireWater]

Looks great Karin. I like the vision and updated profile of the "rocks"

Rob, I agree 100% w/ you. I have been bugging Karin a bunch trying to pick her brain and it is hopefully going to pay off when I rebuild mine.

[Kristy]

You know... they sell those dried lacy sea fans for decorative purposes. I bet someone could make some amazing patterns using them in a background like this. They were all over the place and cheap in Hawaii and I almost brought some back but couldn't imagine how I would manage to get them home without trashing them in my luggage.

[Mr Cob]

You know... they sell those dried lacy sea fans for decorative purposes. I bet someone could make some amazing patterns using them in a background like this. They were all over the place and cheap in Hawaii and I almost brought some back but couldn't imagine how I would manage to get them home without trashing them in my luggage.

The shell store at the coast has them....I went there a long time ago but can't remember the name of it or where it is at....I'm sure Jarob or one of the coastal dudes know what place I'm talking of.

[Europhyllia]

That's a cool idea Kristy! I tried to keep the details really to a minimum (like my tiny fake ones). I think the more detailed you go the more obvious it can get.
Like with larger seafans it might be more obvious that the ones in front are swaying back and forth while the ones in the back are still. That sort of thing.
I need to contain my spending on this box. My husband had a cow when he saw the sea sponge I bought in the paint section to sponge on the perfect rock pattern was 9 bucks. (totally worth it though. I think it looks much better than just spray painted!)

[Kristy]

Yeah it would have to be kind of abstract to look right I think... but when I looked at that pic that Rob posted, the shadowy sea fans caught my eye.

Rob, I know exactly the shell shop you are talking about and I hit it every time I'm at the coast. Probably won't be as cheap as the guy at the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium, though! ;)

[Kristy]

So Karin, I think it is looking gorgeous, by the way! You won't want to put any rocks or coral in there to cover it up!

What about putting a slight highlight (white or light blue) spot off centered and towards the top.... kind of like in this background: (but using the golden ratio it would put the highlight at 2/3 over and about 2/3 up).
8675

[Europhyllia]

That's the cool thing about the awesome t5 retrokit! It comes with a really wide reflector that clips to the bulb rather than the board and since the reflector is 60" long you can sort of twist it and change the light intensity from side to side. I don't think the tank is deep enough to put the 'sun' below the surface and look believable (also would start to get more complicated and less energy efficient than I'd want to do) but I was already playing with slightly twisting that reflector to get the sun to move to one side or the other rather than have a boring straight down light effect!
It does make it look much more real and interesting. Good thinking, Kristy!

[Europhyllia]

my 400 and 800 grits are coming in today. Can't wait! :)

[Europhyllia]

okay the 800 grit worked great. I think the blurriness is really good now.
I twisted the reflector slightly to have the sun more towards the right. Can you tell? :)
http://www.dominopads.com/800grit.jpg

[robalv]

looking good Karin

[ErikH]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

[Europhyllia]

Thanks guys. I think it turned out pretty decent. I am sure once people start making these each one will turn out better than the previous one but I am happy with the result and I think I will like it better than a painted back surface especially now that I am more aware on the effects on usable light. :)

[hobogato]

i think it turned out awesome! really looking forward to seeing it in person once you get the tank back up and running.

[FireWater]

Came out looking good. Just the right amount of definition and light. Can't wait to see it and then see the tank up and going in front of it.

Those after you might work out some bugs or come up with other ideas but, being the pioneer for a group says a lot.

[txg8gxp]

Very nice, I love this idea...It's going to look awesome

[Mr Cob]

i think it turned out awesome! really looking forward to seeing it in person once you get the tank back up and running.

Same here! great job Karin!

[Europhyllia]

I couldn't get Rob's pic out of my mind so I glued the third rock behind the left rock. Current backdrop looks like this:
http://www.dominopads.com/77shadow.jpg

I think that will go well with my overflow box structures. No way to get around them anyway. Might as well build around them...

[Mr Cob]

Great composition. I also think that will work well with the overflows. Looks wonderful!

[Europhyllia]

just a quick but important update.
I finally got the tank filled and running and it turns out the current design of the shadowbox is a FAIL!

Without the tank lights on it's beautiful but once the tank lights are on all you can see is the blue background.
If I want to have visible background rocks it may have to be something that's right at the back glass.

Will have to think this over and come up with other solutions but wanted to post it in case somebody is working on something similar... ;)

[Europhyllia]

pictures (copied from my build thread just to give you an idea how it looks in different lighting)
pictures :)

led moonlights only:
http://www.dominopads.com/sbled.jpg

then the box comes on (led moonlights and box lighting):
http://www.dominopads.com/sbboxled.jpg

then the blue/purple bulbs come on, moonlights turn off:
http://www.dominopads.com/sbboxactinic.jpg

then daylight bulbs come on:
http://www.dominopads.com/sbboxall.jpg

[Mr Cob]

Still looks awesome to me.

[Third Coast Tropical]

that is nice!!!...I want one.

[ramsey]

Incredible. I may have to do this with a 40b I'm setting up. It looks amazing!

[alton]

Karin I guess you will have to have a MAAST party for everyone to see your tank in person because the pictures look good to me also?

[allan]

Karin, two questions.

Would a focused light on a rail moving slowly across the horizon be visible during lights on?

Does your tank have a flat bottom, no lip around the outside edge?

[ErikH]

Karin, not sure what lights you are using on your tank, but you may want to angle them slightly forward off the back glass. I would imagine that the light is causing a reflection off the back glass, which cuts down on the visibility.

[Europhyllia]

Would a focused light on a rail moving slowly across the horizon be visible during lights on?
I think it would depend on the brightness of the lights in the main tank (or angle as Erik suggested)


Does your tank have a flat bottom, no lip around the outside edge?
Not sure. It's got trim around the edge. Is that what you mean?


Karin, not sure what lights you are using on your tank, but you may want to angle them slightly forward off the back glass. I would imagine that the light is causing a reflection off the back glass, which cuts down on the visibility.

I actually already noticed an improvement just by lowering the fixture
8904

[allan]

Not the trim, really have a hard time explaining this.

If you look at the bottom of a box it's completely flat. Contrast that to the bottom of a coffee cup from mc ds which actually has a lip... Does your tank have this lip or is it flat like the bottom of a box?

[Europhyllia]

yes I do think it has a lip (or the stand has one - one of the two)

[Europhyllia]

Guess what, thanks to your great support my Shadowbox thread on Reef Central made Thread of the Month for August 2010 and was featured on the Reefkeeping Blog.
(You already knew that ;) )

Somebody just contacted me to let me know it also was selected to one of the Noteworthy Tanks on Reef Threads.
Look here:
http://www.reefthreads.com/?page_id=75

:)

[Kristy]

Wow, Karin! Nice honor... You totally deserve it!

[txg8gxp]

Awesome, all the hard work is paying off in several ways.

[txav8r]

Great news! Well deserved.

[Mr Cob]

Grats...you definitely owned it!

[Europhyllia]

Actually it's starting to feel a bit overrated but of course I am happy about it anyway. ;) Thanks!

[ErikH]

more pics please. :)

[Europhyllia]

I should post a quick update on the midday washout syndrom (because the fix was so easy).
I noticed some of my LPS seemed a little sunburned on top so I decided to replace one of my daylight bulbs with a blue bulb (according to the Grim Reefer's T5 suggestions my 6 bulb fixture had too many white bulbs anyway).
Just switching out that one white bulb for a blue bulb changed the lighting enough to where the background rocks are now visible even at full midday mode.
Being used to a fairly white tank it took some getting used to the more blue but all of the critters seem to be happy with it and I am pleased with the result.

Another advantage of this easy fix is that it didn't change how the tank looked in dawn and morning mode (which I liked just the way they were) unlike more bulbs in the background box which might have destroyed the dawn look.

[txg8gxp]

Very cool, what a simple fix.

[Scream311]

I love this Design. Looking very good rather very natural and surreal. Your 215 Looks AMAZING