My Shadowbox Background Project
- Thread starter euromomtx
- Start date
reefstricken
New member
DERP
I imagine there are endless possibilities to rock structures in the ocean, like a reef next to a cave or overhang.
I think it looks great!
yousmellsfishy
New member
Very happy with how things turned out with my project. Here's a link to the build thread. Shadowboxes under moonlights only:
OctopusesGarden
New member
euromomtx, I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me to create a shadowbox like yours! Here is my progress: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20832639&postcount=12
I had a time finding 600+ grit paper that would fit my sander, so instead I used Valspar flat clear coat to create a fog on the plexiglass....SORT of worked. I may sand it down after I find the right paper, so that the plexiglass is not so visible.
thanks again!
I had a time finding 600+ grit paper that would fit my sander, so instead I used Valspar flat clear coat to create a fog on the plexiglass....SORT of worked. I may sand it down after I find the right paper, so that the plexiglass is not so visible.
thanks again!
mtaquarist
New member
Wow! Looks great!
Christian J
New member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Mopb-XxOA
Here's a backlit tank using just a LED strip as far as I can tell, no background box or tinted acrylic.
Here's a backlit tank using just a LED strip as far as I can tell, no background box or tinted acrylic.
Christian J
New member
A couple more RGB LED videos (these tanks are empty):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ehsoXs5vog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTknAQKoUsc
(Note the corona around the rocks in the second video. Probably that's because the strip is mounted at the tank's bottom. On a reef tank the strip would be mounted above the surface, which would hopefully avoid this.)
Seems RGB LED strips with remote controls are not that expensive (less than $100). They also seem to use no space at all. Try to get one where you can customize the color as much as possible.
Maybe the color looks a bit too pure? That might be OK if you want the impression of a dark blue deep water drop off, but for a more whitish/blue sand bottom biotope perhaps some blurred screen should be added in between.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ehsoXs5vog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTknAQKoUsc
(Note the corona around the rocks in the second video. Probably that's because the strip is mounted at the tank's bottom. On a reef tank the strip would be mounted above the surface, which would hopefully avoid this.)
Seems RGB LED strips with remote controls are not that expensive (less than $100). They also seem to use no space at all. Try to get one where you can customize the color as much as possible.
Maybe the color looks a bit too pure? That might be OK if you want the impression of a dark blue deep water drop off, but for a more whitish/blue sand bottom biotope perhaps some blurred screen should be added in between.
Christian J
New member
I've been searching the web for LED strips and thought I'd share my findings:
* The strips often come in 5 meter rolls, if necessary these can be cut and soldered back together in parallell. There are also sets of shorter strips with quick connectors.
* Some strips use 30 LEDs per meter (7.2W/m), others 60 LEDs (14.4W/m). High output LEDs for strips seem to be denominated 5050. Afraid I have no idea how much backlight you need to match a brightly lit reef tank. Please post your experiences! :bounce3:
* I guess it doesn't hurt if the strip is splash proof. I've seen strips rated up to IP68, others are just IP20. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code
* The two most common remote controls have either 24 or 44 keys, the latter should let you customize colors more. If you get a set with the smaller controller I think you can upgrade it with the bigger one if needed. The manufacturer seems to be the same for both.
* Prices vary a lot. Search ebay, but keep in mind that power supplies are not always included. In general it seems the light output affects price more than anything else, so the best way to save money should be to find a set that gives just the amount of light you need.
* The strips often come in 5 meter rolls, if necessary these can be cut and soldered back together in parallell. There are also sets of shorter strips with quick connectors.
* Some strips use 30 LEDs per meter (7.2W/m), others 60 LEDs (14.4W/m). High output LEDs for strips seem to be denominated 5050. Afraid I have no idea how much backlight you need to match a brightly lit reef tank. Please post your experiences! :bounce3:
* I guess it doesn't hurt if the strip is splash proof. I've seen strips rated up to IP68, others are just IP20. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code
* The two most common remote controls have either 24 or 44 keys, the latter should let you customize colors more. If you get a set with the smaller controller I think you can upgrade it with the bigger one if needed. The manufacturer seems to be the same for both.
* Prices vary a lot. Search ebay, but keep in mind that power supplies are not always included. In general it seems the light output affects price more than anything else, so the best way to save money should be to find a set that gives just the amount of light you need.
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Christian J
New member
The German shop I've linked to earlier in the thread seems to offer readymade boxes with RGB LEDs now, but I doubt these are bright enough for reef tanks (the descriptions say just 7W LEDs regardless of box size, which might be a typo). Anyway some planted freshwater tanks are shown a bit down: http://www.aquascaping-shop.de/epag...ps/61694718/Products/909/SubProducts/909-0001
Christian J
New member
Here's a thread in German about making your own background box: http://www.flowgrow.de/bastelanleitungen/bau-einer-hintergrundbeleuchtung-t14850.html --my German is not so good, but it seems they're discussing the benefits of foils vs acrylic.
Christian J
New member
I bought an RGB LED strip and some white frosted window screen to experiment with. I still don't have a proper background box, or even filled my small test tank with water.
Unfortunately I suspect that white window screen may not work well for a reef tank. The idea was that the blue LED light should color the white screen, but that means any darker background areas (like the bottom and side edges) may still look white. In a reef tank you want the dark areas to be blue, and the bright area near the water surface to look white, not the other way around.
LEDs may still be useful combined with a blue screen, at least if the LEDs are bright enough. My LED test strip is 5m/15' long, and uses 23W (with white light, colored light probably uses less). In a 120cm/48" long background box I'd have to cut the strip into 4-5 pieces and install them in parallell, but I'm still sceptical to how much light you'd get compared with a 54W T5 tube.
At least the LED color control is great. You can really fine tune how much green you want in the blue light, and also dim it all if necessary.
Unfortunately I suspect that white window screen may not work well for a reef tank. The idea was that the blue LED light should color the white screen, but that means any darker background areas (like the bottom and side edges) may still look white. In a reef tank you want the dark areas to be blue, and the bright area near the water surface to look white, not the other way around.
LEDs may still be useful combined with a blue screen, at least if the LEDs are bright enough. My LED test strip is 5m/15' long, and uses 23W (with white light, colored light probably uses less). In a 120cm/48" long background box I'd have to cut the strip into 4-5 pieces and install them in parallell, but I'm still sceptical to how much light you'd get compared with a 54W T5 tube.
At least the LED color control is great. You can really fine tune how much green you want in the blue light, and also dim it all if necessary.
Christian J
New member
I bought a readymade box with T5 lighting from aquascaping-shop.de for testing.
The box and T5 tube seem to be good quality, but alas the included blue foil is fully transparent (as opposed to translucent), so you can clearly see the hardboard structure of the box's backside. This may not show up in a photo, since the background is then normally out of focus, but in real life you'll notice it right away. For an "infinite ocean" effect you rather want the background to be completely blurred.
Instead of the foil I put a translucent blue acrylic sheet in front of the box, which in IMO works very well. The attached picture shows my 80cm long empty test tank. The lettering is from the acrylic sheet's protective film, which I haven't removed yet. To mimic distant rocks you might add things like wrinkled aluminium foil (left) or brown paper (right) inside the box.
The box and acrylic sheet combined just need about 4cm space behind the tank. I still recommend a little extra room, in case you need to reach behind and clean the tank back glass from water spill.
I haven't tried my RGB LED strip with the box yet, but I did make some LED tests with various small acrylic samples. RGB LEDs do seem more promising than T5, since you can adjust both the intensity and the amount of green/cyan/blue.
The box and T5 tube seem to be good quality, but alas the included blue foil is fully transparent (as opposed to translucent), so you can clearly see the hardboard structure of the box's backside. This may not show up in a photo, since the background is then normally out of focus, but in real life you'll notice it right away. For an "infinite ocean" effect you rather want the background to be completely blurred.
Instead of the foil I put a translucent blue acrylic sheet in front of the box, which in IMO works very well. The attached picture shows my 80cm long empty test tank. The lettering is from the acrylic sheet's protective film, which I haven't removed yet. To mimic distant rocks you might add things like wrinkled aluminium foil (left) or brown paper (right) inside the box.
The box and acrylic sheet combined just need about 4cm space behind the tank. I still recommend a little extra room, in case you need to reach behind and clean the tank back glass from water spill.
I haven't tried my RGB LED strip with the box yet, but I did make some LED tests with various small acrylic samples. RGB LEDs do seem more promising than T5, since you can adjust both the intensity and the amount of green/cyan/blue.
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Christian J
New member
Maybe you don't even need a background box at all (unless you're concerned about light spill)? Maybe all that's needed is a white/reflective wall behind the aquarium, a translucent acrylic sheet and a fluorescent tube.
Christian J
New member
You mean without a box? I'd probably mount the light under a strip of wood or similar, which should prevent light spill up towards the ceiling. I'd also make the acrylic sheet as high as the tank's backside. I think you would get some light spill on the tank's sides though, but many tanks already have that from the main light.
With a box and a rimless tank I don't think light spill would be a problem at all (in my previous image I used an old 80W mercury lamp placed right above the tank rim for comparison --that's where the glare in the center comes from). I've attached a couple more pictures showing this on my framed test tank. As you can see my box is a little higher than the tank. The tube is far from as bright as it looks like in the last picture (you can gaze straight at it through the acrylic without being blinded).
With a box and a rimless tank I don't think light spill would be a problem at all (in my previous image I used an old 80W mercury lamp placed right above the tank rim for comparison --that's where the glare in the center comes from). I've attached a couple more pictures showing this on my framed test tank. As you can see my box is a little higher than the tank. The tube is far from as bright as it looks like in the last picture (you can gaze straight at it through the acrylic without being blinded).
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