Place a piece of cardboard on the inside of the tank (so as to not scratch the tank) a helpful precaution especially when you are installing a very large or a 3D background which is hard to bend at the top of the tank. One or Two helpers are sometimes necessary with the tough backgrounds. Another option is to tie the background up in a long roll and push it into the tank making sure the rock surface does not touch and scratch the inside of the tank. If cutting is necessary be careful as this material is extremely tough and has thin and thick parts where it becomes easy to cut and then very hard to cut sometimes causing you to slip.
Tools that can be used:
* Extremely sharp stiff bladed knife
* Circular saw
* Small tooth hand saw for best results when cutting these backgrounds, have someone pull on the section you are cutting off.
Look for our Aquarium Background installation video on the site or YouTube for further guidance.
Your background could come with some plastic clips that fit most aquariums. Simply clip those over the top of the background and back of the tank. Gravel will help hold the base in place. For a permanent installation especially for a reptile environment we suggest you silicone it in place. For a professional look, apply some matching color sands to the wet silicone and with a small brush dab the silicone at the same time blending the sands with the background.
Foam Backgrounds:
These backgrounds have been created and colored using the same process as our flexible backgrounds so that they look the same. You must not try to bend these as they will crack and possibly shatter. They are much easier to cut if necessary. They will want to float but the top rim of the tank will stop it from floating. Gravel against the base will help hold it in place. If you need to cut use a small toothed saw or knife, remember to take your time as these backgrounds are more fragile than their flexible counterparts and you do not want to accidentally chip or crack the background. To create holes in the background, the material can easily be drilled to allow water movement if necessary, using any metal drill bits. We also suggest for a Terrarium look where you want some running water. Simply drill a hole and place tubing in desired location and use a small pump to create your own waterfall affect. Some of our small Decoration rocks can be used to cover the pump if you put the pump in front of the background.