Making a climby background..Now With PICTURE!

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:18 pm

Ive decided to make my own climby background for my 26 gallon tank. It will be made out of plastic needle point canvas (clear for the main background and then greens for the leaves and purple for the flowers). Im going to use the HEART yarn to stitch it all together and then silicon the corners of the climby to the tank so they beasties cant pull it down

Ill post pics when its done!!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 3:05 pm

sounds interesting. i'm intrigued. good luck

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:37 am

I don't know if I would go with yarn, it probably won't last long enough and will mold and decompose. I would hate for all of your creative hard work to fall apart too soon.

What about using some kind of plastic lacing to stitch it together? There are lots of kinds available for different purposes. I know that my daughter has a few bead kits that came with some. I am sure you can buy it at most craft stores.

We want pics when you are done!

Candi

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:08 pm

That sounds cool. Looking forward to the finished product!

If I remember correctly that brand of yarn is one Narnar has used before and it doesn't mold or easily decompose, I can't remember what material it's made from or why it holds up so well.....I'm sure Narnar will tell us.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 2:59 pm

Ya learn something new every day! I tend to use yarn to tie plants and other random things (outside the tat, in real life). Now I know that HEART is a good choice if it is outside.

Candi

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:35 pm

Sounds awesome!

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 3:37 pm

Well it is done and the hermies love it! I will take a pic of it tonight after I restick all of the suction cups they have torn down lol

THe yarn I use is HEART and it doesnt breakdown or decompose in the tanks at all. It is completely safe for them, as I have friends who use it in fish tanks as "plants/cover" for baby fish. I actually have a palm tree that I stitched together with it that was in the tank for almost a year and its still the same as the day I put it in the tank...no mold, no mildew, they yarn has held up great!!

Lynx · Post by **Lynx** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:58 pm

If memory serves, Heart brand yarns are made of acrylic. They make it to be durable: machine washable, shrink/fade resistant and so on. That probably explains why it's mold resistant-- nothing organic in there like wool or cotton.

I believe Heart may be Wal*Mart's specific brand. If Heart seems ok in a crabitat I assume any other brand's acrylic yarn would also work just as well, so you could easily buy a different kind from somewhere else. I'd suggest checking the label to make sure the fiber content is nothing but acrylic, though. Something like a wool/acrylic blend would probably not be as good in the damp and humidity.

(It's been a while now, but I used to crochet a lot. ) :P

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:27 pm

Here is the tank!:

hulk · Post by **hulk** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:51 pm

WOW! that is really pretty =)

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:59 pm

It came out great!

How are the crabbies liking it?

BAB · Post by **BAB** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:18 pm

That is so neat!!! You always come up with such creative things!

I'm sure the crabbies love their new background. You'll have to let us know what they do with the yarn.

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:25 pm

lol Bab, its easier for me to make something cheap than it is to convince me to buy an expensive store bought climby background

That and I get bored really fast when I dont have homework to do so my mind wanders lol!

The hermies are loving it!

hermiegirl · Post by **hermiegirl** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:52 pm

by the way, how did you make it stand up straight in your tank? Did you tie it to the top or something. That's a really neat idea for each of my 3 tanks, and it's cheap, so I'd like to make one for each.

NaRnAR · Post by **NaRnAR** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 10:59 pm

I actually siliconed it into place. One dab at each corner and then a few inbetween. The hermies in that tank are notorious for tearing down suction cups so I knew I had to have something permanent.

It was added during their deep clean.