First you'll need some plastic canvas "art mesh". I used #7 in black, available on Ebay, Amazon, hobby shops, etc, along with some small plastic zip-ties. These are 4" size
Measure for the size you want and put the pieces together using zip ties
** TIP: In order for everything to stay nice and flat, always go through the very first hole on the edge. If you skip back a hole or two it will gather up when tightened.
For supports Id originally planned on using rigid plastic airline tubine, and airline suction cups to hold it on. I wanted something that would be easy to take out/put back. This was deal breaker
But I dint have any rigid tubing. What I did have was some stainless steel rods (1/8" 304 welding rods). So I slid these inside regular airline tubing
** Most folks arent going to have stainless steel rods laying around, but Im fairly sure using rigid plastic airline tubing would work the same way. Thats what I'd planned on doing in the first place.
Also now that Ive made a few of these, I believe you could just use CO2 tubing by itself, since its fairly stiff to begin with. It would just require a few more zip-ties than what Ive used here.
Testing on the front glass
As you can see, it stands off the glass about 3/4". To prevent shrimps and small fish from going behind it, hiding or getting stuck, I decided it needed a 3/4" edge all around.
Not sure if that would be an issue or not, just seemed like the logical thing to do.
I used a sheet metal break (for bending metal). But you can do it by hand using a hammer on a hard surface.
This stuff is pretty soft, and the perforations make it easy to fold over in a straight line. Mash it over first with your hands, then take a hammer and bang the crease real good. Careful not to smash your finger!!
This will create a sharp, lasting bend. Easy peezy.
** Remember to always go through the first hole on the edge with the zip-ties ^
4/29/20 UPDATE: I stopped turning this edge after the first couple. Its just fine without it and saves a whole lot of trouble. There's no need to do this unless you just want to.
To attach the moss I just "stitched" it on using fishing line and a big needle. On later versions I used sewing thread (the nylon/polyester type that wont rot away like 100% cotton) The thread seems to tighten things up better than fishing line.
(This is Christmas moss fwiw)
Vois la!
And that's it!
Measure for the size you want and put the pieces together using zip ties
** TIP: In order for everything to stay nice and flat, always go through the very first hole on the edge. If you skip back a hole or two it will gather up when tightened.
For supports Id originally planned on using rigid plastic airline tubine, and airline suction cups to hold it on. I wanted something that would be easy to take out/put back. This was deal breaker
But I dint have any rigid tubing. What I did have was some stainless steel rods (1/8" 304 welding rods). So I slid these inside regular airline tubing
** Most folks arent going to have stainless steel rods laying around, but Im fairly sure using rigid plastic airline tubing would work the same way. Thats what I'd planned on doing in the first place.
Also now that Ive made a few of these, I believe you could just use CO2 tubing by itself, since its fairly stiff to begin with. It would just require a few more zip-ties than what Ive used here.
Testing on the front glass
As you can see, it stands off the glass about 3/4". To prevent shrimps and small fish from going behind it, hiding or getting stuck, I decided it needed a 3/4" edge all around.
Not sure if that would be an issue or not, just seemed like the logical thing to do.
I used a sheet metal break (for bending metal). But you can do it by hand using a hammer on a hard surface.
This stuff is pretty soft, and the perforations make it easy to fold over in a straight line. Mash it over first with your hands, then take a hammer and bang the crease real good. Careful not to smash your finger!!
This will create a sharp, lasting bend. Easy peezy.
** Remember to always go through the first hole on the edge with the zip-ties ^
4/29/20 UPDATE: I stopped turning this edge after the first couple. Its just fine without it and saves a whole lot of trouble. There's no need to do this unless you just want to.
To attach the moss I just "stitched" it on using fishing line and a big needle. On later versions I used sewing thread (the nylon/polyester type that wont rot away like 100% cotton) The thread seems to tighten things up better than fishing line.
(This is Christmas moss fwiw)
Vois la!
And that's it!
