Friday, September 30, 2022

Fish scroll saw patterns.


Click to Enlarge
Download the Pattern Below

I have spent the last few days building and rebuilding a 30-gallon aquarium. That inspired me to design today's fish patterns. I hung them above the aquarium.

It has been years since I have set up an aquarium. This one has not gone well. I had to start over from my first attempt. I wanted natural freshwater aqua-scape. I bought driftwood and dragon stone as my natural decorations. That is where the trouble began. 

I did not realize that the driftwood would leach brown tannins into the water. I bought the driftwood at a pet store but they did not mention the issue. The dragon stone was beautiful but dirty. I took them outside and washed them, which I thought was good enough. Nope.

I ended up with very brownish/yellow water. So being the genius that I am I purchased a bottle of a water clearer chemical. It is supposed to congeal all the particles together so you can vacuum them out. 
Boy did that make a gigantic mess. I had no choice other than to start over.

I tore it completely apart and got rid of the driftwood and dragon rocks. I gave up on most of the natural materials and went with plastic. It looks okay so I am good with the results.

I only have three black tetras in the water right now because I need to let the water cycle for several days. They are pretty hardy but I can tell they are stressed. Hopefully, they will survive. I was told they would help the water cycle faster.

The vide below shows how I used today's project above my aquarium. It is under two minutes and you might enjoy watching the fish play in the bubbles.

I decided to post the pattern because they could be used as decorations in a child's room or even a themed bathroom. They can be cut from 1/8" or 1/4" thick wood and optionally painted.