My 400g build from the groud up. HAVE I LOST MY MIND?!?!
- Thread starter TheBigB
- Start date
Well here is what I got done this weekend.
I put down the Pond Shield, but half way through I noticed the product I got was expired by a month. It was extremely hard to work with and it did not turn out as well as I hoped. There were lots of rough spots when I finished and I used the entire box on just the bottom plywood. Im not sure if it being expired is why or if I just didnt do it correctly. I did follow the instructions perfectly, but it wasnt as easy as alot of people made out. This stuff was like unheated tar....I could barely get it to pour out of the canister. After it dried I sanded the hole thing down and ordered some more to put another coat on and to epoxy the top.
This is before I sanded
Built the top. The bottom piece has a piece of 3/4" X 1 1/2" trim glued and screwed all the way around. This will be siliconed and sliped over the glass for support. I added 2 X 2s to the top to add strength. With the tank being so wide I figured I would need to lean on the top when doing maintence and figured alittle extra support isnt going to hurt anything.
I also re-did the fluidized bed. I built an air distributer out of pvc and it works GREAT! I just tapped a tube coming from my airpump into the PVC.
Here are some videos.
This one is only about 25-30% full of media
http://youtu.be/XLjmZula5aE
And this one is after I added 90% of the media. Some of is still floating but looks like its going to work perfectly.
http://youtu.be/lgMmQI42jf0
I put down the Pond Shield, but half way through I noticed the product I got was expired by a month. It was extremely hard to work with and it did not turn out as well as I hoped. There were lots of rough spots when I finished and I used the entire box on just the bottom plywood. Im not sure if it being expired is why or if I just didnt do it correctly. I did follow the instructions perfectly, but it wasnt as easy as alot of people made out. This stuff was like unheated tar....I could barely get it to pour out of the canister. After it dried I sanded the hole thing down and ordered some more to put another coat on and to epoxy the top.
This is before I sanded
Built the top. The bottom piece has a piece of 3/4" X 1 1/2" trim glued and screwed all the way around. This will be siliconed and sliped over the glass for support. I added 2 X 2s to the top to add strength. With the tank being so wide I figured I would need to lean on the top when doing maintence and figured alittle extra support isnt going to hurt anything.
I also re-did the fluidized bed. I built an air distributer out of pvc and it works GREAT! I just tapped a tube coming from my airpump into the PVC.
Here are some videos.
This one is only about 25-30% full of media
http://youtu.be/XLjmZula5aE
And this one is after I added 90% of the media. Some of is still floating but looks like its going to work perfectly.
http://youtu.be/lgMmQI42jf0
Subbed...
Looking awesome! I'm a huge fan of how you did/are doing the top. The extra 2x2"s were definitely a good call and I am glad that you decided to go with two braces instead of one.
As far as covers, have you considered glass?
When putting my top together on my last build, I kept coming across info leading me to believe that acrylic was inferior to glass when it came top using it as a cover. The biggest issue seemed that no matter the thickness, if the span was more than a few inches the acrylic would eventually start to bow. So that lead me to end up just calling a glass shop and ordering some 3/16" tempered glass (rounded edges of course) cut to fit my top; which surprisingly, was much less than I thought it would be. Pair that with some hinges and handles from Dr. F&S and you've got some quick, fairly cheap tops.
I can dig up the number to the glass shop I used as I'm sure it wouldn't be to far of a ride for you
If you decide to stay with the acrylic idea, then good luck to you and make sure to take plenty of pictures along the way!
Looking awesome! I'm a huge fan of how you did/are doing the top. The extra 2x2"s were definitely a good call and I am glad that you decided to go with two braces instead of one.
As far as covers, have you considered glass?
When putting my top together on my last build, I kept coming across info leading me to believe that acrylic was inferior to glass when it came top using it as a cover. The biggest issue seemed that no matter the thickness, if the span was more than a few inches the acrylic would eventually start to bow. So that lead me to end up just calling a glass shop and ordering some 3/16" tempered glass (rounded edges of course) cut to fit my top; which surprisingly, was much less than I thought it would be. Pair that with some hinges and handles from Dr. F&S and you've got some quick, fairly cheap tops.
I can dig up the number to the glass shop I used as I'm sure it wouldn't be to far of a ride for you
If you decide to stay with the acrylic idea, then good luck to you and make sure to take plenty of pictures along the way!
Yeah, I have thought about it but I already have one acrylic piece for the top, but glass sounds like a much better idea. I might call around to see what I can find. Thanks for the tipSubbed...
Looking awesome! I'm a huge fan of how you did/are doing the top. The extra 2x2"s were definitely a good call and I am glad that you decided to go with two braces instead of one.
As far as covers, have you considered glass?
When putting my top together on my last build, I kept coming across info leading me to believe that acrylic was inferior to glass when it came top using it as a cover. The biggest issue seemed that no matter the thickness, if the span was more than a few inches the acrylic would eventually start to bow. So that lead me to end up just calling a glass shop and ordering some 3/16" tempered glass (rounded edges of course) cut to fit my top; which surprisingly, was much less than I thought it would be. Pair that with some hinges and handles from Dr. F&S and you've got some quick, fairly cheap tops.
I can dig up the number to the glass shop I used as I'm sure it wouldn't be to far of a ride for you
If you decide to stay with the acrylic idea, then good luck to you and make sure to take plenty of pictures along the way!
1/4" clear lexan does not bow when used for lids, has some great rigidity even when holes and slots are cut for filters. Alot lighter and stronger than glass aswell....i run regular glass tops on a few tanks but i always fear my larger fish shattering them. Lexan has a bit of grey coloring to it and it can b found cheap in scrap or used.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Another slow weekend so not too much done. The extra Pond Shield I ordered was backordered and wont be here until the end of this week so I have been kind of stalled out until that arrives. There are things to be done in the meantime but I have just been tinkering. Heres the current progress
I started setting up the 55 gallon that will have the mechanical filtration and refugium.
Drilled the hole for the 2" bulk head to connect to the 90 gallon bio sump.
Cut a 6" pvc coupling in half to hold two 7" filter socks. The plumbing will be hard plumbed all the way and enter the sump with an inch or so clearance to the couplings. This way the filter socks will be able to slip up and over the coupling but will still be held in place. I also put a baffle in b/c Im toying with the idea of doubling the refugium as a crayfish breeding tank for feeders, or at the very least I can use it as a grow out for some new stock.
Since I have this down time waiting for the Pond Shield I decided to go a little above and beyond. I bought a couple 2' T5 fixtures and hard wired them into the stand. I used some left over PVC from another project as conduit for the wiring. You can't see it now but the back of the tank will have a permanent male fitting so that I can just plug an extension cord into the back giving the entire stand electricity making it a self-contained unit. This will make it easy if I ever decide to move this monster. Also, once I go pick up the parts I will be installing a light switch and a GFI plug.
I started setting up the 55 gallon that will have the mechanical filtration and refugium.
Drilled the hole for the 2" bulk head to connect to the 90 gallon bio sump.
Cut a 6" pvc coupling in half to hold two 7" filter socks. The plumbing will be hard plumbed all the way and enter the sump with an inch or so clearance to the couplings. This way the filter socks will be able to slip up and over the coupling but will still be held in place. I also put a baffle in b/c Im toying with the idea of doubling the refugium as a crayfish breeding tank for feeders, or at the very least I can use it as a grow out for some new stock.
Since I have this down time waiting for the Pond Shield I decided to go a little above and beyond. I bought a couple 2' T5 fixtures and hard wired them into the stand. I used some left over PVC from another project as conduit for the wiring. You can't see it now but the back of the tank will have a permanent male fitting so that I can just plug an extension cord into the back giving the entire stand electricity making it a self-contained unit. This will make it easy if I ever decide to move this monster. Also, once I go pick up the parts I will be installing a light switch and a GFI plug.
That would be more impressive if you bent some EMT for the wiring. jk. This is coming along great! Looking forward to see more.
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
jk. This is coming along great! Looking forward to see more. Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
