lol I recommend you go buy some Omega 3 and start getting some of your memory back! You seem to be forgetting a lot of stuff either at home or at work. j/k looking good but I though you would have gotten more done by now.
Finally Upgrading: 600gl Plywood build
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
Gator;2861278; said:
Pft. in one weeknight, chasing kids around, I don't get a lot done
hopefully big progress this weekend. I did some more stuff tonight but it really doesn't look like much. I'm headed back out there a lil later for a bit to screw the front on and trim it to size (changed my mind about keeping it off). I gotta decide how I'm going about mounting the divider for the filter, and I gotta install the 45 degree moldings in the rest of the corners. I think I'm going to draw the cutout shape on the inside of the two window sides and lay the glass in there to make sure all is well, and then I think I'm going to fiberglass on the weekend (depending how much time I'm allowed to spend outside ) before I cut out the frames for the windows.
Alright, so I'm sure I've pissed off my neighbors tonight. I just came in the house and it's damn near midnight. Scratch that, it's after midnight. Anyways, I had to adjust my plans a little bit due to a complication or three. (Oh yeah and apparently photobucket is doing site maintenance so I can't upload the @$^&* pics!!!)
1) The plywood is warped a little, so the open front was more of a rhombus than a rectangle. I didn't want to add a lot of bracing and do the fiberglass with it off kilter, because it would make it that much harder to straighten. So I decided to mount up the front - where I found issue number 2.
2) The front is too short. I knew something like this was going to bite me in the ass. The Home depot dude not only messed up the back (which I noticed in time and fixed.), he cut the bottom too long. So, the overall tank length is 96.5 with the ends installed. ***sigh*** so after a drink or two I scratched my head and came up with a solution. It's not perfect but it will do the trick. Tomorrow or the next day I'll have to get into that particular activity.
Anyways, so I cut out the viewing window area on the front (oh yeah I lied about leaving that till later too.) and screwed it on, started going around drilling the screw holes and such. I can't glue and screw it in place until I get another 2x3 for the top bracing. I'm pretty happy with the way the cutout turned out... which I figure I ought to be for how freaking long it took to do (almost) perfectly.
So, next steps are to
1) get another 2x3 and install it across the top of the front panel, and glue and screw the front panel in place.
2) Make a template for routing the top plywood bracing, and make the bracing.
3) Make a template from the first cutout, and use it to make the second cutout the same.
4) Finish all the 45 degree corner fill moldings around the inside of the tank.
4) Borrow 250,000 BTU heater from work and dry the living hell out of my workshop.
5) Start laying down some glass.
Oh yeah, and I've got some aluminum angle extrusion on order too that I'll cut to length and have anodized as corner guards (and screw head hiders) for the outside of the tank.
1) The plywood is warped a little, so the open front was more of a rhombus than a rectangle. I didn't want to add a lot of bracing and do the fiberglass with it off kilter, because it would make it that much harder to straighten. So I decided to mount up the front - where I found issue number 2.
2) The front is too short. I knew something like this was going to bite me in the ass. The Home depot dude not only messed up the back (which I noticed in time and fixed.), he cut the bottom too long. So, the overall tank length is 96.5 with the ends installed. ***sigh*** so after a drink or two I scratched my head and came up with a solution. It's not perfect but it will do the trick. Tomorrow or the next day I'll have to get into that particular activity.
Anyways, so I cut out the viewing window area on the front (oh yeah I lied about leaving that till later too.) and screwed it on, started going around drilling the screw holes and such. I can't glue and screw it in place until I get another 2x3 for the top bracing. I'm pretty happy with the way the cutout turned out... which I figure I ought to be for how freaking long it took to do (almost) perfectly.
So, next steps are to
1) get another 2x3 and install it across the top of the front panel, and glue and screw the front panel in place.
2) Make a template for routing the top plywood bracing, and make the bracing.
3) Make a template from the first cutout, and use it to make the second cutout the same.
4) Finish all the 45 degree corner fill moldings around the inside of the tank.
4) Borrow 250,000 BTU heater from work and dry the living hell out of my workshop.
5) Start laying down some glass.
Oh yeah, and I've got some aluminum angle extrusion on order too that I'll cut to length and have anodized as corner guards (and screw head hiders) for the outside of the tank.
Alright Photobucket is finally done it's "brief" maintenance shutdown.
Walter, Awaiting his new home:
Where I left the tank this evening:
The interior moldings, and some of the top bracing:
And this boys and girls, is why they say measure twice, cut once:
Walter, Awaiting his new home:
Where I left the tank this evening:
The interior moldings, and some of the top bracing:
And this boys and girls, is why they say measure twice, cut once:
Eric A;2862368; said:
Well if you read through post 35 I blame the guy at Home depot - the bottom got cut an inch too long, so instead of the front being long enough to bolt up and then flush trim, it's 1/2" too short. I have not fixed it yet (I can't fix it, HD doesn't carry plywood longer than 96" and now the tank is 96.5 overall). I have a solution for that corner though - I'm either going to use oak or aluminum in a square rod that's 3/4 by 3/4 and 30" long to fill the corner, and I'll just screw the rod to the edges of the plywood with screws every 2". It's way less than ideal, but I'm committed now - the rest of the tank is glued together. The corners will also get covered with a 2x2 aluminum angle screwed to the plywood, so it'll cover this embarassing bandaid.
cvermeulen;2850301; said:
I have a similiar setup on my acrylic tank (one end is partioned off as a sump). I love this arrangement. My sump area is only 6" wide, which makes it a little bit difficult to service. It makes it impossible to catch the fry that find their way into the sump (and somehow survive the toss over the mechanical filtration and the bioballs).
I think it's a great idea.
