My 500g piece of furniture

[Issack]

Man that is really good work, I'm also a fan os woodwork and I just love the way you build your tank maybe I can do one in the future.

I hope you can do one too..

are you going to sand and rasp the edges to remove the bandsaw/jigsaw marks?

I love it man.

Yes I am.. and thank you.!

I love this tank. should go to sticky. I see when you apply the first layer of waterproofing membrane, you put something at the joint, I wonder what is it, and what are they for? thanks for posting your project

That is a fiberglass cloth. you can pic it up at tile wholesale places, marine supply, or even Ace hardware sometimes. This makes the corners of the shell very strong where the cold joint is. The joints are the first thing to leak in situations like this.. and i want to be double sure it's strong. I was so sure this tank wouldn't leak, that i leak tested it in the room.. lol

Aptly named thread mate, its of such a high standard that it IS a piece of furniture. You've made me rethink the way I finish my plywood tank. No fear I suck at wood work so don't think its going to be a replica lol not to mention I have no intention of forking out for expensive woods. Also you helped make my mind up about using wood vs metal for a stand as I was a little skeptical it would hold up for mine.

Glad i could help with your ideas man.. Just take your time and the sky is the limit.

That stand is very strong.. and it was under 100 bucks in material for sure.. just double up 2x4s and good to go.. the stand didn't pop or creek once when i filled it up.

First class craftsman and one hell of a tank.

What lighting are you using?

Well i have two to choose from of what i want to turn on.. I have 2 4ft T8 ballasts that hold 2 bulbs each. only one running in each at the moment cause 4 is WAY too bright.. Also have 2 4ft LED strips that put out some good output and it's a mellow lighting affect..

This is one thing i want to ask you guys..what is the best T8 lights to get for bringing out the fish color.? I'm going to Petco in a bit. I don't want live plants so something that wont speed the algae growth.. The T8s i have in there right now are just the Home Depot soft white natural sunshine bulbs. Just 2 of those on is almost too much light.. So I have just been keeping the LEDs on.

definitely one thread i'll suscribe to, just to be sure to not lose it for when i'll do my own project. this is going to serve me as a reference dude. very nicely done. i suggest you make an article out of it when it's all over and post it on the article section on the site.

just like that, i really like the final look of the tank itself, i mean black with the black lava rocks, its clean, but you didn't feel like doing a custom 3D background? just my thought here, but i think it would have been amazing, but that's taste and we all have different views on that. but if it's a matter of not knowing too much about it, it's very simple to do. many people don't try this out because they don't know much about it, but you don't look like someone who doesn't try stuff!

anywaz, great stuff bro, keep on the good work

aight peace!

Thank you very much.!

If i had more time i would have done a background.. I have searched on here and seen ways to do it.. I'm not scared to jump in it but just didn't have time..lol I wanted to get this tank up and running. The Arow is getting big that is going in here.. I couldn't waste anymore time. pore guy needs his new home fast.. lol

 

[Issack]

I might be able to build s tank, but i am a complete NEWBE at fish keeping.. lol

I have all my test kits ready. I've been using stress Zyme to help cycle the tank.. it's crystal clear right now. I really don't know anyone that has a tank i could snag some water from.. The guy that has the Arow that's going in here is no fish keeper at all, and i really don't want any of that water in my tank.. I could hit up MisterE and get some off him though.. What you guys think of Stress Zyme.? I have heard mixed reviews on here about it..

 

[djdlemma]

OMG!!! This tank build is dope!! Amazing woodwork!!! Keep it up!

 

[new2natives]

its so good, it almost takes away from the fact that its a fish tank!

you're going to have to have some pretty badas$ fish in there to take the attention back inside the glass

 

[MistirE]

I might be able to build s tank, but i am a complete NEWBE at fish keeping.. lol

I have all my test kits ready. I've been using stress Zyme to help cycle the tank.. it's crystal clear right now. I really don't know anyone that has a tank i could snag some water from.. The guy that has the Arow that's going in here is no fish keeper at all, and i really don't want any of that water in my tank.. I could hit up MisterE and get some off him though.. What you guys think of Stress Zyme.? I have heard mixed reviews on here about it..

Personally, I would use some of Jesse's water to help cycle considering it is what the fish is used to.....I wouldnt really worry too much considring that you have 500 gallons and his tank isnt even a tenth of that size. Which would mean that it would be diluted.....Sure, you can use some of my water if you like. I would start doing water samples from his tank and do solution tests to see param's....and if he lets you monitor the water there and do changes when you are getting closer to putting the fish in......another thing you can do is use a 55 gallon cooler to tranport the fish......slowly put some of the water that is in your tank in the cooler....make sure they are in similar temperature so the fish doesnt go into shock....which will lead to stress and possible death. Anyhow, hit me up when you are thinking of doing a transfer.



Dude, that tank is UN-REAL......awesome job on everything man....the build, finish work, filtration......etc.

 

[theanimalman]

Fantastic looking stand, tank and canopy. Great work.

Your coffee table was really impressive too.

 

[tourdeforce1]

Great woodwork man. I'm getting ready to do a similar project myself.

 

[Drexx]

Nice tank, A++ work, lookin at these pics makes me wanna just go out there and build one myself! I myself live on Oahu, and dayum, this **** is like the best tank I've ever seen. Good work bulei, keep it up..

 

[wow_it_esploded]

Using old tank water has little to no benefit! The bacteria live on the surfaces in the aquarium and are not free floating! If they were free floating then people with UV sterilizers would never have a cycled tank.

I would say to just go to ace hardware and buy some non sudsing, pure ammonia (you are gonna need a lot for this tank) and fishless cycle.

 

[tourdeforce1]

How do you do a fishless cycle? I've never even heard of that.