diy 240g newly planted

[grumpystiltskin]

Just finished planting my 240g tank.
Water is still cloudy, thought it would be a lot worse, pics arent that great, its hard to take a pic of an 8ft tank:eek:
It took me two days to set it all up, much more work than i had imagined, now i can sit back and enjoy it .

mick
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/grumpystiltskin/MickstanktreesandHouseintheMission0.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/grumpystiltskin/MickstanktreesandHouseintheMissi-1.jpg

[CACAdmin]

Love it... cool tank! :yes: I can't imagine trying to get a pic of an 8 ft. tank... :swoon: What all do you have in there? Are those cardinals? or? And what are the other schooling fish I see?

[blainep]

Fantastic job, that tank looks amazing ! :notworthy:

[BC_Kron]

Very nice tank! I'm very envious. Your thread title says DIY, did you build it yourself? Is it all glass? What thickness is the glass? What did you use for a frame, if anything? Was this your first attempt? once again, Very Nice.:Applaud:

cheers;Bill

[grumpystiltskin]

Thanks for the nice comments
CACAdmin... i have neon tetras, harlequin rasboras, and glo lite tetras. ive never kept any small fish like this before, mostly cichlids, but im really enjoying them, they have coloured up very nicely

BC_Kron , yes i did make it myself, the tank is made of plywood,the glass, is 1/2" thick and the ply is 3/4". this is my second diy tank, the first was a 120, so i just doubled this one ::D:

mick

[Melody]

It must be very rewarding to see the finished product, especially when it has turned out so beautifully. Awesome job!:notworthy:

[BC_Kron]

BC_Kron , yes i did make it myself, the tank is made of plywood,the glass, is 1/2" thick and the ply is 3/4". this is my second diy tank, the first was a 120, so i just doubled this one ::D:

mick

LOL. I just finished a 150g plywood tank, as a trial run for a 300g.:;):
Great minds think alike!

[thegrandpoohbah]

Very nice. What did you use for the background?

[grumpystiltskin]

Thanks again everyone

bill have you posted a pic of your 150g? its a lot of fun to build your own tanks, yes melody it is very rewarding, feel quite proud actually:yes: , after all im just a house painter lol
The background is made of polystyrene and concrete, painted with normal house paint, and sealed with a two part epoxy. that was also fun to make, but hard to get the filter lines and heaters to sit right.

mick

[Katalyst]

Wow!!!! That is a beautiful tank!I'd love to see more photos! We're in the middle of planning to build a 300 gallon plywood for the basement. May I ask what you guys use as far as silicone and epoxy goes? So far I can't find one that's safe for aquarium use.

[grumpystiltskin]

Hi Katalyst the epoxy i use is called West System, and i got it from Industrial Plastics,
there should be a store in your area, and the silicone i use is from Rona, its their own brand, just make sure you read the back of the tube and see that it is aquarium safe.Good luck i hope you get it started soon, the cost is way less than a new all glass tank.

[grumpystiltskin]

A couple of closer pics
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/grumpystiltskin/MickstanktreesandHouseintheMissi-3.jpg
one of my 2 1/2 yr old ,proud of his new tank lol
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/grumpystiltskin/MickstanktreesandHouseintheMissi-7.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/grumpystiltskin/MickstanktreesandHouseintheMissi-5.jpg
I had to use a bit of fishing line on the big log, its one i found in the local river, but it wont sink, so i tied it to a big piece of slate, im hoping the plants will eventually hide it.
mick

[BC_Kron]

bill have you posted a pic of your 150g? ...


yes. here's a link

http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=529


personally, half the fun of fishkeeping is all the DIY projects, so for me building my own tank was extremely gratifying.:;):

cheers;Bill

[grumpystiltskin]

Very nice tank bill, brings back memories of building mine, it is very gratifying, not to mention a lot cheaper. what sort of epoxy did you use to waterproof your tank?

mick

[BC_Kron]

Very nice tank bill, brings back memories of building mine, it is very gratifying, not to mention a lot cheaper. what sort of epoxy did you use to waterproof your tank?

mick

Its an industrial waterproofing agent used in the roofing industry. It's called Parapro, and its only available from Siplast. Nasty stuff for sure, but it was the only brush-on applicated product I could get my hands on.

cheers;Bill

[grumpystiltskin]

I used a product called West System, it is clear and has no odour, well i couldnt smell anything, but ive been painting for 35 yrs and my smelling ability is just about gone lol
Just thought you might want to try it on your next tank? You can paint any colour you want on the ply and then coat it with West System.
mick

[BC_Kron]

Does it have to be sprayed on? or can you use a roller and brush?


cheers;Bill

[grumpystiltskin]

You can use roller and brush,. its quite thick, but it leaves a really nice finish, i used the west system then put my metal angles in the corners and siliconed it all up, my 120 has been running for three years without any problems. its quite expensive, $90 for the gallon of part one, and a quart of part two, i still have some left for another project:rolleyes:

mick

[BC_Kron]

There's a distributor not far from here. I think I'll go check it out. The web sites show multiple products, which ones did you use? I'll be helping another member with his plywood tank real soon.

cheers;Bill

[grumpystiltskin]

The product i used is called West System 105 , and there are a few different hardeners you can use ,depending on what kind of time line you want it to cure, i chose a slower one, so i had time to do all the work, an eight foot tank ,takes some time to coat. Happy shopping .

mick

[BC_Kron]

did you use any of the thickeners for the corners/seams, or fillers for the imperfections?

[grumpystiltskin]

I glued every seam ,with no more nails, and used a car body filler for the imperfections, i routed the ends of each piece of ply so i could screw from both directions, hopefully making the joins stronger, when i had finished sealing it i used a small angle piece in each corner with silicone. Wish i lived closer, id love to be involved with another diy.

mick

[mixixe]

Oh wow! That is such an awesome tank! I love the rocks in the back and the tetras look great!

[grumpystiltskin]

Thanks mixxie. i think i can squeeze a few more fish in this tank yet:smile:
i bought ten ottos last weekend and they are cleaning like mad, the tank is going through a bit of new tank syndrome at the moment , but not as bad as i expected .