# my 1200ish gallon project.



## dooo_36

just wanted to welcome myself to the community, and kind of start my own little project.

anyways my plans are to build a large aquarium in the neighborhood of about 1200 gallons.
interior dimensions of the tank will be about 9.5' wide x 5' tall x 3.5' deep

i don;t have a basement like everyone else that has attempted to build something like this. so my attempt will be in the garage. but where it gets good is that i plan to take out the wall that divides the garage from the rest of the house in my case, kitchen and front living room/pool table room. and from the house it will look like we have a wall fish tank. the garage will be closed in for a small theater room (its a single car). i plan on doing what similar set up of other plywood constructed tanks, with one side glass (to the living areas), which makes sense for me since a theater room needs to be dark.

i kind of didn;t want to post early like some others and say im doing a tank and wait a few months. so right now as it stands i'm in the early planning stages of construction. my coworker which does our customers acads is nearly freed up and will soon be getting me a full set of details. that way we can plan the construction as everyone else has. i don;t see that taking more than 2 weeks. which is good cause i have another project i need to finish (master bath).
so if those of you out there that have posted your entries, you may see alot of your ideas going into my project.

as far as material... i allready have the glass... i went with a 3/4 acrylic and its dimensions are 100" x 60"... and some leftovers in the sixes of (2) 6" x 60" and (2) 4" x 60" which i originally didn;t know if i was going with 2x4 or 2x6 construction so when i ordered the glass i told them to cut the remaining 20" glass to match either a 2x4 or 2x6. and those spare pieces will be used as a center bracing for the glass to help reduce bowing. anyways we'll get to that when we get to that.

so after discussion with my superintendent i decided to go with 2x6 construction, 3/4 plywood to match the thickness in the glass. cause i have a different plan of attack on the glass than that of what i have seen. i plan on framing that glass in a casing that should have a proper seal. and then all i have to do is water proof the frame the same way that im waterproofing the entire plywood wall structure. which is fiberglass and an epoxy resin.

there seems to be many alternatives to sealing a tank of this size but what i looked for was strength, thickness and longevity. i don;t want to have to worry about it for a long time. i also thought about flexibility, and i am a big believer in having a product that can adjust for settling, you know something that has a little give. so i looked into rubber paint that was marine friendly, but i couldn;t find me a manufacturer that would give me the guarantee that their product was fish safe. alot of them just never responded. One of them literally replied saying i won for the most unusual request of thier product to be used:

"We have decided you win this weeks prize for new ways Liquid Rubber can be used. We know it adheres well to wood because we have tested it on the wood pilings at my dock for several years as a bumper for boats to rest against.
We have no clue regarding the release of toxins into the water with long term exposure as that is not something we can test. We do know that once Liquid rubber cures completely (about 6-7 days) it will hold up to salt water and sun for years without any deterioration I.a. peeling or cracking.
I hope this info helps."

it didn;t....

and then other products that they use for ponds like paints i thought would go on too thin, and there were other products that came in too small of quantities to cover the area i needed so they got expensive...

anyways epoxy resin that is fish and aquarium safe was what i decided cause the cost wasn;t too bad for the strength.

my subfloor will consist of what i estimate to be 44 garden post legs which should be more than enough for that amount of compression.

i'm using mainly hex bolts, and bolts for structure and screws only on the plywood to hold the walls up

waterproof glue that is potable water and food safe (like butcher block). not that the water should make contact but nice to know.

what i have:
1. Glass (3/4" x 100" x 60")
2. Lumber (plywood, 2x6's, 4x4's, garden posts)
3. Various sizes in nuts, bolts, washers, hex bolts, and angle braces. 
4. Wood Glue.
5. Pump and filter (which isn't enough water flow so i need another pump)

What i lack:
1. Fiberglass cloth (ebay)
2. Epoxy resin (ebay)
3. Fish safe silicone (ebay)
4. Lighting set up (ebay) 
5. Piping for filters & pumps

anyways i guess as soon as i figure out how to post a picture i will be more than happy to start showing you guys pics of the proposed wall and materials.


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## CICHLUDED

There are steps in this link for posting pics....
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... hp?t=21085

Looking forward to seeing them....


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## booba5

How are you going to seal the acrylic to the plywood? I've seen some people on here asking about it, but didn't see a resolution, just curious


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## remarkosmoc

Sounds like a really cool project. I really like the idea of a tall tank that dominates a wall. A couple of questions I have:

How are you going to maintain the tank, are you going to get inside it?

How are you going to manage heat in the summer, I'm assuming the new theatre room and the tank area will get tied into central air?

Look forward to watching the progress, good luck opcorn:


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## dooo_36

i plan on encasing the acrylic in a frame and making sure that that seal is good and strong.

for the framing of the acrylic i want to sandwich it between a 2x6 and a 4x4 and of course silicone as the seal. i have a photoshop illustration to explain (im not up on acad yet)

the bolts will compress the silicone to also help in sealing.










there might be two images. as i explained i don;t know how to get images on these posts yet so i didn;t know if HTML, or image code was required. anyways look it over and let me know what ya'll think.

oh i forgot to label the inside of the tank which is the top portion of the pic.


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## booba5

From what i've read on this site, silicon won't adhere to acrylic, i dont know for sure, i'm just saying


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## remarkosmoc

I think booba's right you have to use acrylic cement.


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## dooo_36

tannable75 said:


> Sounds like a really cool project. I really like the idea of a tall tank that dominates a wall. A couple of questions I have:
> 
> How are you going to maintain the tank, are you going to get inside it?
> 
> How are you going to manage heat in the summer, I'm assuming the new theatre room and the tank area will get tied into central air?
> 
> Look forward to watching the progress, good luck opcorn:


i don;t quite know yet how im going to maintain the tank, if i have to get in i certainly will lol. 
but i have two sets of filters which concerns me cause its not as massive of an undertaking as i have seen for other filtration systems on large tanks like mine.

i have a pond filter w/ uv that claims it can handle 4000 gallons. and i have an old pool sand filer with a backflow cleanout switch. i just need another pump for that.

for the return i plan on doing the set up with a "jet" system setup under the sand as to create current and water flow to prevent dead spots in the tank that lead to waste build up. i will get over that hurdle when i get to it cause i hope it works well with however i decide to designe the tank. thats really my only concern. cause i really want it to look good but i can;t put too much thats over kill. and too little loses the awe of the tank you know.

Anyways hopefully that will reduce the amount of effort i have to put forth in manually cleaning the tank. and i can just focus mostly on the filters.

as far as the theater room i do plan on actually putting in a wall unit to maintain the heating and cooling in that room. my house is an older home and i doubt they sized the a/c to account for any extra, even though it was recently put in a couple of years ago.

but before i actually put any real fish in there i want the tank to sit at least a couple of weeks see how the water is sitting and see how the water temp. is maintaining. then we'll see how things are looking at that time take some PH readings etc...


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## dooo_36

acrylic cement hu... didn;t see that coming.

so even though im not using the silicone as any purpose in the structure other than just a sealer you still think i need an acrylic cement.

which actually looks to be cheaper than a fish safe silicone.. now that im browsing for that on another window.


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## booba5

yes it will still leak if the silicon does not adhere to the plastic. the water will seep in between the silicon and the plastic.


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## dooo_36

ok the acrylic won;t work, its only meant to bond acrylic to acrylic.

so thats not an option i guess i will run some tests.

any advice ?

ooops, error... looks like acrylic cement does bond to wood.


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## booba5

woohoo, i was thinking that would ruin your plan, I'm glad it's just a "oops, shouldn't buy this, I'll just buy this instead"


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## dooo_36

yeah its not ruining the plans thank goodness but its a kink none the less (budget wise)
im seeing that most acrylic cements are water thin, and bond acrylics by breaking down the surface and bonding them together. kind of like plastic weld. so wood has no use there.

the special acrylic bonding agent i have found for wood is weld-on #40

and that is expensive. $24 for a pint kit

but it sounds really tough.

i emailed gorilla glue but thats a long shot.

i'm looking into acrylics to see if they have anything to bond wood to acrylic sheets.

luckily i haven't bought any yet


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## Mcdaphnia

There is something that claims to bond acrylic to wood.

http://www.sanitred.com/waterproofing-b ... dfountain/

Price would be the problem, if you check it.

___________________________________________________________________________
"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."

â€" David Friedman


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## dooo_36

Mcdaphnia said:


> There is something that claims to bond acrylic to wood.
> 
> http://www.sanitred.com/waterproofing-b ... dfountain/
> 
> Price would be the problem, if you check it.
> 
> ___________________________________________________________________________
> "The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
> 
> â€" David Friedman


i have seen this product and im not sure if i emailed them but it is actually a perfect example.

Kudos to Mcdaphnia ... cause i haven;t seen this article just this name brand

i will send a correspondence and lets see what they say.

you know similarly i thought of this and because i plan on using an epoxy resin & fiberglass cloth to line the tank... the real surface of course being the epoxy... which also can be used on wood can essentially create a new surface on wood thus eliminating the acrylic to wood dilemma.

and reading that article that is exactly what they are doing. and they state "The 2-part epoxy primer is used to better adhere to the acrylic."

i also have an email out to the epoxy resin folks i plan on buying from cause they carry a 2 part epoxy resin glue ( which by coincidence is mentioned in your article but as a "primer") and i think the "primer" part is just a selling gimmick so you buy more products. and use an offical top coating product.

anyways if you look at this product on ebay they call it out specifically used for koi ponds and constructed fish tanks, they even have the colorant that you can mix in. blues greens reds and mixing colors of course gives you a rainbow lol.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EPOXY-RESIN-GLUE-SU ... dZViewItem

not only that but the price is definitely right on i mean $80 for 2 gallons worth. and the way they present it... it has like hundreds of uses and like a forever shelf life i couldn;t go wrong with something like that. especially since thats what i was gunna pay for the resin. i could easily use this in its place.

but lets not get our hopes up as i do have to see what they say about thier products bonding abilities to an acrylic sheet.

they also have a chart and acrylic is listed but i can;t read the darn thing, does it make sense to anyone else...


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## dooo_36

that larger brown "board" is the Acrylic sheet. its wrapped in a protective brown paper.


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## booba5

Very nice, I cant wait to see this project!


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## dooo_36

i'm looking for suggestions on color for the background.

what do you guys think Black, Blue, White.....???

what would work best with the fish and thier color?


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## cholile

Obviously it can depend on the fish, but overall I'd recommend either black or a dark deep-water green. I think those are the best colors for most cichlids and especially most of the large ones I can think of. In addition, if you're just coloring the background with one color and then adding a few rocks, both of those look quite nice with large gray rocks. If you wanted a lighter color sand I'd say green or black for the background. If for some reason you wanted a darker color substrate then I'd stick with black.

good luck with the project.


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## iceblue

I agree with the black. It is the absence of color so just about any color fish will contrast with it nicely.

For my 350g tank and 150g capacity sump I used Sweetwater 2 part epoxy. I bought 1 gallon of dark blue and 1 gallon of dark grey. I alternated them when coating the tank to insure that I was getting even coverage.

When I first bought them the idea was to decide on the final coat color by deciding which one I liked best. Grey was the hands down winner. The dark blue was really intense and imo would make you go crosseyed looking at it.  It really didn't matter anyway because in the end my concrete background covered everything.

Here's a couple of picks of the colors. Sweetwater epoxy also comes in black.


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## dooo_36

sweet... thanks guys i was kind of already decided on black.. i just wanted some opinions, from people that already have the experience with these colors, to confirm black was a better choice.

and as far as the fish i think im going with malawi cichlids, but there too i need to research the other two lakes species and we'll go from there.

im still new to cichlids so i'm a still researching

does anyone know what that black cichlid is that is on this website top left corner. i saw one at daves rare fish pet store, and i really liked it. anyways im making my wish list.


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## Hoosier Tank

Eretmodus cyanostictus (Kasanga)
Found it by putting my cursor on the pic.
Here is what the profiles section here has on it..
PROFILE

Oh and good luck on the project! :thumb: I am stoked so I know you have to be really excited.
You may want to research the use of 4x4s especially the landscape timbers yours appear to be. They tend to warp the way the one on the top of your stack already is. I have no experiance with them in stand / tank construction, only when building my 36' x 16' deck with the square cut ones on the far right in your pic... Also some of yours look to be "treated" lumber, you do know that is done with arsenic right? Impegnated into the wood to kill insects when used outdoors.
Hate to be a buzz kill but better safe than sorry.


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## NYjets51

wow if you go with mbuna or haps it will cost you so much to fully stock it, but i think it will be worth it


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## cholile

The copadichromis midnight mloto is supposed to look stunning when full grown. I've only seen juvies so I don't have first hand experience.

http://www.safhl.net/davesfish/images/C ... 0Point.jpg

Most lake victoria fish don't show much color when mixed with fish from other lakes, but i'm sure there are exceptions and with a 1200 gallon tank who knows, maybe they will. if they do show their colors then lake victoria has some of the most amazing colors imo.

tangs are mostly smaller (with exceptions like the fronts) and have interesting shapes but not quite as amazing colors (again, exceptions abound).

the large malawi hap predators are the real exciting ones that few people can house so, imo, with a tank that large you want to get a large number of them. they have some great colors too.


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## Joephish

If you haven't found the Hill Country Cichlid Club yet, then you might want to check them out. www.hillcountrycichlidclub.com. There will be lots of suggestions as to what you might want to put into a tank that large. DRAF is a big supporter. You might even find a little help when it comes time to build the beast.


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## ictoae

Let me know if you need an extra pair of hands at any point. I'm at least a little bit handy. I'm in NW SA. I agree with Joephish. check out HCCC it's a great little club.


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## dooo_36

Cool thanks for the heads up on the club and actually i have met dave, i went by there once just to look at some of his fish. His store is actually the only place i have gone to, and i think i made up my mind about who i want to do business with. he runs a good opertation.

and while i was there i think he told me about that hill country club but hey now i know how to find them. thanks.

and any hands offered are greatly appreciated, i will keep you posted on that offer. of course though when i'm finished, there will always be an open invitation to visit.

as far as the treated lumber, it would apear that my 4x4's and garden posts are treated, none of the 2x6's nor the plywood is treated (thats the only thing that will be on the inside of the tank). i will double check this of course cause they can treat lumber with a clear solution also, it dosen;t have to be "green" to indicate its been treated. but looking at the tags they don;t mention anything about being treated, just on the posts and 4x4s. none of these of course should make contact with the water. and if they do i probably have bigger problems than just water contamination. lol. the 4x4's will only be used as part of the framework for the glass (bracing on the outside-holding back the pushing force of the water on the glass).

and the warping on the posts isn;t a big deal, lumber is lumber its not perfect. they will be used in compression and shouldn;t deal with stresses in any other direction. there will be a total of 40 to 44 legs so, and a few will warp. they will be wrapped, as flush as possible, in 2x6's to help get a nice flat consistency for the plywood floor. i figure each leg will be supporting somewhere in the ball park of 200lbs, and each leg will be somewhere about 24". And post like that should be able to handle more than 200lbs even if you laid it on it side and hung the weight in the center.

Question: if you were attempting to break a 2' piece of garden post in half what kind of force would you have to exude? now calculate that in a compression force. i also have the chart tables for what amount of forces any certain piece of lumber is capable of handling.

i work in new home construction and my coworker that will be doing my acads has a degree in construction science. so we might not know tank building... but i know lumber and what its capable of handling. of course though all this will be double checked once we get started on the acads. he said he would help me calculate the liquid dynamics so that we can accurately determine the level of stresses on my walls and glass.

well i really appreciate the feedback guys. please keep it coming. and i am very anxious to get this going. i think i will be tearing down some walls this coming week in the garage and cleaning the area where she will stand. and actually if you see that picture of the plywood and acrylic.. thats where is going to be. i'll get a better before pic once its clean. and the interior wall also.

sorry for the photo quality.. i'm using my cell for the pics.


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## dooo_36

Just now tried a sample piece with gorilla glue on the left over 2x4x60 piece of acrylic sheet and i think its going to hold. i haven;t let it completely cure yet, its only been... oh... about an hour or so but it would appear that it can support its own weight, i just grabbed that little 1" splinter of wood and it lifted the whole sheet. granted it probably only weighs 10-15lbs.

probably tomorrow i will attempt to separate the two, after its cured pretty thoroughly, and see how difficult that will be.

i took these pics holding it up and not standing on the floor and to show that i took a pic standing back letting it hang off a nail on the other side of the wall.


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## dooo_36

looks like i need to head on back to home depot. im going to need my 2x6's in 10' lengths instead of the 8'-ers i have already. 10 foot in my situation will reduce the scrap. cause after i cut for the floor joists. i can use the leftover length of 2x6 for the wall studs, being that my tank is taller than anticipated the 8' lengths won;t work. wish i'd a had my acads earlier or that my home depot coupon would of not expired so soon. oh well just need to exchange em. no biggy.

we actually came up with a different method to tie in the back wall. everyone else that i have noticed, builds the walls separately from the floor and ends up screwing or bolting down the wall onto the floor/plywood. i always had my concerns about the strength in that joint. so what we ended up doing was attaching each wall stud with each floor joist directly. floor joist running horizontal and the wall studs of course vertically, creating a natural 90 degree angle that directly ties the wall into the floor of the aquarium. this will reduce settling/movement and hair fractures, and possibly leaks. FYI: wall studs. posts and floor joists will be 12" on centers. should be very strong, stronger i assume than building a wall and attaching it to the plywood floor.

the acads look great, he drew them in 3d and they look good.

ordered the epoxy (2 gallons) with a black dye. need to order the fiberglass sheet but im a wait on that till its needed.


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## iceblue

Not to throw a damper on anything but have you taken into consideration the different expansion rates of plywood and acrylic. If they are hard glued to each other and you have a swing in temperature it could put a lot of stress on a rigid mateing. We've been kicking around the idea of painting the surface of the acrylic that will come in contact with the plywood with epoxy and then siliconing it in place the same way you would do a glass installation in this thread. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight= The silicone would be far more forgiving then a rigid application.


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## dooo_36

that is probably a much better solution!!!.

i didn't take it into consideration, but it was a concern. i still was in limbo as to what i will be using to adhere the acrylic, cause i haven;t decided. yeah i like the strength that the gorilla glue is displaying but its not flexible. which i know if it gives a little it will give all the way. and instead of a small leak you get a BIG leak.

but i like your idea there "ice" and its not really a damper on things. cause i already ordered the epoxy glue. i will do some test runs of course. see how well the epoxy adheres to the acrylic then the silicone to the epoxy with a piece of wood and compare the strength to a standalone bead of silicone and wood.

i'm just curious to see how strong the epoxy will hold to the acrylic. then we can go from there


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## dooo_36

Update:

got my epoxy glue in and WOW it is very strong stuff... 
ran 4 test runs on the acrylic scrap sheet i have. this is what i have done.

1. wood glued straight to acrylic,
2. wood glued to a sanded section on the acrylic. 
3. glue straight to acrylic (test iceblue's suggestion for silicone to the epoxy.)
4. glue to a sanded section of the acrylic.

now i haven;t got the silicone in yet but i think iceblue's suggestion is dead on a good solution. i was able to tear off the wood glued to the acrylic but wood glue to the sanded section is holding on very tight. i tried to pull down on it and the acrylic bends with the weight of my body (remember its a long strip 4" by 50"). i haven;t exactly hung by it but it is way more impressive of a hold than that gorilla glue. i figure this hold is going to be even stronger that the silicone but the advantage the silicone obviously has is the flexibility. where as this epoxy has seemed to dry very hard.

Great news is... I Kick Off Construction 3 weekends from now. So on the 15 thru the 17 i hope to have it framed up and glass in place. The epoxy and fiberglass and filtration etc.. i will do over the next days depending on my schedule and stuff. i plan on having some fellas from work help me and i got a couple of you faithful readers to volunteer, though im not sure if they are still up for it.

im just tweaking the plans with plenty of notes as to minimize the amount of scrap/waste, waiting on the silicone, and i wanted to get as much srap form one of our job sites we just started so in about a week or two i should be able to pick up some spare lumber in case i don;t quite have enough. ITs FREE so what the heck the more the better.


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## iceblue

dooo_36 said:


> Update:
> 
> 3. glue straight to acrylic (test iceblue's suggestion for silicone to the epoxy.)


Just to be clear, my idea was to use the same 2 part epoxy "paint" I sealed my tank with and coat the outside of the tank contact area of the acrylic. Epoxy glue could work also but I'm not quite sure what product your referring to.

Sanding the surface of the acrylic before applying the epoxy is something I would do anyway. It creates more surface area for it to adhere to. :thumb:


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## dooo_36

i gave a link to the product im using earlier in the thread. and it should bond better to the acrylic than a "paint" since this is an adhesive 2 part epoxy. and it is fish safe non toxic.


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## iceblue

I wanted to use the epoxy paint because it is a known quanity. Silicone will stick to it. There was some excitement a while back about useing spray-on truckbed liner to seal a tank. Unfortunatly it was discovered silicone would not adhere to its surface. Hopefully that's not the case with the epoxy glue your useing. It would make a better choice for a transitional bond then the paint.

Looking forward to more posts on your project. Keep up the good work.


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## dooo_36

i see... well i anticipate a good bond between the silicone and epoxy, but of course it will be tested as soon as that silicone arrives.

i haven;t been able to remove that board off that scrap of acrylic, its holding strong. so as long as the silicone has some bonding property to the epoxy i should be safe. its just going to be used as a seal so...

well i shall keep you guys posted.


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## SOLE.sic

Please please keep us updated with information on the acrylic situation ice been searching through every aquarium website, even called acrylic manufactuer in Chicago, even went to talk to a lfs that builds custom glass acrylic plywood tanks and no one had any input which needless to say has put my plans on an indefinite hold


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## dooo_36

i haven;t had a chance to review these links but look at what the response was from the epoxy glue company :

Hello,
Sorry for the delayed response, been out of the shop for seminars. To answer your question yes it will as long as the acrylic is well cleaned. You may want to check out our SURFACE PREPARATION BULLETIN as well as FLAME TREATING FOR PLASTIC BONDING BULLETIN. Here is the link:

http://www.polymercompositesinc.com/pci ... ONDING.pdf

And

THIS IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE

http://www.polymercompositesinc.com/pci ... 20BULLETIN

Surface preparation is the key when bonding plastics due to its very low surface tension. I have used the MAX BOND to bond acrylics before and wit h the proper surface preparation it will work very well. Allow at least 36 hours of curing before applying pressure on the joints.
Again I apologize for the delay.
Gerald


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## dooo_36

:? :dancing:  i start this thing tomorrow... so come monday i will have new pics up and i plan on taking alot so.... ok wel see you guys soon..


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## Hoosier Tank

YES!... I been waiting opcorn:


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## dooo_36

FINALLY!!! :lol: :thumb: 
this first pic might be confusing till you see the rest of the tank and how this falls into place. but i felt this would be a stronger brace for the type of stresses the water will be putting on the walls, especially at the bottom where the pressure will be the greatest. other construction of tanks that i have seen i don;t feel were done right being that they framed the tank walls the way they would a house wall. and those are two different stresses. a tank pushes out and a house pushes down. and there is virtually no down force on the walls cause nothing is sitting on the top. at least in my situation. now of course the tank itself is HEAVY!! but that weight is on the floor of the tank not the walls. 
















these are the floor and back wall being constructed. we 90'ed the frist one drew a template on the concrete and just laid the rest on the template so that they were as close to a 90 as possible without having to check all of them. 








and that is how the walls are tying into the floors








you will notice a lot of scrap OSB on the feet and that isn't anything structural, that was just put there to keep the legs square and straight. and to reduce movement from any swaying. also the blocking where i bolted the feet to the 2x6 was just used as a spacer cause the bolts i purchased were a 1/4" too long and were too long to tighten.








OSB on the flooring...








side wall... now unfortunately i couldn;t get away from building the wall this way but i figured since it was a shorter wall and will be bolted in the corners it should be fine.

if your wondering why i feel this wall type isn't the best and your saying to yourself he can just bolt down the footer... well i did.. im only concerned about there the stud meets the footer. a few nails there and thats it. that "stud" could feasibly, with enough force pull out. i did of course use glue to help, but i think is this short of a wall those studs should be fine. 








Blocking for the corners where the walls will be bolted where they come together. 








again... all corners will have this to strengthen that connection with bolts. 








thats one of the front corners same on the other side.

:lol: lol im not sure if you can see it, and i didn't plan this but the tank barely clears the garage track rails by like 3/4" i couldn;t of planned that any better if i tried. :lol: but to work on this we have been able to slide it back and forth. so once its pretty close to completed it will be slid into the wall so that the face is flush with the wall studs.

and on another note... NO that wall isn;t a load bearing wall, between the garage and living, i have been in the attic and my house was framed on engineered trusses. which means that the roof loads are on the exterior walls.

and lastly a pic of my friend being a dufas. this will at least give you some relation to is size. interior height (water depth) 60"









i didn;t get the most recent pics up but i did bolt the corners and plywood is on one side and the back. the glass is in the tnk but not placed yet. i put the epoxy on the sanded edges to change the surface in preparation for the silicone. so today i will be making the interior frame for the galss and hopefully have that in place today or tomorrow. that glass was pretty heavy!! for two guys and narrow passages, anyways. but the epoxy should be dry enough for me to work around.. not 100% cured but dry. and thats where i stopped cause that epoxy adhesive dries very slowly.

thanks.


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## gsxrchris

looks great, alot more progress done than when i left on sat. night dont worry ill be there to help set up filtration and stock. hey an idea i came up with after i got off the phone lets do a trip to my land in uvalde and look for some nice big pieces of holy rock its free besides the gas and plus we might even gets some nice drift wood free also.


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## dooo_36

lol yeah i kept forgetting to ask i thought about that too. i didn;t know if you have holly rock but i was thinking like river rock or something.

we can probly make it out when its dove season. or whenever...


----------



## BurgerKing

I just checked this project tonight. For the background, With all the work you have put in and will put into this beauty, why not make a 3d DIY? I know its a big project but so is the frame of the tank, lol.

As for fish, this tank is going to be a show tank, so i'd imagine you'd want show fish. IMO you should go with a Peacock/Hap tank. Im not sure if dominence will be an issue in such a large tank so i dont know if similar colored fish would be an issue.

A tanganyikan tank would also be pretty cool. I've never seen this done but a Frontosa and tropheus tank would look pretty sweet. I dont know much about tropheus so im not sure if you could have more than one type of colony (dubosi and moorii).

Good luck and i cant wait till its finished


----------



## dooo_36

yes this is definitely going to be a show tank. now im not quite sure which fish im planning on doing yet but i would like species that get fairly large. i'm definately going to get with DRA and hopefully steal some of his valuable time and pick his brain for suggestions.

last time i was there they (him and his buddies) thought kind of the same thing, because this should be a large enough tank territories and dominance shouldn't be a big issue.

on the 3d background. that sure is one option and my friend up there "gsxr(something)" has offered his contribution of foam. but the interior decore is still up in the air and yes that will be another project in itself.

1 step at a time...


----------



## dooo_36

as soon as i finish getting this glass in place then i can get that tank in its final resting place, and cut out the wall to accommodate it. then we can get a real picture of what this thing looks like broadsided. 








































i like those panoramic photos the help grab more viewing.

  ok now the sad part...   
 :-? 








i think this nick is from the shipping cause its a pretty deep gash. i never really inspected it thoroughly but i do remember seeing several nicks in the protective paper that coated the glass and i looked at a few and noticed the glass looked fine so i just assumed that all the paper nicks were just that... but this one is deep.

i guess its not that bad considering the overall size of the glass in relation to the size gash but im a try and polish it out to see if i can at least hide it so it not so noticeable but theres no fixing it to be the way it was brand new.

i'll get my dremel to it and see if we can polish her up...


----------



## iceblue

The link to flaming the acrylic was very informative and made a lot of sense. I may use that method for my tank.

How did your bonding experiments work out and which method did you decide to go with?

Looking good so far. You'd have problems driving a car through that frame.:thumb:


----------



## dooo_36

i ended up going with the informative PDF that my epoxy supplier gave me. i went ahead and bought a torch and heated the glass... its really neat because the fact that you can feel the difference, your finger glides over the normal surface and the torched surface feels oxidized.

so i did that and of course im still going to use that silicone where the 2x6 meets the acrylic with the epoxy on the surface.

its not so much a floating glass though... those bolts i used really clamped down on that glass. i mean so tight the washer sunk into the 2x6.

i'll get some more detail picks of the seal.


----------



## imusuallyuseless

Very impressed w/the project so far. Hope I can come visit once this thing is up and running. Let me know if you need any help setting up this bad boy


----------



## ashilli48

I apologize if I missed it but what are your stocking ideas?


----------



## gordonrp

Great project.

Real shame about the gash in the glass, but I suspect that once the tank is full of water that the gash will be less visible.

Can't wait to see it finished. :thumb:


----------



## dooo_36

i am planning on having a get together when the thing is done, and **** im not appose to new friends coming down and having a good time and checking out the tank. so i will let you know when that is hopefully by mid next month... well you;ll know with about the time as you watch my progress on here.

it'll be like my second house warming lol.

and i really don;t have a good idea as to what im going to stock this badboy with. i mentioned earlier im planning on meeting with DRA and picking his brain for my best options for fish. you guys are going to laugh but im very new to cichlid's. i originally wanted Koi.  i know... my friend gsxrchris intorduced me to cichlids and really turned me on to them. so thats where i stand at the moment as far as stocking ideas. im going to the experts...

the gash is a **** shame.. i figured the water should help hide it too and luckily the way i got that glass in the tank the gash is on the inside ... lucked out again there. cause that glass weighs like 140 150 lbs and with no where to grab it its a pain moving. but i think polishing it as best i can with the buffer on my dremel i can clear it up to where it might just look like an imperfection in the glass. i also figured the water would help as you mentioned gordonrp.

well thanks for watching the show guys... stay tuned opcorn: opcorn:


----------



## jbc123

You should put a shark in it! :fish:

The owner of my LFS built one like this into the wall of his shop and has a 3 foot white tip reef shark in it. It's so awesome.


----------



## dooo_36

jbc123 said:


> You should put a shark in it! :fish:
> 
> The owner of my LFS built one like this into the wall of his shop and has a 3 foot white tip reef shark in it. It's so awesome.


i would but i think the neighbors would start to notice their cats missing :lol: :lol:

but really i want something a little more on the colorful side.

i didn;t realize the "H" word was a badword on here... you know opposite of heaven. anyways sorry forum didn;t mean to break rules.


----------



## christopherhicks

looks good cant wait to see it finished


----------



## crotalusfan

I think you should talk to turd ferguson and think very seriously about Parachromis. Any or all.


----------



## imusuallyuseless

I can see the desire for color, but I'd personally go w/some of the larger CA/SA cichlids...

just my two cents :wink:


----------



## dwarfpike

If you know which central americans to get, they blow africans away in color. Browser through *Aquamojo*'s posts in the photo area to see what I mean.


----------



## Hoosier Tank

dwarfpike said:


> Browser through *Aquamojo*'s posts in the photo area to see what I mean.


No doubt! But then with his talent I think *Aquamojo* could photograph a turd and it would look good. :lol:


----------



## dooo_36

oh i agree with the idea of going larger species. that was my concern from the get go when i started to consider cichlids. i didn;t think there were any large enough cichlids that would make it worth wild to commit to. and South American is tempting i went through a few profiles of them and was impressed.

so where do i find turd ferguson and what are parachromis?

and aquamojo?? how do i find him (or her)


----------



## iceblue

Aquamojo posts a lot of pics in the photography section but I wouldn't be so quick to give up on large colorful Africans. Here are a few of the larger Haps from Lake Malawi.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=994
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=999
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1002
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1062
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1065
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1156
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1289


----------



## Hoosier Tank

dooo_36 said:


> oh i agree with the idea of going larger species. that was my concern from the get go when i started to consider cichlids. i didn;t think there were any large enough cichlids that would make it worth wild to commit to. and South American is tempting i went through a few profiles of them and was impressed.
> 
> so where do i find turd ferguson and what are parachromis?
> 
> and aquamojo?? how do i find him (or her)


At the top right of every page right under the advertisement bar is a row of buttons click on "search". There you can search posts by keyword, author and forum. For Turd Ferg. Put his name in "Author" and "parachromis" in keywords... For For Aquamojo's pics, put his name in Author and select "Aquarium Potography and Video" in the Forums dropdown menue. His posts are always "Today in the Fishroom...." with the date. Brace yourself, your going to see some excellent photos. He also has his own websight that is very nice and linked in his posts


----------



## jbc123

What about Arrowanas? Those are huge and cool looking.

Or a school of PIRANHA!


----------



## dooo_36

man the tank has put on some weight... :x all by myself i had to get it in its place.

anyways check it out i cut out the hole and i plan on trimming around it so that it looks pretty. that will be when its nearly completed. 








this is what it looks like straight on... 








the other angle ...








i used my dog here for size comparison... 
















and this is me with my tank... now it took me a while to take this picture since i live alone and had no one to help me and my camera is really my phone. Let me tell you... its not easy trying to train a dog on how to use a camera phone :lol:

anyways:








=D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

and next i will be sealing this baby with the 2 part epoxy and black dye mixed in so stay tuned opcorn: opcorn:

i also appreciate ya'lls (Texan) help on trying to decide the fish i really like the suggestions

some of ice blues suggestions there are actually some of the very fish i was considering. i have an extensive list of about 20 fish that i am considering and they are from the Lake Malawi, and earlier i posted south american but i think i meant central american, those were alot nicer. but we'll see i most likely am leaning toward african and from the lake malawi. some of those that you found there ice blue i don;t think i saw last time when i did my searching, very nice. thanks.


----------



## ashilli48

Cool Weimaraner! We had two when I was littel. I told my wife I would give up all the tanks if she let me have one of my childhood friends back.

I still have tanks. :lol:


----------



## dooo_36

ashilli48 said:


> Cool Weimaraner! We had two when I was littel. I told my wife I would give up all the tanks if she let me have one of my childhood friends back.
> 
> I still have tanks. :lol:


Heck yeah they really are awesome dogs, sweet as can be. she is a sweet heart.

Best dog i ever had, and she was a gift from a customer... papers and all.


----------



## Joephish

I love the tank and am eagerly awaiting the house party. :drooling:

Allow me to take this opportunity to invite everyone to the Hill Country Cichlid Club auction that will be held Sunday September 14th. http://www.hillcountrycichlidclub.com/events.php 
doooo, you might be able to get some idea of the fish that are available from the club, and at the very least, get more opinions than you know what to do with.
If you have the tank space ready, you might be able to pick up some fish that would work in your setup. If not, there will always be another auction in about 6 months or so.
Happy fishing.


----------



## alexrex20

good looking Weim. nice tank also


----------



## balachel

lookin awesome so far


----------



## dooo_36

alexrex20 said:


> good looking Weim. nice tank also


i should of just posted pics of the pooch !! lol :lol: :lol:

forget the tank hey look i got a dog :lol: :lol:


----------



## dooo_36

theres one

and heres another


----------



## dooo_36

wait this one you gotta see










!! ta chula mi perra !! :thumb:


----------



## Hoosier Tank

dooo_36 said:


>


Right about here is when I would have been living alone again too :lol: 
Great job so far, yea the dogs cool too... But Dang dude that tank is SA-WEEET!


----------



## gsxrchris

:lol: i swear its a good thing your single i cant imagine a wife being cool with a hole that big in the living room that also houses the pool table lol.... hey i dont think the hole in the wall is straight...... lol


----------



## CICHLUDED

Hoosier Tank said:


> dooo_36 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Right about here is when I would have been living alone again too :lol:
Click to expand...

Look honey, Iâ€™m installing that Jacuzzi youâ€™ve always wanted..... 

opcorn: Lookin good...Can't wait to see the finished product... opcorn:


----------



## dooo_36

You kids stay out of the living room !! Its mommy and daddy time in the Jacuzzi :lol:


----------



## dooo_36

ok i think i know what im going to do as a 3d background... tell me what ya'll think.

something like a Mangrove root system!

what im thinking is to have two root systems in the back corners... like if there were two trees at the ends of my tank. of course now i don;t want to clutter the tank with roots so i do plan on something fairly open for visibility and give it a good spread, for balance of the open space.

on my dads property he has a nice fallen tree that i wanted to see if i can still use. but i don;t know if it will match. that and i would like some of that holy rock my friend was mentioning that hes got on his property.

anyways this is what i had in mind...


----------



## iceblue

Another member is doing something similar to what you want to do, albeit on a smaller scale.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... &&start=15


----------



## barbarian206

i cant wait to see the finished product looks real great so far good luck =D> =D> =D>


----------



## L A R R Y

Your not finished with this yet? opcorn:


----------



## tankCrazy

WOW :thumb:

That is like a dream come ture for me... =D>

Love the tank! Do you have any more pics? When do you think you are going to be adding fish to the monster? Have you decided on what fish you plan to put in it? I'd love to fly down and see it. Sorry for all the questions.. :?

There is a guy here in Washington that built a 15,000 gal tank and it is very cool. He keeps stingrays in it. he built it in his basment and it takes up the whole thing. I'll try to find pics of it and post them. That is if you want to see it.

Again VERY cool 8)

:fish:


----------



## D-007

Hoosier Tank said:


> .. For For Aquamojo's pics, put his name in Author and select "Aquarium Potography and Video" in the Forums dropdown menue. His posts are always "Today in the Fishroom...." with the date. Brace yourself, your going to see some excellent photos. He also has his own websight that is very nice and linked in his posts


The search function returned *No topics or posts met your search criteria*


----------



## CICHLUDED

Just click-over to the Potography and Video section....

You will find a few recent post by Aquamojo...


----------



## gsxrchris

haha i knew you would go with a background, did i tell you about the 155g i bought(80bucks gotta love c-list)dimensions are wierd 48l 24d 31h i think its almost 1/2 thick glass used to belong to san antonio zoo, im goin to do the same type of background after i build the stand


----------



## dooo_36

very sorry guys, but there was no progress this past holiday weekend

i was in








Mexico!!! 









Weather was awesome like 80 degrees no humidity, Senoritas were gorgeous and the cervesas were flowing. :thumb: :thumb:

but good news is i will have a partner to mix glue for me this weekend... as per my dad's request he didn;t want me doing that alone(he thinks this in case if there are fumes) and it will be easier having someone on the outside of the tank mixing while im working inside the tank. the clearance to get in and out is like 18" so i would hate to climb in and out a whole lot of times. and to be honest the odor isn;t strong, i don;t think the fumes if any are harmful. kind of smells like feet lol :lol:

oh but i did get some nice cabinet fronts that i plan on using as a faux. i want to give the impression there is a built in cabinet on that blank space on the wall below the tank. This was kind of an afterthought since we were cleaning out the office and in the storage they had a bunch of nice cabinet fronts from a customer that complained they weren't crafted right.

and all it was, was the tongue and grove wasn't flush, anyways they look fine and they look great for the look im going for. now all i need is a nice stainable peice of plywood to mount these to. that will of course be later on finish out along with the trim.


----------



## dooo_36

i know i know LARRY im kicking myself too i really should be further along on this thing, but i been lacking help, as i mentioned i need a glue mixer... oh and i was able to help that gash out a little it did polish out but now it looks like an imperfection... small dimple in the glass. though im not sure if its an improvement, we'll have to see later when waters in it.



tankCrazy said:


> WOW :thumb:
> 
> That is like a dream come ture for me... =D>
> 
> Love the tank! Do you have any more pics? When do you think you are going to be adding fish to the monster? Have you decided on what fish you plan to put in it? I'd love to fly down and see it. Sorry for all the questions.. :?
> 
> There is a guy here in Washington that built a 15,000 gal tank and it is very cool. He keeps stingrays in it. he built it in his basment and it takes up the whole thing. I'll try to find pics of it and post them. That is if you want to see it.
> 
> Again VERY cool 8)
> 
> :fish:


i hope to really have this thing 100% completed before the end of this month i still need to purchase all my piping for the return UGJ and piping for the water that will be disturbing the surface water. i need to seal it still (epoxy and fiberglass) which should happen this weekend. and of course get this Mangrove design done. i really think that will be all as far as the work on a background gos... i want a decent amount of open space with large sandstones and holy rock. but man i really found a great pic of what im thinking for the roots,









well you know it already but every other mangrove root system i sen pics of are really cluttered. and im really going to mock this pic as best i can. or something really close cause it would look funny having two roots identical. anyways you get the idea...

im going for best tank award lol :lol:

oh and the lighting setup is going to be a big surprise... chris i told you but don;t give it away... i want everyone to be shocked and amazed!!!

:dancing: I HAVE A VISION!!! :thumb:


----------



## tankCrazy

How do you plan on contruct the roots? Cement and foam?

This tank should win tank of the month if not tank of the year, if there is one :thumb: :thumb:

:fish:


----------



## dooo_36

yeah i think styrofoam and cement is going to be my cheapest route...

i found a guy selling 4' x 4' x 2" for $1 so i think i can get way more than enough of what i need. and the cement is pretty cheep.

anyone know where i can perhaps get colours for the cement though? i haven;t really looked too much into it but im gunna need some color... obviously the grey woun't pull off the effect im going for.


----------



## iceblue

This is what I used for my project. http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/CementColor.asp 
To get good adhesion and help seal the project I also used SikaLatexR
http://www.sikaindustry.com/ht-cpd-SikaLatexR-us.pdf
Both products are available at Home Depot.

Mixing it in your mortar can get expensive real quick. I mixed the color, Sika, and Type II cement into a slurry and added a little water after the false set. I painted it directly to my structures using various cheap paintbrushes. It worked out really well and the concrete colors can be mixed to achieve a desired color. These concrete colors do have a saturation point and adding more color will not make it any more intense, but they can be used sparingly to achieve lighter colors.


----------



## imusuallyuseless

gsxrchris said:


> haha i knew you would go with a background, did i tell you about the 155g i bought(80bucks gotta love c-list)dimensions are wierd 48l 24d 31h i think its almost 1/2 thick glass used to belong to san antonio zoo, im goin to do the same type of background after i build the stand


That's the one I wanted lol...


----------



## dooo_36

ok so i couldn't bare to look at the tank sittin there and no progress...

...either could Boom... (her name is Boom) 









so as you can see i started to lay the Fiberglass cloth but of course first i applied the epoxy adhesive to the plywood to make sure i covered every inch and then placed the cloth on top to adhere to it and then i came back with another coat of the epoxy on top to make for a thorough saturation of the cloth and the epoxy adhesive. man this stuff is messy... but it does wash off actually fairly easily considering so i really don;t have any complaints of the product other than maybe it would have been easier if i'd a gone with the thinner viscosity. then i could of maybe applied this with a brush instead of a plastic scraper.


----------



## gsxrchris

imusuallyuseless said:


> gsxrchris said:
> 
> 
> 
> haha i knew you would go with a background, did i tell you about the 155g i bought(80bucks gotta love c-list)dimensions are wierd 48l 24d 31h i think its almost 1/2 thick glass used to belong to san antonio zoo, im goin to do the same type of background after i build the stand
> 
> 
> 
> That's the one I wanted lol...
Click to expand...

it was a good buy i had to talk him into holding it a couple days i saw hes now selling a 125 or 130 gallon for like 100 dollars ,but the 155g was alot heavier than i expected and alot of work to do it had a black plastic sheet glued onto 3 sides so alot of silicone and calcium to remove.......hey make an offer maybe ill sell it lol.... dont worry dooo i wont tell anyone about the lighting for a price


----------



## dooo_36

so heres where im at so far


























i know, slow she gos... and no im not cutting corners i just put the cloth up to measure it up so i can cut it and start the floor. im still doing the plywood first then laying the cloth to the plywood and then coming back with another coat of the epoxy. :thumb:

that glueing is some tedious work. kind of messy... i think i should of ordered the thinner viscosity cause then i could have painted this on, but its coming along...


----------



## cichlid-fan

Are u laying the mat as u epoxy the tank? If so make sure you get all the air bubble out.


----------



## Dewdrop

Well it might not be coming along as fast as you'd like but it IS coming along and it's something to be proud of even now. Can't wait to see it finished with fish though opcorn:


----------



## cichlid-fan

Hey, let's getter done.


----------



## remarkosmoc

lookin sweet :thumb:


----------



## cichlid-fan

Yo, it has been about a week now, wus up wit da progress mann.


----------



## dooo_36

ok lets get somewhat of an update... i been so busy...  sorry guys

sealing is almost complete... all i have left is the right short wall and the floor. i do have wrinkles and airpockets so im going to have to go back and cut those out and patch those up. so that i get a nice smooth surface. im also considering ordering some regular resin so that im confidant in the finish and that its sealed well.

i couldn;t work on it yesterday cause i was trying to get a movie screen home. yes.. a movie screen 15x30 now i can watch me some movies!! lol no im cut a piece for the size i need

anyways im trying to get my pics to work... i reset my phone and now its dosen;t want to sync with my computers..

oh nd i went to the fish auction.. that was neat... unfortunately i couldn't buy anything since i yet don;t have an operable tank. but not to worry going to that auction motivated me to hurry things along. i will finish sealing this tank today and tomorrow... and get my phone working today lol. thanks for motivation guys.


----------



## exasperatus2002

Best of luck to you.

When you get the air bubbles in it, if you didnt cut them out & patch it, would it eventually cause failure/leakage?


----------



## dooo_36

well not sure it would to be honest but im trying to reduce the chances of water contact to the actual wood. i have cut some of the material out that just had the epoxy on it and it looks solid black but you put it to the light you can see very small holes which means that water perhaps is going to pass through the wrinkles and air pockets i have.

not that i intended the fabric to actually be the water proofer anyways, but i am also planning on coming back over with another coat and the wrinkles get in the way of getting a consistent coat.


----------



## cichlids _killer

dude nice sweet tank ....can we see some pic of the filtration for that bad $$$ tank too please.


----------



## dooo_36

well i have two canister filters ones a pool sand filter kind of old.. its really nothing to look at.

the other is a pressure pond filter that can handle up to 4000 gallons. it has 3 levels of filtration with 60 bio balls i think, and a UV light.

two pumps that total about 3500 gph.

yeah im not really doing anything elaborate like i have seen other DIY's where they build it all from scratch. but i can take some pics of the equip. no prob.

hey just for interests sake check out this web site i found. i don;t know if anyone else has seen this site but i was browsing, bored at work and found it...

http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/


----------



## balachel

yeah i have seen it before


----------



## cichlid-fan

If there are not any bubbles in the joint you should be fine, but if you wanna cut it out that ok to but make sure patch that spot really good when you epoxy it again.


----------



## dooo_36

ok well update time... i finally got the tank done with the fiberglassing, but i still need to go back and touch-up on the air pockets. the air pockets are all pretty much cut out too i just need to go back with the patch work. i'm also ordering another smaller 32oz of the epoxy but in a thin viscosity so that i can just roll it on as a final layer. once i am satisfied with the seal i'm thinking i should test it and get some water in this baby.

because of the way i plan on doing the decor it would be a pain in the booty to work around everything, trying to find a leak (if there is one). i dunno i might change my mind once i get that final coat on and see how comfortable i feel with it.

also i'm still looking for styrofoam... someone bought all that guys supply the day after i found it, it was alot too, i didn;t think it would be gone so fast. one day he says yep still have all of it, next day he says sold out... and it was like a week old listing. oh well. so right now im frantically looking for a place with CHEAP styrofoam. so i can get that under way.

my camera phone no longer sync's up to my pc i dunno what happened to it. i even took it back to factory settings and it won;t sync up. oh well. i did borrow a digital camera from my folks so when i get some good light, maybe tomorrow i will take a few pics. well thats pretty much it.


----------



## 98dak83cam

Go to a hardware store that sells foam and ask if you can have their damaged sheets. The top and bottom sheet of each bundle often gets damaged and they just throw them out. That is where I got mine to build my background on the 1000 gallon.


----------



## dooo_36

i went to them and they had very thin sheets of R-4 foam board.

Is that what you got? and will cement stick to it fairly well, cause it looked like a different kind of styrofoam? also im thinking that thins sheets like that will take alot to make the girth i want.

Anyways its a thought and i might just go there and talk to them and see how far i get with that. thanks for the suggestion.


----------



## dooo_36

i did these at work cause i was bored today but it gives you an idea of what i want the final face of the tank to look like. i still need to texture all the surfaces so it looks more life like, almost real. that shouldn;t be too difficult just a little bit of time.



















i know how everyone likes pictures so i will take some more once i get the mangrove roots nearly mocked up. thanks.

:thumb:


----------



## dooo_36

aaaaahhh... there we go you slap some textures on it and it looks a whole lot nicer.


----------



## BurgerKing

I've been watching your journey since day 1 and check back all the time for new photos, i cant wait to see the finished product!!


----------



## cosmic charlie

Thanks for sharing your work, fella!
Looks great!


----------



## balachel

keep it up cant wait to see the finished product


----------



## Chad_Asmus

Is 3/4 acrylic going to be thick enough to withhold the water pressure? I tank out of 3/4 inch and it was only 30" tall. That is what i was told that the max hieght was from a freind who is a civil engineer. He ran tests on his cad program. It isn't the length or the width that affects it allot it is the hieght. The higher the tank (or water level) the greater the pressure.


----------



## dooo_36

* Strength: Acrylic aquariums are 6-17 times stronger than glass aquariums. This gives acrylic aquariums, especially larger ones, a wider safety margin when it comes to the possibility of a tank breaking.
* Flexible: Acrylic is not rigidâ€¦it has give. If accidentally bumped into, the chance of an acrylic aquarium breaking is much less than glass. If an acrylic aquarium did break, it would crack slightly, not explode.
* Clarity: Acrylic allows 92 percent of light to pass while glass allows 70 percent. This means you see more of the true colors of the fish.
* Insulative: Acrylic is a thermoplastic. It holds heat much better than glass. If you have a power failure, you acrylic aquarium will take much longer to cool down than a glass aquarium.
* Machinable: Acrylic can be cut, drilled, routed, and machined any way imaginable without loss of strength. Glass loses much strength when drilled.
* Seamless: Acrylic can be molecularly bondedâ€¦melted together. The aquarium is a one-piece unit. You will not have the problems of leaks or seams splitting, which is an inherent problem with glass tanks.
* Cost Effective: Acrylic is less expensive in larger thicknesses than glass. This makes large aquariums (over 100 gallons) less expensive. The larger the tank is, the more cost effective. For example, a 240-300 acrylic gallon aquarium can be half the price of its glass counterpart.
* Lighter: Acrylic is 48 percent the weight of glass. Two people can carry an eight foot (300 gallon) aquarium, while it would take four to six people to lift the same aquarium made of glass.

these are all the reasons why i chose acrylic also if you look at this guys thread

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=148215

he used a 1/2" tempered glass which makes me nervous, but anyways i use his tank as an example, cause i too had concerns about the thickness required, but being that this guy got away with a 1/2" in tempered (yes it does have a center brace, but still) glass, i felt more than comfortable using a 3/4 acrylic. (line one of this response answers your question)

not only that but i have noticed that "engineers" tend to OVER-engineer. they don;t mind when their spending someone else's money :thumb:


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## Chad_Asmus

i understand all of that, and i wasn't suggesting the use of glass. I use acrylic for all my tanks that i build. Acrylic does have a breaking point too though. And the deeper that the water is the more pressure that the tank will have. I would be cautious using 3/4 inch. If you call any manufacturer they will tell you that the highest (tallest) you should go with 3/4 is 30". if you call the acrylic company they will tell you to go even thicker. The just put in a new Cabellas by me, and i did the floors while they were installing a 8' tall peice in the aquarium that they have. They use 1 1/2" thick and told me that they could not warranty it and the only reason that they installed it was with cabellas signing a release. I don't know how tall your's is but it sounds and looks pretty tall.


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## dooo_36

i understand there is more pressure with deeper tanks but mine is going to be about 4.5' deep. its not 8' like cabella's. and even when i talked to the plastic company they didn;t have any load specs for their products and almost every single plastic company i talked to didn;t have a clue. all they would tell me is that its roughly 9 times stronger than glass. my thinking is that they quality tested their product so know its stress levels.

another thing i don;t know what kind of tank you have but i have noticed that almost all tanks aren;t that tall, but have a very thick glass. and from what i understand thats because they are stiffer, and won;t allow much movement or flexing of the glass, and keeping it square. mine on the other hand is bolted all the way around on all four sides.

anyways i don;t know the rules of liquid dynamics but if cabella's has an 8' tank and mines 4.5' (just about half) and my glass is about half their thickness of glass. then i feel pretty safe. seeing as how im pretty much in line with their calculations.

anyways im pretty much committed at this point theirs no turning back. i appreciate your input though.


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## Chad_Asmus

I understand now. I thought that your acrylic was going to be about the same hight as the wall.
I didn't realise so short. Also you brought up a good point about bolting it. I have always made all the sides acrylic so it might have to do with seaming the acrylic as to why i was always told so thick. Can't wait to find out how it works!!! I always wanted to build a tank like that, but i was afraid to adhere acrylic to plywood. Looks good, but my wife hates it. (got the old gears turning now)


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## BigFish54

Personally i agree that you should be alright, might suggest filling it a small increments and watching it very closely (have a wet vac on hand) But if the Rest of your tank is very riggid and your acrylic deffinitely isnt going anywere (and your seal system works like it should then you should be alright. The thing that would cocnern me would be the bowing or flexing of the acrylic. If you notice a huge bow (which there wil be bowing regardless) then you might think about adding a center brace and make 2 viewing panels to help combat the flexing..............sorry i am rambling, just diffrent thoughts going through my head.

Chad


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## dooo_36

Operation: 12 inches 
Code named: Deep waters

is set to kick off Tuesday 10-7 at 1800 hrs

lol :lol: :lol:

ok well looks like im finally happy with my sealing job and look to test her out tuesday. i only want to test the bottom part of the tank right now, the rest of the tank im super confident in.

then once i got that i will empty her out and start the decor. which i think i have decided to adjust a little. now that i am going to have a rocky cliff on the left side of my tank to house the scoop idea i have for the UGJ system i decided on just one mangrove root system pretty much centered in the tank and i want kind of an open area on the right side kind of opening up mimicking a section of a lake as it goes out to deeper open waters.

this payday (day after deep waters) i plan on stopping in at the hardware store and buying my trim package. that way i can start to make this baby look presentable. its ok right now but im tired of looking at a half finished job.

i know i been dragging my feet on this lately but i think it will start to move along now that im done messing with that messy glue :x

i like it and it seems like great stuff but i think i would recommend just using it for your joints for a good solid bond and seal. and i shouldn;t of wasted my time with the fiber glass. should of just went straight to applying this to the wood.

just some recommendations for ya....

also so far spending has brought me to about $1500 hope to keep in under $2000 with still the piping for my filtration system, which i still need to figure out and do a take off on that. and also my decor i need to finish no telling if i have all the material for that yet. trim package which dosen;t look like its gunna be as cheap as i hoped but should be under $100. Oh and i forgot to mention i placed my order for the lights im just waiting for them to get here, im so excited to see how they are going to work out. ooops so actually i spent 1700 already.


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## balachel

coming along well im getting excited to see it fisnished


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## chefkeith

I would of went with thicker acrylic also. The point of "over" engineering is to factor in safety. A 1,000 gallon tank is far more dangerous than a 10 gallon tank if it were to fail.

There is a way to fix this safety problem. Get one or two sheets of 3/8" acrylic and make a large separate viewing window on the wall in front of the aquarium. This way if the tank eventually fails from all the warpage and bowing, the water stays in the garage and hopefully out of harms way.

I'll just want to mention a few more facts about Acrylic.

Acrylic absorbs water and this will make it expand or warp. 
Acrylic has a lower modulus of elasticity than glass. 
Water pressure + absorption will cause acrylic to bow more and deform permanently.

The 30" limit for 3/4" acrylic is for acrylic only tanks, not plywood tanks.

An acrylic window on a plywood tank, joint failure is still a possibility though, but you also have to worry about aesthetics, warping, and bowing. How badly your tank bows and warps is the only question here.

3/4" acrylic is actually only .708" or 16 mm.

Anyways, good luck with your tank.


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## dooo_36

well operation deep water wasn't as successful first time around but attempt number two is tomorrow. here are some new pics by the way for your viewing pleasure mind you im no trim carpenter. also i decided to not stain this as i figure trying to match the cabinet door i already have will be a pain in the rear so i just decided to go with a crackling faux paint effect on the trim. i think it will give it an antiquey look. i still need to router the edge of the window stool, and flute the columns, and of course the crown moulding, and some base. but i have the rough idea up and thought i should share it. hopefully will be done by this weekend, but probably not painted yet.

thank you.


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## dooo_36

ok sorry i been slacking but i was putting off testing again till i got back from my trip to vegas. im back now so lets see if this ship floats!! i'm a try again this week. see if i finally got that darn leak.

latz


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## bkpine

This is so cool, i wish i could do one like this, but i would have to take out part of my laundry room.....who needs clean clothes? when u havew a tank like that!


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## BurgerKing

Looking good! Do you plan on cutting a design into the vertical columns? And are the cabinet doors the stain you plan on having the whole exterior design covered with?


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## cichlid-fan

Que pasa, need some update!!! PIC PIC PIC PIC PLEASE :drooling: :drooling: :drooling: :drooling:


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## loogielv

any updates? you said the first fill wasn't very successful, what happened?


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## iceblue

:-? Hope everythings OK.


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## Cursor

How is this project going?

Merry Christmas.


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## I3lazd

how is this coming along??


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## Egon

updates? I'm curious about the 3/4" acrylic. I have a 6 foot long by 44 inch deep tank and it's 3/4" acrylic. But it's a 100% acrylic tank, so it's supported at the top but I still see a little bowing. Not enough to distort the view inside the tank.
Your acrylic panel is going to be even bigger!


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## Hoosier Tank

Maybe he got carried away and is "Swimmin wit da fishes" in his own tank! :roll:


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## Egon

I think something happened, tank exploded or something? Odd his last post he was at the "filling the tank" step then nothing for a couple months? Seems fishy (wink)


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## gsxrchris

no, as a good friend of doos, hes just been busy and i havent been a good friend and helped him but its still there waiting to be fixed


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## Egon

Good to hear! Hate to see that project end bad. Of course I hate to see a friend not help out his buds .


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## iceblue

Very cool. I'm glad to know this is not the end ot the thread and look forward to Doo posting again in the future.


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## eliteinstalls

This looks and sounds like a great idea, however as a Audio Video company owner, we normally wont install a theater or movie room where there is a tank. The vibrations can cause serious damage to a tank over time and can even cause your fish to die without breaking the tank. You have to remember that as children we are taught not to tap on the glass because of the sounds it creates inside and through the water. This is exactly the same principle with having a media room set up in the same room as the fish tank. Of course this is just my opinion and we are all free to do as we wish, but please of course keep us updated with the pics.


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## cholile

eliteinstalls, what level of noise worries you? IOW, just a home theater or a tv with loud surround sound, or even a tv that is used often with the volume fairly high? i also take it that occasionally having loud noises in the room are not a problem, but instead it is primarily the prolonged effect of constant electronic noise vibrations.


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## eliteinstalls

I would say more from the vibrations of the bass levels and if this room is going to be a dedicated theater room then I'm sure the volume will be at above normal listening level. A room with a TV on a stand and a basic surround sound will not affect a tank in the same manner as a dedicated theater room. My room is dedicated with a 106" screen, Denon surround receiver, 12 inch 1200 watt subwoofer, with 7 in wall speakers......it screams and is very loud......


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## booba5

Same story here, I have my tank in my entertainment room (cant call it a theater room cuz i built a bar in it too lol) and with 2x15 inch subs running 1000 watts each, my tank is fine...not to say that there isn't some ripples in the tank, but it's fine. one of the subs is withing 4 feet of the tank too.


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## Hoosier Tank

Nice way to keep the thread going (hyjack) until *dooo_36* can get back with us...
I have often wondered about this, My tanks are all in the family roon and I have a surround sound / media system as well. Nothing near the wattage you mentioned, 600w RMS and two 12" woofers in the front towers. I worried that when I crank up the tunes would it bother the fish. I have watched them but have never noticed them jump or dart for the rocks when a good solid "Thump" hits. Maybe it's due to my system not being as strong, but I have also read it takes double the wattage to raise the level just 1Db. So maxxed out a 1200W amp would only be 1Db louder than my 600W. True?


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## toffee

Any update? Very curious to see the end product.


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## morfeus077

booba5 said:


> From what i've read on this site, silicon won't adhere to acrylic, i dont know for sure, i'm just saying


Don't know if this has been mentioned yet... It's true that silicone is not good for sticking 2 pieces of acrylic together as if you were building an aquarium or sump from all acrylic. However, in the way that you are wanting to use it, you are much better off using silicone than anything else.

BECAUSE you are using it as a gasket, not trying to adhere to pieces of acrylic perpendicular to each other. You're going to compress it and it will be fine, you can expect no leak as long as you do it correctly. Look into it and see what others have used. Another good resource for these large DIY tanks is monsterfishkeepers.com

I would strongly caution using acrylic cement or gorilla glue as a gasket!!!


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## iceblue

morfeus077 said:


> booba5 said:
> 
> 
> 
> From what i've read on this site, silicon won't adhere to acrylic, i dont know for sure, i'm just saying
> 
> 
> 
> I would strongly caution using acrylic cement or gorilla glue as a gasket!!!
Click to expand...

If you read pages 2 and 3 of this thread we discussed a way useing silicone to adhere acrylic to the plywood tank. Doo went to the manufacturer and found a method for preparing the rim of the acrylic to accept 2 part epoxy. Silicone will stick to it and the acrylic can then be attached the same as a peice of glass. I don't remember if this is the route he chose so I'll have to go back and re-read the whole thing.


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## gmaschke

was the project finnished?


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## Tiberian

very cool.


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## toffee

Somehow the last post by the builder was hours before he start filling the tank .... then no new since.

I hope all is well and he's just too busy to update.


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## Gunn20

any updates on the tank its been forever and i never got to see it finished


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## inferno579

this is a sick project... would love to see the final pics.... with water and fish...


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## FbodyFan

Assuming this still isn't finished, that is one big ass hole he has in the middle of his wall now. :wink:


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## LoRyder

I'm a lil peed off right now. This is the second big build thread I've read and and have no clue how it ended. I've spent almost 2 hours on my blackberry reading this thread and nothing. Anyone know what happen?? Is it up and running?? Is his house now a swimming pool??? Was looking good would love to see the finished project if its finished.


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## JimmyJam101

Any updates?


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## sjnovakovich

I think I would have leak-tested BEFORE cutting the hole in my living room wall. I suspect that he could either never get the thing water-tight OR discovered that the postings about warping issues with acrylic would cause him major problems and he ultimately aborted the project.

Too bad. Win or lose, I'm sure this was a very worthwhile project and I would have liked to see the final outcome, whether it was successful or not.


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## jester61288

In for final pics


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