saltwater viv construction log

thanks
Iv been thinking of selling it and building a bigger one, and Iv got the plans drawn up and the materials already. But I dont want two tanks...
you don't live in Auckland by any chance?

cam191919 said:

i wish. if you do sell it, make sure you take some pics first. post the plans too, if they arnt confidencial

Click to expand...

The plans are still in the draft stage, but its going to be outside and open sided as crabs can't jump or climb glass, so there is no need for the tank to be fully enclosed.

I think its time to wrap this thread up-
Amazing all the original creatures are still alive and well.
I finally managed to tame some shore crabs too.
The plants have grown in and are due for a prune.

My advice for anyone thinking of making something similar is make sure that the salt water can't seep up the rock surface, mist the plants and moss everyday and feed the crabs fresh greens to stop them eating all the plants.

heres a final collage of the tank I made

thanks for the interest

I'm digging up this old thread because I'm about to start reconstructing the tank.
The main purpose of the tank was to house a purple shore crab, but the end result wasn't suitable for such a powerful creature.
I was planning on building a larger enclosure, but money and lack of space mean its not going to be built any time soon. So I've decided to rebuild the tank I already have.
I will be replacing the tree fern background with a foam-rock wall to match the existing foam-rock.
The tank will be drilled and a sump added to increase the water volume.
I will also make a stand for it to sit on.

I made a 1:5 scale model of the tank to get a good idea on rock layout for the background-


I made a model of the future stand as well-


here is the model tank, stand and hood-


with the hood and stand open-

I'm going to use a 20lter bucket as the sump. Then I can just replace the bucket with a fresh one for super easy water changes


I've been playing around with how to make a silent and safe overflow, and come up with this take on the Herbie overflow. The left milk bottle represents the top pool, the middle bottle represents the lower pool, and the third bottle represents the chamber that will be hidden under the land section. confusing I know...

but it should make sense when I make the real thing.

this is what I have got up to so far-


wish me luck

JoeLaX28 said:

Everything you do is amazing. Have you thought about selling custom tanks?

Click to expand...

thats too kind, but not true..
If I charged out my time spent on this thing it would cost thousands..

heres what im up too-

cut out rough shapes with a knife


carved out rocky ledges with a turning knife

its a bit saggy because its only held together with toothpicks for the moe.
The little model was a huge help in figuring out the layout, its still a frustrating task, took me half a day just hacking away at it. still more carving and sanding to go before coating it.

hopefully the whole thing will be completed in two weeks.