My 185gal build in progress (lots of pics)
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
It's industrial formulator's cold cure. I've read of many differnet kinds of epoxies being used, but this is a pretty high quality (expensive) resin that I happened to get for free.
No, it's not made for aquariums. I've heard miscellaneous reports of "marine epoxy" that should be fish safe, but I'm not worried about it. I've seen successful plywood tank builds using epoxy floor coatings. This particular epoxy gets used quite a bit for potable water tanks, (although not endorsed for such use by the manufacturer).
I would have used polyester resin, but I've heard varying reports about it's long-term water resistance... which seems odd, because it gets used for building boats, but hey, this stuff was free anyways. Better safe(r) than sorry I guess.
I would have used polyester resin, but I've heard varying reports about it's long-term water resistance... which seems odd, because it gets used for building boats, but hey, this stuff was free anyways. Better safe(r) than sorry I guess.
Looking better with every pic you upload! Hows the weather over the west coast right now? Still getting down to almost zero through the night over here on the east, but 15-20 during the day. Anyways, just wondering if you came up with the plans for this yourself, or if you found them online somewheres. This is something I would love to do, but don't know where to look for the plans.
Also for your substrate issue, do you know exactly what you are keeping in the tank yet? Alot of time the substrate choice is best made after that decision as certain colors of substrate will help the fish feel more at home and make the best colors come out in them.
Regaurdless, good luck and keep us updated!
Also for your substrate issue, do you know exactly what you are keeping in the tank yet? Alot of time the substrate choice is best made after that decision as certain colors of substrate will help the fish feel more at home and make the best colors come out in them.
Regaurdless, good luck and keep us updated!
Thanks for the kudos! If you do a google search for "DIY Plywood Aquarium" you'll come up with a myriad of plans. The most widely used plans are at http://www.garf.org/howtodoinformation.htm#AquariumConstruction, but my plans are pretty loosely based on that. I made a drawing and the design evolved from there. (I started off with 4x2x2, then 5.5'x2'x2', then I started looking at glass, and realized it would cost me a similar amount to make a 3' tall tank, so I did... etc.)
I don't know what I want to keep yet. I love pleco's and I love Oscars... I just wish Oscars weren't so agressive. I've had them before with some success, but I would like to keep some pretty colors in this tank, and obviously Oscars aren't really easy to find pretty tank-mates for. We shall see I guess!
The back of the tank will be black... I may make a background for it, but I think it will still be darkish, so light gravel would be a nice contrast, but I know dark gravel tends to show off the fish better.
I don't think I'll be having many plants, either, just because anything with some size and personality will destroy them anyways, and I want to keep my light kelvin numbers low (UV light isn't good for epoxy).
Ok, rambling over, time to go to work. On the construction side of things, I spent a good deal of yesterday figuring out how to make the front, and ultimately buckled under my love for hardwood, and bought some oak 1x4, and 1x6 planks. Hopefully I can find a way to make this thing look pretty!
I don't know what I want to keep yet. I love pleco's and I love Oscars... I just wish Oscars weren't so agressive. I've had them before with some success, but I would like to keep some pretty colors in this tank, and obviously Oscars aren't really easy to find pretty tank-mates for. We shall see I guess!
The back of the tank will be black... I may make a background for it, but I think it will still be darkish, so light gravel would be a nice contrast, but I know dark gravel tends to show off the fish better.
I don't think I'll be having many plants, either, just because anything with some size and personality will destroy them anyways, and I want to keep my light kelvin numbers low (UV light isn't good for epoxy).
Ok, rambling over, time to go to work. On the construction side of things, I spent a good deal of yesterday figuring out how to make the front, and ultimately buckled under my love for hardwood, and bought some oak 1x4, and 1x6 planks. Hopefully I can find a way to make this thing look pretty!
Got the front of it mocked up last night. Trying to decide how to proceed from here... I've got a list of stuff that needs doing, the order to do it in to cause myself the least headaches is the question at hand though!!
re: "Marine Epoxy" - might have antifouling chemicals in it? If true, not a good thing for any inverts you may want...
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ulls up a chair::
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ulls up a chair::
Cichlids are exactly what I was thinking. I started out thinking of Oscars... I've had them before, but they're tough to find tank mates for, and finding a pretty oscar isn't always easy. After oscars, my next choice would be a big pleco, and a big snail, with a bunch of brightly colored 4-6" cichlids. I want fish with some personality, who will greet me when I come into the room, and do intersting things like dig, and interact with each other.
