saltwater viv construction log
- Thread starter ohbly
- Start date
so whatcha gunna do with that mini tank
? maybe a little too small I think
ta but this is kind of like a tutorial but it includes all my mistakes along the way.Still very cool IMHO. You should at least consider writing a tutorial...
today I broke down the tank. the creatures were very hard to remove because the foam rocks with all the hidey holes are glued into the tank. I lost an anemone in the process as it popped when I tried to scrap it off.
it cloned itself a few months ago, and i managed to get the larger one out ok, so I don't feel too bad.
I test fitted the background before I glue it together-
drilling tomorrow:uhoh:
Truth to tell, if anyone else had stated that they were going to tear apart that amazing tank to make it better - well I would have thought them insane.
Having had the pleasure of reading/seeing your build threads and posts - I eagerly await another incarnation of this viv.
Please keep up with the photos - the photos and the running commentary really make your projects come alive.
A question while you are in construction/rebuild mode: how is the epoxy covered in soil and sand holding up? - I remember being stunned when you posted of 6 coats being recommended but that you were doing 2 - most times I've only seen one coat, just wondering how it has held given the salt and inhabitants you had going....
Having had the pleasure of reading/seeing your build threads and posts - I eagerly await another incarnation of this viv.
Please keep up with the photos - the photos and the running commentary really make your projects come alive.
A question while you are in construction/rebuild mode: how is the epoxy covered in soil and sand holding up? - I remember being stunned when you posted of 6 coats being recommended but that you were doing 2 - most times I've only seen one coat, just wondering how it has held given the salt and inhabitants you had going....
its held up just fine. there are a couple of reasons to do multiple coats, one is to build up layers to make it appear more natural and the other is to make it harder/stronger.
I've changed the way I coat it now, which I'll go into detail soon..
made the stand out of mdf-
I painted it matt black. still have to put the door in
I drilled the back of the tank-
I used a bit of ply with a hole for a guide and siliconed another piece on the back to stop the drill from chipping the glass as it went through.
I modded a juice jug as a kind of ghetto overflow-
iv tested it and it works fine, just like the milk bottle prototype. Thanks to herbie for the design:thm:
it has a foam rock hatch for maintenance
this post is a kind of tutorial of how I coat the foam rocks-
I use a combination of fine black sand, powdered clay and powdered soil
soil and sand comes out like grey river stone, clay and sand comes out more like sandstone or mudstone.
this time round I ground the dry clay and soil with a pestle and mortar
a close up to show how fine the sand is + a pic of the dry mix.
first I paint the foam because the rough foam has a huge surface area that soaks up loads of glue/epoxy.
this time i did the first coat with exterior pva glue instead of epoxy. Its much cheaper and easier to apply than epoxy. I wouldn't do this to rocks that were to be submerged though..
I painted a thin coat of epoxy and then dusted it with the sand/soil mix
at this stage it should look like dry dust. more sand/soil needs to be applied as it hardens as epoxy soaks to the surface and make wet patches-
If you don't re coat it as it dries it will end up looking dark, glossy and not stone-like
use a heater to harden the epoxy faster. I rubbed in the sand/soil mix into the shiny spots as they got less tacky
this is how it looked fully hardened.
here are close ups of the washed and dried surface-
I think it came out better than my earlier attempt because I ground the soil and clay into a finer powder.
I use a combination of fine black sand, powdered clay and powdered soil
soil and sand comes out like grey river stone, clay and sand comes out more like sandstone or mudstone.
this time round I ground the dry clay and soil with a pestle and mortar
a close up to show how fine the sand is + a pic of the dry mix.
first I paint the foam because the rough foam has a huge surface area that soaks up loads of glue/epoxy.
this time i did the first coat with exterior pva glue instead of epoxy. Its much cheaper and easier to apply than epoxy. I wouldn't do this to rocks that were to be submerged though..
I painted a thin coat of epoxy and then dusted it with the sand/soil mix
at this stage it should look like dry dust. more sand/soil needs to be applied as it hardens as epoxy soaks to the surface and make wet patches-
If you don't re coat it as it dries it will end up looking dark, glossy and not stone-like
use a heater to harden the epoxy faster. I rubbed in the sand/soil mix into the shiny spots as they got less tacky
this is how it looked fully hardened.
here are close ups of the washed and dried surface-
I think it came out better than my earlier attempt because I ground the soil and clay into a finer powder.
It looks fantastic. I can't wait to see this when your remodel is completed and has time to grow all the mosses and plants again.
lol i just went through all 15 pages for the first time man, your stuff is really awsome, i think to some people who love these types of things greatly enough would easily pay what you ask if they actually watched how much time and effort you actually put into it. props to you man esecpailly for being so original!
ta thanks all
I got it up and running in the two weeks I predicted!
can't find the dam camera so no pics tho..
very pleased with it though, it came out better than expected.
the sump should make a HUGE difference with the maintenance. No more having to clean bits of fern root out of the pump, and no more siphoning the water once a week for water changes.
Now I can finally go get the crab that made me make this thing in the first place..
I got it up and running in the two weeks I predicted!
can't find the dam camera so no pics tho..
very pleased with it though, it came out better than expected.
the sump should make a HUGE difference with the maintenance. No more having to clean bits of fern root out of the pump, and no more siphoning the water once a week for water changes.
Now I can finally go get the crab that made me make this thing in the first place..
