Ok so i realize its been a LONG wait but here it is...FINALLY
I changed my design because the first one was kinda restricting the gallonage to much and i also bought a new filter so i had to fit it in the background to.
You can see my first udergravel jet set up....in the back left corner is were my heater, pump, an one of the filters goes.
I jsut carved all the rocks with an xacto knife and a steak knife...i then ductaped them to the flat pieces till i got everything fitted then i siliconed them in like four different sections so when they were done concreted they would slide in lika puzzle.
Heres were i started the concreting section of the background production
I suggest spending a little more dough than i did on the concrete cus this cheaper stuff had all the litttle rocks in it which sucked.
I used the sand when i water sealed it after i concreted it (you will see) but it was pointless (again, you will see), and the concrete color is messy as hell so be careful it stains EVERYTHING, and ruined one of my moms vacums cus i spilt some and decided itd be easy to vacum it up...NOOOO
Here is the step one of the concreting...here you can see all the different sections...you also can see all the little annoying rocks, i just put all the concrete on with my hands, i wore rubber gloves tho but yea i just painted it on wit my fingers.
Here u can see the first layer which was gray then i put some color in an put it on....i didnt like it at first but it looked good in the end.
I put on a few thin layers and REALLY shoulda put on more layers cus it started fading out at places once in the tank but hey this was my first time so i learned, i then let them sit for a couple weeks before i water sealed them
Heres were i started water sealing it but i really think this whole part was pointless cus i used just regular concrete water sealer like for driveways or something? and it was like milky water nothing like epoxy resin, next time ima just put the concrete pieces straight in after letting them cure for a few weeks cus i dont think this part really benefited me at all.
NOW FOR MY DIY STAND SECTION
This is how it all started, just a 2x4 frame with angle brackets at almost all the corners
I added brackets to the inside corners also idk why i just wanted to make sure this thing was SOLID
Here i kinda skipped a few steps i kno but i just forgot to take the pics, but ill explain.....i basically just wrapped the bottom an top with 2x6s and screwed them in from the inside so there were no visible screws. Then i added another 2x4 on the farther right side so i could have a shelf over their and then im puttin a 20 gallon high in the bigger section on the left. the wood i put in on the inside for the shelves and whatnot was just some free wood i got when i a hotel decided to throw away a TON of tables so i just broke em down an used them.
i put the pieces on top on after this pic
This was my first ugj design but it didnt work so i redesigned it^
SORRY ITS SO HUGE.......but this is the new design that works nicely,,,,you can see the pump now in the far right corner but it got covered wit gravel so its all good.
back to the stand haha but here it is.....i first spray painted the whole thing with flat black spray paint, then i cut out the side pieces and front pieces and i stained them, then i put them on with finish nails and here you go!!! by the way the reason i was able to do all this was because i was able to score a nice table saw and miter saw from a local old couple for SUPER CHEAP.
Here it is in my room with the 20 gallon in the bottom an the 30 on the top, SORRY i kept forgetting to take pictures but the reason you can barely even see the jets in my undergravel jet system is becasue i took off all the jet heads and siliconed the black gravel all over them so they would blend in and it works nicely
this is a top shot of the tank so you can see how camo the jets really are, the arrows are pointing to the jets, the intake is on the far right front corner but you cant see it here it doesnt look bad tho just like a mini pool drain or something.
here it is filled up and with the silk plants in it i think it turned out pretty good for my first one, the only faults i found it to have were there are to many gaps in the background were the fish can get through to the back area with the filter an aheater and it sucks cus they like to hideout back their.
I hope you guys liked it and sorry for the wait!! i havnt really had a set fish in it yet, i had a few big common goldfish in it to get it set up, then i put some cichlids in it for a big but i sold them, then i put my betta in their for a while and they all LOVED IT, but im thinkin i might drain it and fix all the gaps were the fish can get trough with some screen. the UGJ system works perfectly tho.
If you have a few hours of freetime a day you can easily complete a project just like this in about two weeks excluding the curing time on the concrete but if youve wanted to do it for a while GO FOR IT it feels AMAZING to have an awesome looking setup that you made yourself! and its fun to brag that you had the talent to do it haha
THANKS FOR READING
Trent Pauls
