New Cabinet And Fake Rock Background

[BigC]

Check this guy out and click on the epoxy link for details.
http/aquarium.mriweb.nl/en/index.php
The pond sealant you'll be using is epoxy resin so his pics should show you the end result.
You may or may not have seen it already, but I hope this helps
Regards
BigC

 

[noop]

thanks for that link, it looks good. i did see some pond sealant in the hardware shop but i don't remember it involving any catalyst so i'm not sure it was epoxy. i think to apply epoxy resin now the rocks are in the tank (without making a mess of the glass) would be a bit of a challenge. but i'm still quite positive the water params will stabilise and i won't need to go that route

hopefully i'll be able to post in a week or 2 with pics of some sand and fish in the tank

 

[dgwebster]

Congratulations, you are getting my first post since January 2007!!! to be fair. I moved just after that date and spent alot of time getting lfe sorted and my partner having our baby etc. so im back!!

anyway, fantastic post. when o moved here i got the new 50gl tank put onto 3 ikea tables as a cheap quicky and a box out of 3mm mdf for a lid. i have to lift the whole thing off all the time.

It is inspiring to me this post to get a move on with what i always wanted to get done.

congratulations on a fab tank, cabinet and hood!!

 

[noop]

ikea tables eh?


...so anyway i've been soaking the rocks now for 3 weeks, and still the pH is well over 8. then i found a fairly in-depth article which suggested that in fact it typically takes around 6 weeks for the cement to cure

well, i guess i am halfway there, but even then there's no guarantee it'll be ok after 6 weeks. my patience finally gave way. i went down the hardware shop and bought some clear pond sealant

it says to apply 2 coats, i'm planning on applying 3. it dries clear but in the container it's milky white. it also looks a bit milky when you apply it. this is what it looks like now just after i applied the second coat:

as you can see i used a paintbrush and a toothbrush for the hard-to-reach places

(after the first coat dried i couldn't see any difference to what it looked like before applying the sealant)

tomorrow i'll apply the third coat. then i have to wait a good 7 days before i put water in it. we'll see how the pH is looking then

 

[BigC]

I think you'll be suprised noop, the sealant is like epoxy wood glue its milky white in appearance but dries clear. You may also feel that it looks too shiny but when you put the water in it will take on it's full glory... Looking good...Lets know the eventual pH.
Regards
BigC

 

[noop]

well it's been about 2 and a half months since i started this project, it seems a lot longer. but here's the result

i'm going to add a big plant, possibly on a log or something, on the left hand side

i let the pond sealant dry for a full 7 days (with a fan blowing on it). subsequent pH tests show no change from fresh tapwater. so i set the tank up where i want it, filled it, added sand, and let it sit for a coupla days. then i added 4 albino cories. they seemed happy enough after a day so i transferred all the fish across from the old tank. everyone settled in fine and they all seem happy and healthy. i also moved the 2nd cannister filter to the new tank, so currently i've got 2 filters running, handy whilst the surfaces within the tank build up a nice coating of bacteria

it occurred to me, just before moving the fish in, that the clown loaches would almost certainly try to break through the mesh i put over the intake hole. i solved this problem by jamming the end of the piece of twisty wood into the hole. still room for waterflow but not enough room for big fat troublemaking clown loaches to get through

i was getting a lot of condensation inside the lid, so i cut out a large part of the rear panel to improve air flow. now no condensation. i need to add some strips of wood inside the hinged lid as gaps are allowing light to leak out

so i guess now i need to do something similar for my old tank.....

 

[guppy_man]

I can't believe noone has commented on this tank since you have it all up and running

I'd just like to say that the hood and cabinet look amazing, and the 3d background and flooring look great. But one thing i can't get my head around is, why have you covered the floor rockword with sand?, i think that it would look alot more natural if you had alot less sand in there, so that the rocks would show through.

Another suggestion i have is to stand bits of your wood up against your background, maybe a few more new bigger bits?

Looks awsum though

Btw any more changes?

 

[BigC]

I must admit I totally forgot about this thread of noop's.
Tanks lookin spectacular mate. One criticism and only my opinion mind, is that I would have gone for a darker substrate. But thats only minor and doesn't detract from what a brilliant job you made of that background. Hows the water stats holding.
Regards
BigC

 

[Perca fluviatilis]

Noop, personally i think your tank and cabinet look utterly fantastic, love the way the light reflects off the sand, Beautiful well done

i would sell my soul for that tank

 

[chuts]

stunning tank mate, must be nice to sit back and say to yourself "i made that!"

 

[Gun]

Hi noop.

Loving your handy work. This thread will help me out with things like cutting/shaping poly.

 

[seanie112]

great job mate cant wait to see the tank set up with fish

taken long time i wld of lost it by now thrown it out lol

great job keep it up

 

[Jeff Lange]

Wow, That is definatly impressive. I will take one two when you have time.

 

[noop]

thanks everyone for the kind comments

tank has matured a bit now, and i've added plants and river stone, and i've removed some of the sand (i agree i had put a bit too much in, but i did cover the bottom with rock only to prevent the bottom of the tank showing through in case the sand got moved)

with 2 strip lights (one of which is a double) i'm getting a nice coating of algae on parts of the rock

my fish are all fine except for my mid-sized clown loach whose battle scars got infected with some kind of fungus. she's currently recuperating in a hospital tank

happily i have no problems to report regarding water conditions etc

i would probably do the rocks a bit differently if i did it again - i think the rocks on the right hand side look a lot more natural than those in the centre and to the left. i think the deepness of the cracks between rocks makes a difference...

i mentioned i have 2 lights going - i realised just recently that the tank actually looks way, way cooler with just one of these lights on. so i have them both on whilst i'm out at work, to encourage further algae growth, and then just one on when i get home

cheers
noop

 

[SharonCC]

WOW!!!...just WOW!!!