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PCS & Stuart M. Grant - Cichlid Preservation Fund - Details here


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D.i.y. 1500Lt Cichlid Tank From Cabinet To Lights And Everything In Between.


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41 replies to this topic

#1 brenno71

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:17 PM

Hey guys thought i would share photos and info on my display tank. I will uploading photos slowly not all at once. happy to help with anyone who has questions. I am no expert by far everything i have done has been an experiment.

 

The more feed back the better.

 

 



#2 brenno71

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:25 PM

So this was the start. Styrofoam background calved with knifes siliconing pieces onto a 25mm sheet of Styrofoam then using a blow torch melting the Styrofoam to shape it. notice the glass for the tank leaning against the wall. The house was a mess for weeks found Styrofoam until the day we moved out lol.

 

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#3 slink

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 08:08 PM

I will be keeping a close eye on this can't wait to see more photos :)

#4 Redevilz

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 08:15 PM

^ Me too!

Your tank is amazing and I love the 3D background you made.

#5 brenno71

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Posted 02 April 2014 - 07:49 PM

so once the background was made to the shape i wanted i then use quick create and oxide coloring and made a sloppy mix up then paint the backgound several times. I then used a clear pond sealer and a spray gun to seal the whole things.

 

In the center of the background is a sandfall i built in the center of the background i made it with perspex made a rectangle tube and an angled piece at the bottom so the gravel keeps flowing back in and the airstone keeps a vacuum going i did a basic diagram but my biggest regret with this build is not taking more photos :( so im doing my best with the photos i do have.

 

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#6 rsevs3

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Posted 02 April 2014 - 08:17 PM

Cheers, yet another thing i want in my tank!

 

Sand falls are super cool.



#7 ronaldskitz

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Posted 02 April 2014 - 08:26 PM

Mate that background looks mint and a sandfall yezza cant wait to see this in the display

#8 brenno71

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Posted 10 April 2014 - 05:53 PM

So the next part of my build was siliconing up the glass it is my first attempt at building a tank it ended up way more messy than it needed to be and took alot of cleaning lol put the end product looked good and held water so cant complain lol

 

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#9 Angelo

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Posted 13 April 2014 - 09:10 PM

this is going to be awesome. keep the pics coming.



#10 brenno71

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Posted 14 April 2014 - 06:56 PM

Hey guys found some photos on my phone today so taking a step backwards here is some shots of the background build will give you more of an idea of how it went.

 

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hope people enjoy these pictures any questions just ask



#11 25GTT

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Posted 16 April 2014 - 01:58 PM

Really interested to see how the whole sandfall thing works and looks, i will stay peeled to this thread for updates :-)



#12 Jules

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Posted 16 April 2014 - 03:10 PM

LOL, I can only imagine how hard it was to get all that Styrofoam out the carpet......



#13 Michael the fish fanatic

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Posted 17 April 2014 - 07:24 AM

If you want to know how the sand thing works, go on youtube and ' the king of diy' shows you how to make one in one of his vids.

#14 brenno71

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Posted 17 April 2014 - 09:53 PM

yeh defiantly recommend doing this outside only way we got rid of it all... moved house lol was finding Styrofoam even when moving out.

so the next part was the cabinet im a cabinet maker so i dont know if you can call it d.i.y. lol the top is just two L shaped panels so i can lift them on and off very easy there is one open cupboard underneath which holds 2 2x1x1 long ways.

 

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#15 brenno71

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Posted 29 May 2014 - 08:09 PM

Hey guys sorry i haven't posted any photos lately the next part f the build was lifting the tank on the cabinet YAY IT FITS!!! notice i haven't put the top bracings in yet so i can get the background in. This made life alot easier than having the background in more than one piece.

 

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#16 MrLeifBeaver

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 01:38 PM

Amazing size tank. Can I please request a photo of you snokeling in it when it's filled?



#17 Redevilz

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Posted 31 May 2014 - 08:41 AM

^ 1

#18 brenno71

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Posted 09 August 2014 - 09:07 AM

I will get a selfie of me with the gopro in summer :P the next part of the build was siliconing the background in the tank and then I could finally silicone the top bracing in place. Then it was just a waiting game gave it 2 weeks before adding water.

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Just realized I missed a step siliconing the tank what a horrible night lol never again I said... until I built my nexts tanks lol

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#19 Mattymak

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Posted 09 August 2014 - 11:43 AM

Wow mate, well done! stunning  :rolleyes:



#20 brenno71

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Posted 11 August 2014 - 05:57 PM

Now it was time to fill it up. I look back and think f#×k I was crazy filling it up inside without testing it. Really don't know what I was thinking but it all went well. I did loose about 200lt due to a leaking filter hose that was enough of a mess let alone 1500lt

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