Asphyx

650l plywood and glass tank. Soon to be the home of various natives and Koura.

I'm SO EXCITED... :happy1: My filter pump turned up by courier today. Aqua One Nautilus Canister Filter CF2700. Too bad I'm at work and have to wait until I get home to have a play. I'm guessing I know what I'll be doing for most of this weekend. In preparatation for some "fishing" trips over the break we have also purchased a lantern, some butterfly type nets and a mesh laundry hamper (thanks who's ever idea that was!).

Love the tank and great fish. Where does everyone get such big fish from? Do you grow them up or catch or buy them that big?

Thanks for the feedback Stella. Perhaps I will give the crabs and muscles a miss. It's funny, ever since I realised that natives are pretty much carnivores and will eat bugs etc I have been noticing all sorts of bugs around the place and immediately think, hey if the tank was finished I could drop you in there lol.

The works! Various Kokopu and Bullies, Inanga, Koura, freshwater shrimp, crabs and muscles...

Funny you should say that. Earlier this evening my wife and daughter thought this might be funny. I guess I have a volunteer. http://menmustbestupid.blogspot.com/2011/09/diy-plywood-aquarium.html Last picture.

A 3000l tank. I would love to see that!

I wouldn't say it was easier. For a glass tank all you have to do is is silicone up the junctions. As you can see this took rather a lot more effort. If you have to buy the glass new it is likely to be significantly cheaper but that really depends on how simple you keep things. If you can get seconds glass cheap then your probably onto a winner. I have no idea if other people have done it this way in NZ. I would imagine there must be a few of them around.

I have been busy writing a blog documenting the build of my 650l NZ native tank. Its still a work in progress but I thought you all might be interested? http://plywoodaquarium.blogspot.com/

I am getting closer and closer to completing my tank now and starting to get really excited. Until this weekend I was still uncertain about what kind of tank I was going to have (i.e cold water, tropical, NZ native etc). I have been leaning toward NZ native but hadn't quite made up my mind until I called in at World of Water here in Hamilton. They didn't have much , but what they did have was enough to convince me that NZ native is the way I want to go. They had a crayfish, some whitebait and I think Kokopu and Bullies. They tell me they are all commercially bred for them in Auckland. I know it doesn't sound like much but now I am really excited to finish my tank and get out there and populate it. I am working on creating a blog documenting the build and when I have enough done I'll post a link if anyone is interested.

Yeah its because most ordinary acrylic tanks are glued/chemicaly bonded whereas in my situation I just want to seal it.

Yes and despite his best assurances the Dow Corning 480 data sheet specifically states it is not suitable for below water applications and is not food safe.

Okay, so after much research on the interweb and talking to various reps and specialists I have come to the conclusion that there are very few, if any products available that; 1. Is non-toxic. 2. Is permanently immersible. 3. Will seal/stick to/bond acrylic. I have even spoken to specialists who have recommend products and then when I check the product data sheets these blatantly state that these should not be used for one or more of these applications. There is endless (and mostly poor) advice on forums and even products that many swear they have been using for years fail when you check the product data sheets. I had all but given up until today when by pure chance I came across Gold Label Pond Aquarium Sealer. http://www.huntsupplies.com.au/goldlabelsealer.html The product data sheet specifically states it is ok for acrylic. If I can get some in from Australia (I can't find anyone who sells it in NZ) I will give it a go and let you know. Has anyone come across or used it?

Thanks. Yes I thought I would be clever and rather than find a sealant for the plywood I had access to free acrylic so thought that would be just as easy! I guess if all else fails I can rip out the acrylic liner and seal it. On that note does anyone know of a suitable sealer? I have come across a Sika product suitable for potable water (I forget the name right now) but it was quite expensive.

Ok so I have got myself into a bit of a bind... but first some background. I am building a custom 2m long x 0.5m wide x 0.7m deep aquarium. It uses 21mm marine grade plywood for the shell with a glass front. The ends, bottom, rear and lid are plywood screwed and glued together and the front is float glass. The interior plywood surfaces are lined with 3mm acrylic for water proofing. This has been an extremely economic way of building such a big tank and I am very pleased with the result. Before properly researching the subject I just assumed that ordinary glass aquarium sealant would do the trick - but apparaently not. I sealed the corners using a pretty generous fillet of Selleys Glass silicon sealant for windows and aquariums. I let this cure for 7 days and put the tank in my garage to test fill this last weekend. I filled it very slowly over several hours and then watched and waited. All appeared to be fine until several hours later when it started to leak - a lot! I quickly emptied it to prevent flooding my garage so no harm done but thats not quite the result I was hoping for. So today after having done some simple research I have learnt that silicon sealant is not suitable for sealing acrylic as it will not adhere long term to plastics that exude oil (like acrylic). There is a very good explanation here: http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/aquarium-silicone.html The issue is what to do now? As I see it my options are as follows: 1. I know that I can use acrylic glue to chemically bond the acrylic junctions but I don't entirely trust that this will be comepletely water tight and this will not resolve the front glass to acrylic joins. 2. I could replace the acrylic liner with thin glass but this defeats the purpose of using free acrylic and the glass against a plywood substrate that flexes a bit is likely to break. 3. Find a sealant that is: a) Safe for fish b) Able to be permanently immersed in water c) Suitable for bonding acrylic plastic (and glass) Because the plywood provides the structural support the sealant does not have to have the same strength as you might normally require, so presumably this opens up a lot more selant options. My only real option is 3 and there must be something out there. Does anyone know of a suitbale product please? I have come across Dow Corning Marine Sealant (from the web site above) but I am yet to figure out if this is safe for fish and available in NZ. Appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks.