elusive_fish Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Ive played around with carving poly and got some pleasing shapes. Ive read about coating the final creation in epoxy resin and covering in sand while still wet... but I still dont know what glue to use to laminate a couple thicknesses of the polystyrene together. Anyone know what is safe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 i havnt done it but im shure silicone is the thing to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 I'm really nervous about designing a base that withstand 1200+ kg. Anyone want to throw me their ideas on what it should look like? should I use house piles for the posts/legs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 100mm x 100mm posts for legs bolted with 10mm or 12mm galv bolts countersunk to 1500 x 50mm dressed for top runners and 100 x 50 for bottom rails 25mm tanalised ply for base board for tank built to hold 3,000l of water the wheels are just to move while working on the tank put in some diagonals as your base will be taller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Thanks living art. I cant quite make out the design. Is the ply wood sitting directly onto the 100x100 posts and the 150x50 is a skirting around the outside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 the top of the posts are cut so the skirting fits into it corner post tops look like this a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted May 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 I've started carving a big chunk o' poly to make a rock looking centre piece for the tank. Would dems/yellows/peacocks look better in front of a dark rock? Anyone in chch know where I can get some very fine dark sand? Also, is this epoxy resin suitable for adhering the sand? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Boats-marine/Parts-accessories/Other/auction-221596026.htm Thanks again to all those helping me with this crazy project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 i asked the question for you on the auction painting the poly first with water based paint then applying the resin and scattering sand on top worked for me their is a good thread for false rock building in the technical section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted May 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 i asked the question for you on the auction painting the poly first with water based paint then applying the resin and scattering sand on top worked for me their is a good thread for false rock building in the technical section Thanks for asking, I just did too before checking back here. They will probably be wondering why two different people are interesting in an odd application Did you paint it first so that any gaps in the sand dont show through as white? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 the epoxy i used dried clear but glossy so the sand made it look more natural and the paint gave the colour i wanted for the rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32GOTMLK Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 100mm x 100mm posts for legs bolted with 10mm or 12mm galv bolts countersunk to 1500 x 50mm dressed for top runners and 100 x 50 for bottom rails 25mm tanalised ply for base board for tank built to hold 3,000l of water the wheels are just to move while working on the tank put in some diagonals as your base will be taller hi what are those carsters rated at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oeminx Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 hi what are those carsters rated at? Probably not the 400kg they would need to be if the stayed on what the tank was full. I believe that are just there while the tank is being built, "the wheels are just to move while working on the tank". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 31, 2009 Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 correct oeminx wheelco.co.nz can supply castors that would support the tank if it was full Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Rather than start new threads I may as well ask all my projecr related questions here. The poly background I am carving is coming along nicely. Now I just need to figure out what colour sand to coat it in. I basically have three options: 1/ Mid grey/greywacke sand as found on the local beach 2/ tan/limestone sand. The stuff they use as grout when bricking houses looks like it would work nicely. 3/ Black/iron sand like found on the west coast. I've read people on here saying that fish look better on a dark background... but would iron sand be too dark? The limestone sand would look closest to their natural environment...not that any of my fish would have seen it! What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 +1 for black background/substrate looks awesome and really brings out the fishes colours. have black sand and black background for my 4 foot african and looks AWESOME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 i have black gravel and glass in one of my tanks, looks great and brings out the fishes colour really well. I'll be getting black substrate for my next tank too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elusive_fish Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I'm a bit concerned about how much natural light would be on the aquarium. its a gorgeous day in Christchurch I just went down to the cafe I'm buying. The place is on the south side of an east-west road, so its outdoor area and shop front gets all year round sun. At this time of year the sun streams in the bifolds at the front. Great for people at the tables. Not good for a fishtank. Id imagine the sun is close to being about as low on the horizon as it gets, so its at its worst at this stage. But how much of a problem would all this natural light be? Would it wash out the aquarium light and stop the fish from looking good, or would it just make algae run rampant? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Did you go through with this idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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