Fishie123 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 The leveling is off at the top of the stand. As I will be using liquid nails. Also what did you use to design your background? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Also what did you use to design your background? A piece of paper and pencil! Just did a couple of very rough drawings to see how it would look with the cracks in different places, then started cutting and gluing poly.... Pics of the process are on page 3 and 4 of the link in my sig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 I still need to research a bit more on gravel and lighting. What sort of setup do you want? An African lake cichlid tank? Planted? Shell dwellers? Brackish? For lighting the easiest and most cost effective way for a tank your size is to put a couple of 150watt Metal Halides on it. Fittings are cheap, and can be bought off Trademe or other various online sights. If you are wanting to get serious with plants and maybe want to grow a glosso carpet or something like that, or lots of red plants, then you can use a brighter light, like 250watt or 300watt. And when you need to replace bulbs, you'll only have two to replace, whereas if you wanted a large amount of light but used flourescent tubes then there would be a lot of tubes that would need replacing! You will also need a nutritious substrate for plants. Here's a good article: http://home.infinet.net/teban/substrat.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 What sort of setup do you want? An African lake cichlid tank? Planted? Shell dwellers? Brackish? For lighting the easiest and most cost effective way for a tank your size is to put a couple of 150watt Metal Halides on it. Fittings are cheap, and can be bought off Trademe or other various online sights. If you are wanting to get serious with plants and maybe want to grow a glosso carpet or something like that, or lots of red plants, then you can use a brighter light, like 250watt or 300watt. And when you need to replace bulbs, you'll only have two to replace, whereas if you wanted a large amount of light but used flourescent tubes then there would be a lot of tubes that would need replacing! You will also need a nutritious substrate for plants. Here's a good article: http://home.infinet.net/teban/substrat.htm i think hes using this tank for his aro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativelover Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 amazing tank cant wait to see finished product Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Thanks David R and Smidey for the information. ^,,,,^. But which method should I use? I don't really have hard materiel skills so it hard to choice what method is effective? Greg said use the liquid nail? I don't know sorry. :tears: . I will start working on my tank after I pass my test this Thursday for uni. QwQ. I still need to research a bit more on gravel and lighting. i used DPC for both & there has been no compression of any of it. First i packed up the low end of the stand to get the overall length level & then i packed up each leg in between as it needed it to be supported. once the stand inself was level i placed the tank on the poly & used the dpc under the poly to make it tight under the tank. another similar product that should be easy to get hold of is a High Pressure Laminate like Formica that they use to make kitchen bench tops. Any cabinet maker or benchtop factory will have plenty of off cuts. when you say level the top are you saying you are going to use the liquid nails like a levelling compound or use it where there is a gap between the ply & frame? don't trust the ply to be straight. EDIT: Have you got a straight edge that you can use to tell exactely where the frame is not flat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Would this work? Since the metal is uneven and the wood will bend to what ever, Would I be able to remove the wood, put some building glue or liquid nails around the top frame of the metal stand, then putting the wood back on the stand without the polly and the tank for 1 day until the glue set to filling the gap? Would that level the stand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 Bump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I think most people just smear liquid nails around the top and then stick the wood on and then poly and tank and then it should compress it all evenly and sit nice and flat.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 !drool: !drool: !drool: can i ask a questin how much did it cost for the tank ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 29, 2011 Report Share Posted March 29, 2011 I think most people just smear liquid nails around the top and then stick the wood on and then poly and tank and then it should compress it all evenly and sit nice and flat.. Yep, although you don't want to smear it, instead you want a nice thick even bead that is well thicker than the biggest gap you have to fill. The put the ply, poly and tank on, this will squash the liquid nails out and you can wipe the excess off. You may need to shim the wood in places to stop it sagging under its own weight (depends how thick and rigid it is) leaving a gap between the wood and the tank. I used short wood screws, you want the ply pushed up hard against the bottom of the tank with the gap in between the ply and the stand completely full of liquid nails. And give it plenty of time to harden before you [slowly] fill the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I finally got some islander friends to help me with lifting the tank and applying the liquid nail. It took me 15min to remove, glue and stick on. Thank you Islander friends :love: . They were so easy to handle and dictate :happy1: . Joking I owe a lot to them for helping me with the tank. Sadly they had to bus and train home to Manurewa as my fuel pump stop suddenly today :tears: .So now I have to get towed back to Manurewa. Oh well I guess, the fuel pump been running for 7 or 8 year now. Now to the next step, waiting for the glue to dry :happy2: . Could someone help me build my background as me and my girlfriend has serious drawing block . If someone can make it for me, (I'll pay of course) please Pm me . I am going to see if the stand is balance again tomorrow. I am hoping to add the background and soak it in the 1200L by next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 For the backround just go to Bunnings or something and get a sheet of cork bark. It makes a stunning backround for an aquarium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 ive never seen large sheets of cork bark for sale here in nz small ones ive seen at model and hobby shops , id love to find someat a reasonable price one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirt Posted April 23, 2011 Report Share Posted April 23, 2011 Ive seen corkbark at mitre 10 mega. 5 25x25 sheets of it for $20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted April 24, 2011 Report Share Posted April 24, 2011 any updates or pics.. :happy1: :happy1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted May 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 After one week of waiting for the glue to harden. I filled up the tank up to 6cm. :happy2: . And guess what.... . The right side of my tank had 6cm water and the left side of my tank has 2cm water filled....... :an!gry Seriously don't know what to do now.! The stand builder told me he would come up to my place and have a look at it. ("Thank you"). On the plus note, I am getting my sump built next week and I am going for a painted black background maybe this week. Just wondering what kind of paint would I need. Also I am going to copy henward automatic water change system. Might start on that once I get my sump. And I will be using silicon sand as my gravel. :happy2: No I haven't gotten any picture of the tank now as it look too hideous and messy atm. :sick: Grrrrrrrrr :an!gry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 silica sand? use water based enamel and a fine foam roller for painting the tank. you'll need about 500ml max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Hahaha, Sorry my mind was somewhere else while typing. Had to wait 2 hours for customer support for my ISP. Then had to sort out my boarding with studylink. I really dislike my ISP sometimes.... I mean, I get around 3MB in downloads. But my upload is just okay. :an!gry . :smot: Yeh, I will be using silica sand. thank obstacle, I was wondering what kind of paint I would need to get. How many layers would I need to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I've always just used cheap spray cans from repco/supercheap, but make sure the back of the tank is spotlessly clean. Maybe a roller and enamel would be more durable though? I have had the spray paint start to flake after a few years on one tank. Alternately black vinyl would work well if you can lay it smoothly. Sucks to hear about the stand, hope you can get it sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I've found the finish with a roller and enamel is much better than spray paint. I've only done a small tank with both but the roller looks best. wish i'd known before i tried using acrylic paint on the big tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I might just get the water base paint. I'll start painting tmr actually. I want to get everything sorted soon. But no rush though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Alternative to paint: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236032 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Thank HovMoller. David were would I get black vinyl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I use black vinyl on my tank. It's from Spotlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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