twinkles Posted May 29, 2012 Report Share Posted May 29, 2012 Finally got my new tank, the same day the forums crashed of course :facepalm: It's a 5ft 540L, came with dividers in it which i've cut out but still need to clean up the silicon remnants on the front panel from them. I'm making a background for it, attempting to copy the river edges like these.. so it'll have a small overhang above the waterline, planted with ferns and mosses, and a riverbank on the back wall covering the ugly drill holes that have been glued over (there's 7 of them). Holes in the bank for the koura and bullies, and some driftwood worked into it. The filter inlet will come out on the bank and trickle off into the water, plus there'll be a second external filter that goes back in under the water line. The background is all carved and waiting to be painted. The only tank safe paint I could get here was a 1L of medium base, so it can't be tinted too dark, will be a medium ochre and umber colour. Thinking about chucking some sand on the lower parts and maybe some peat or that ochre mud-sand on the upper parts, for more depth and colour, but will see. The bottom of the tank will have big river stones (coffee cup sized) on top of a thin layer of river sand and smaller stones. Will use wood to hide the joins in the background, and the ferns in my current tank plus a bag of spagnum for the above water. The fish: our current crans bullies, koura and smelt will be going in, plus a pair of banded kokopu (have to cheat here and buy them since there's none locally to take), hopefully some inanga or a few more smelt, depending what's around in spring, and lots more bullies, perhaps 3 more crans girls and a couple of pairs of redfins if i can find some young ones. Otherwise more crans instead. I'll paint the background this week and clean up the front of the tank before siliconing it in place, then I have to be patient for a few weeks for the stand to arrive before I can put it in place and fill it. Anyway hope it works out like I imagine it will and i'll post some pics once the background is in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mts sufferer Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 Sounds like its going to be good. :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativelover Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 wow makes me want to make a background for mine cant wait for the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devo Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 Sounds great....looking forward to the pic's. I found some black "Pond Paint" at Mitre 10, used it on poly, & after a couple of coats added dry peat moss, & I'm happy with the results. Frogs & fish all ok with it too Cheers, Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted May 30, 2012 Report Share Posted May 30, 2012 oooh another native tank build thread! Looking forward to seeing your updates :happy2: :sick: envy about the tank size! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 Watching this thread closely. I am going to convert my four foot tall tank into a native biotope like this also. Having done away with all my plants I need something peaceful to stare at and as this tank is the perfect dimensions I have kept it for this purpose. Its just a matter of getting around to doing it. I want to see lots of pics Twinkles :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 whats the stripy thing, bottom right corner in bottom pic??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted May 31, 2012 Report Share Posted May 31, 2012 whats the stripy thing, bottom right corner in bottom pic??? Looks like a reflection on the water of the Riparian growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Crocodile. Or a fern reflecting Waiting for someone to drop the paint tints off so i can get on with painting it, will take some pics once that's done. Meantime been scraping the last few bits of silicone off the front from where the dividers where, it's coming off much easier than I thought it would. Using a craft knife blade without the handle, held parallel with the glass. It's doing a good job taking off all the dried algae and lime marks too, heaps easier than scrubbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 :sick: envy about the tank size! I was going to get one a foot longer, but this came up cheap and now that it's here i'm glad I didn't, it's huge and weighs a ton empty. The other tanks here are the kids so I thought if i'm only going to have one tank i'll make it a brilliant one, will look good next to my 14inch crt tv in the lounge lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si_sphinx Posted June 1, 2012 Report Share Posted June 1, 2012 Nice. Good idea. I have a small tank I think I might attempt this with also. Might try something this weekend. Looking forward to seeing photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2012 Background has been painted and had some bits of leaf litter chucked on the top with the second coat, it was a bit boring before. Hopeing it'll brown up with algae fairly quickly. Couldn't get the paint as dark as I wanted aesthetically but it's the right colour to match the streams around here, bought home a little dirt covered pebble to check and it's a perfect match Just glued the two end pieces in, will let them set before I do the middle. There's going to be a big gap at the join on one side and a smaller line on the other, so i'll shove a piece of driftwood in and glue it in the crack, and maybe some rooty things in the smaller one. Advice for anyone thinking of sticking in a background in a large tank - make sure you've got things ready to hold it in place. I realised once i'd glued it and put it in that I didn't have anything to brace it and had to run around grabbing books and the vacuum hose stick thing to wedge it firmly while it sets. Seems good now though. I'll probably wait 24 hours then put the middle section in, and a bit more glue around the edges of the other bits, then leave it till monday, clean up the blobs of silicon i've dropped on my nice clean glass :oops: , then I can start sticking in the dirt and plants and stuff above the waterline. Will grab some pics once the background is set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I've got some 50mm polystyrene sheets given to me the other day so I now have no excuse not to start on one for my native tank now. I had much the same idea as you are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Pics please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Here's what it looked like 7 overflow holes, with messily glued glass covering them, a box thingy in thing the left back corner with plumbing in it, 3 dividers siliconed in place and filthy glass. Looked pretty bad but I was stocked cause it was cheap lol. Cut the dividers out with a razorblade, and almost all the silicone. Went and bought some chemical stuff to get the last thin film off in a couple of places, got a free sample of one of those white 'magic eraser' cloths, found that worked amazingly well and went back and bought one. It removed the silicone, dried algae and cyano, lime/salt water marks and general grubbiness, with ease. It's chemical free and my new best friend. It does say not to use on fishtanks on some brands of them, but I imagine that's because it takes off silicone so easily, I stayed away from the joins. Can't recommend it enough. This is the front side glass now.. And this is the background, middle section still has stuff holding it firm.. Had to really squeeze to get that pic so sorry about the angle, my room is way too small and I can't shift the tank. That's from the left end, the corner box thingy is behind the background there, and it curves around more than it appears in this pic. It's also less yellow and more ochre than that. The channel part near the top of background is to shove plants in, and it overhangs from there and gets thinner towards the bottom. There's another bit to glue still which will make a larger sticking out bank bit at the end. On the back of the tank there's cut out parts through the background for the filter I have, a second external filter, and airlines, all meshed over and angled so they're hard to see. If you can see in the first pic, there's an open tap fitting thing on the right side, which i'm pondering what to do with. It's above where the waterline will be and can easily be hidden in the plants, but I might try and find a hose fitting thing to screw onto it, so that i can do water changes by running the hose into the tank and attach a second one to there going out the window as an overflow for the inevitable time I forget to turn it off. Dunno yet anyway. With the box corner thing, it has some sort of plumbing thing, for marine i guess, which has a long pipe going down then out the back of the tank down low. I don't feel that safe leaving it as is and relying on the water not getting in to flood out the back of the tank one day, but not sure what to do here either. Maybe silicone up the top of the pipe. Or find a cap to fit the outside part of the tank exit bit. When the stand comes i'll be adding onto it to enclose at least the back and the right side, some poles up, poly on the tank, then plywood to cover, to help keep the temperature down cheaper. Don't know if I should do a top hood thing at the same time, will ponder it. Want to leave the other end open though so I can look in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I've got some 50mm polystyrene sheets given to me the other day so I now have no excuse not to start on one for my native tank now. I had much the same idea as you are doing. I'll be the guinea pig and you can learn from my mistakes lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 To be a real pain, do you have any images of the background before you put it in the tank? As mentioned earlier in the thread, I am going to be doing pretty much the same thing as you so was hoping I could get ideas and how to's from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Nope :oops: I'll get one from the front side properly tomorrow though, so you can see it straight and where the joins are etc. Haven't put anything in the gaps yet. And i'll get a couple of pics from the back too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 how did you shape the poly? what did you use to seal the paint etc? what paints did you use? I am going to try do mine on a budget so trying to get ideas as to the easiest most effective way. The background for my tank will be quite tall so it may be a bit difficult. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I cut the poly into two sheets the size of the back of the tank. Cut each into three sections, so they'd fit between the braces on top of tank. Then glued the two pieces together to make it 60mm thick, for the middle and right side sections. The left side was harder cause I wanted to make it cover that box thing, i'll get some pics of that tomorrow. Once the glue was dry I sliced the poly out with a craft knife, very easy, then with a rough old breadknife and fingernails to rough it up since it was way too smooth and artificial looking. Didn't really have much of a plan except to have the above water part angled and with a groove for the plants, but tried to make some ledge bits and caves for the bullies to sit on and the koura to hide in. Put the filter in-out holes through on an angle, then carved gaps in the back for the pipes to run up to the top of tank. If i was doing it again I would have carved it held together instead of glued, cause I carved most parts right back to a thin edge on the back piece of poly and wasted heaps of glue, plus the edges of the silicone are hard to carve/paint/hide. Once I was done carving it I ran the heatgun over it carefully, idea seen on here somewhere, which smothed the flaky bits and sort of hardened it all. Then painted. Will write the rest tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Searched everywhere in town for low VOC paint, finally found one 1L tin of clearance taubmans eco paint. They've pulled that brand and their new paint which is coming out soon is all low voc, will be on the tin and they're really helpful on the phone. Tinted it with ochre and a little bit of umber and oxide, thanks to my painter friend. Painted a coat on the front, it took heaps of paint to fill in all the bubbly porous surface, second coat barely made it before it ran out. Threw some leaf litter stuff on the second coat to make it less boring. Once it was dry glued all the back and put it in place, very hard to stick because the covered drill holes on the back wall stick out so it couldn't press fully onto the back glass. But looks pretty well glued so hopefully it'll stay in place when water is added. Here's the back.. Close up of box corner thingy.. Front of the same part.. One shelf bit being glued in.. Will be glueing pebbles and moss and stuff onto the shelf once the glue is cured, and across the top from that level up. And here's the little holding tank in my kitchen that I made while i was bored waiting for glue to dry, to hold the new bullies for a few days when I get them. Don't want to put them straight into the new big tank, partly in case they're the wrong species or sex from what I want, because they're alot harder to tell apart in the dark and when they're freaked out and pale. They'll be impossible to catch in the new tank once all the rocks etc are in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Progress! Got this much done before I ran out of plants. Will have to go for another walk tomorrow and grab some more It's a mix of mosses, grasses, epiphyte ferns and other little parisitic plants that grow on rocks and tree stumps, from the damp parts of the bush, and some mossy sticks and things to help hold it together. Siliconed some, stuck some into the polystyrine, and will probably staple a few bits too. Stringy willow roots shoved into the cracks where the joins where. I'd decided early on to can the shelf on the left, then over the weekend changed my mind and put it in, but it wasn't painted so looks a bit grey and ick for now. Will be completely covered with the plants though. On the right side shelf (last pic) there's pebbles glued on where the water will go from the filter inlet, same pebbles that will be on the bottom of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Looking good, I must do this to mine as well. What I would do is place some gladwrap, or lids if it has them, over the whole thing to help keep the plants/moss moist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativelover Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 looking good what you stocking it with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinkles Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 I'm going to spray them with a spray bottle until the tank's been filled, don't have that much gladwrap lol. Hopeing to cut the dividers up to be lids, might have to buy one more though. Need them to fit well to keep the koura in Moving the smelt, cran's bullies and koura into it, then adding a couple of banded kokopu and hopefully some inanga or more smelt. If I ever see any locally then redfin bullies too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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