Alan Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Who me Wasp?? If that was addressed to me, I do. I've made dozens of tanks, I've also been to clubs and given demos on cutting glass, right down to constructing a tank in front of them. They appeared amazed how easy it was. Just watch out for those fumes from the silicon tho. They are dangerous, and you should do the assembly in a well vetilated area. The silicon MUST be "acetic cure". Smells like stong vinegar fumes. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Just watch out for those fumes from the silicon tho i thought that was your favourite part alan? would explain a few things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 May be petrol fumes. But not this crap, it burns ya lungs out. Petrol only addles ya brains and you don't notice it happening. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Who me Wasp?? Alan 104 Yes you dude! That was one of the most informative posts I've read. I've always had thoughts about making my own tank, as no doubt, have many here. Actually, I did once make a very small one & it was OK, but what that taught me was I would be struggling to make a big one, holding the first bits of glass in place until it is all assembled. How is it done? do you use a jig or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I built my 5 footer (now my sump). Drilled my own holes etc no problemo. Was an awkward job, but not difficult. I woulnd't bother again though, tanks are so cheap I think it took me a few days to do it, and saved me a few dollars. Would have been easier to just do some OT at work and have a professional make it. YMMV. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Apparently the Titanic wreck is being eaten. Layton you are a true scholar! Now those dang evil metal eating bacteria are eating the Titanic! Whatever will they get up to next? Uh Oh here's a bunch of 'em now :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 18, 2005 Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 I built my 5 footer (now my sump). Pie Well that's quite an achievement Pies! Even though as you say, it may be easier to just buy one, there is still the pride & satisfaction factor to be able to say "I made that myself". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted October 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2005 Cheers for your info, I live about 200m from critter kingdom, but I don't like the female store person, I went to by a fish there and she caught 2 in the net and tried to make me by both of them because they were "hard to catch". Very very pressuring, made me angry, because they would have made a sale with a less affirmative person. :evil: Altho the guy who does the marine stuff seems nice, Ill post some photo's of my tank tonite, the silicon might be harder than usual as I think the person who built it made up for the discrepancies in glass length with large blocks of silicon. Now about the octo in the tank, I am sure I have read that if they "ink". they can make the tank so toxic, that they can kill them self. Don't know if this is true, but it's worth looking into. The octopus's ink is made from melanin, the same stuff that gives hair its colour, its all protein and gets skimmed out easily apparently. The toxic effects come from when the gills are coated and cause asphyxiation, altho they aren't 100% sure on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted October 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Well, I got the photos of my tank, its very ghetto hahaa. Overall shot of the ghetto, and please forgive the horrible foam stuff under it, it will be going....... Next, the shocking black silicone stuff that was applied liberally, Now the shots of how the glass cutter fixed his mistakes, making up the difference with a small wall of silicon. And finally you can see how at one end the silicon extends out away from the tank menacingly in the direction of my bed. See what happens when student loans arent adjusted for inflation in ten years? At least I won't need a cooler for my tank, my house once got down to 4 degrees C inside. And the rats keep my flatmates awake at nite. $65 a week. Gotta love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted October 19, 2005 Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 No more ghetto than mine! Don't worry about it, it's what you do inside it that counts! Once you have it up & running, the eye is attracted to what's in the tank, the flaws in the silicone will hardly be noticed. Also, the foam underneath, long as no water leaks into it it will be fine. However, it does look like it's an amateur built tank, would pay to fill it with fresh water for a few days to check for leaks, and perhaps some extra bracing for strength. There are some unobtrusive ways to do extra bracing, such as triangular pieces in the corners, and long strips on the bottom. Another problem could be they did not use marine compatible ( anti mould free ) silicone, but not sure if this would be an issue with an octopus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted October 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2005 Just got back from critter kingdom, regarding a new tank. They quoted 150 for a 30" tank, and the woman stopped in the middle of a sentence to talk to someone else who walked in- a more important customer than me :evil: , and left me there. Arrrgghhh I was so annoyed, the next time that happens I might give her a talking to. Oh they also said about $50 to resilicon the whole tank, well I think, that was sentence that was cut short by the more "respectable" customer. But I would also prefer not to spend any money there, ever. btw whats a good price for the jbl iron test kit? They had one for $4 marked down from $47, I could get it for someone if they wanted. The show tanks they have are FULL of algae, looks horrible. The baby emperor angle had algae like stuff growing all over its face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted October 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Well I went out today and bought some base rock, whats the deal with this, do I have to do anything to it? I had never seen any coral rock before, its pretty nuts stuff , I can see how its needed for surface area. $42 for about 12kg. I dont know how I'm supposed to make a cave for my octopus, and can you just plonk it straight onto the glass? I was worried about it scratching. Also an octopus can hold up to 40x its own body weight, and they like rearranging the tank to suit themselves, can you fasten it in anyway? And how many kg base rock per litre do you you guys use , I'm told half of a reef tanks requirements is acceptable for an octo, as they also like to swim around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Yeah, just plonk it onto the bottom. Who cares if it scratches the glass? you don't look through the bottom of the tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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