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Had a small leak on the first test last week :( Went over the seams again and added a silicone bead on top for extra assurance. It's holding about 200 gallons of water now, and the main part of the aquascaping is done. Still need to cover the cinder blocks and add some plants (Anubias, Java fern...

Definitely worth taking your time on these projects! Here's the basic decoration scheme. I'm going to add a few more pieces of driftwood that are soaking right now, hiding the cinder blocks that are propping up the left side of the slate caves, and a layer of oak leaves on the bottom. The sandy...

Third window went in this morning. Unfortunately the 3M 5200 seems to have pulled away from the glass in a few places. In fairness, 3M does say it's not recommended for glass, and I selected it based on others' recommendations here. It seems fine as an adhesive, but there's no question that it...

Please take a breath and use some punctuation man! I can't even read that :(

I just bought some half inch panels (34x38 inches) - just a little smaller than you're talking about. They came with edges just sanded to remove sharp spots. I can definitely see where the cuts are not fully square. In my case they went into a wood frame and I didn't give it another thought. I...

Fiberglass was finished about three weeks ago. About half the tank, including the window area, has received an overcoat of West Systems epoxy. Here's the first window set into place. Using 3M 5200 as the adhesive. After this cures I'm going to go back and add a bead of silicone around the edge...

I always liked plecos, but was never willing to keep one in too small a tank. To date a 75 was the biggest tank I've had, and I always kept that planted. Over the next several weeks I'll be putting the finishing touches on an 800+ gallon plywood and fiberglass tank, and I'm wondering if a...

I definitely have a few bubbles to go back and fix. Overall it came out pretty well though. The fiberglass is about 80% done now. As I said before, I left the area immediately around the windows. The glass arrived this week and was set inside the frame, and over the weekend I've added the final...

Makes as much sense as selling baby goldfish. They don't get bigger than the tank they are in, right?

Started fiberglassing last weekend. Going to work on it more tomorrow. It takes longer than I expected.

Dang, why do the pictures always rotate when they get posted?

Forgot the fish:

No skill in woodwork is required, just patience. Every step, re-measure everything and think through where everything is going to go (again), then add one more piece and repeat. In the next picture I have the bracing down for the floor, and added cement to hold it there. I've since added...

What I'm going to do is use wood shims to level the interior frame that will support the tank bottom, and then pour more cement under/between the framing. It will end up "shimmed" with cement, but it has to be leveled before the cement can be poured. This stuff is far too viscous to be...

I'll try to do better at keeping up with pictures. I wasn't able to get the 2x6 off, so I cut a section out of it (and the identical one on the opposite side) - turns out better that way anyway, but it was more work. I just poured the leveling compound today. I suspect that it will not be as...

DN328, the idea of starting with a new tank is that you have to put the entire contents of the tank (other decorations, gravel, sand, whatever) on top of the acrylic. Not that it has to be a factory-new tank, but you can't put the acrylic in on top of the tank's contents. It's supposed to cover...

That looks awesome. It's just crying out for some sort of matching décor in the tank though. Maybe a line and bobber snagged in a piece of wood or something.

New pictures showing a little more progress. Vertical beams in the front will wait until I have the glass moved in, then I'll finish the fiberglass and start a layer of West Systems epoxy over it. Once that's all cured, then I'll do the glass, and finally climb back into the tank to finish the...

Glasscages quoted me over $400 less on my project, including shipping, than a local supplier. I feel like if that much variation is possible I should probably look for a third opinion.

On the other hand, don't let physics stand in the way of awesome.