200g ply wood build

[Steve Manly]

well im just off to get the front of the sump and tank cut and then ill assemble and thats it, construction done.

not bad for a couple of afternoons work!

heres a dull picture of some screw holes.



i placed a screw in the corner making sure the edges were true and then placed screws at intermittent lengths so that all edges were true. i then measured the gaps, drilled pilot holes and counter sunk. i then power sanded all rough edges

i used this method for all sides

when fixing the base, i lay the base down on the top and placed 1 pilot screw in the corner this was to stop the base moving and dislodging the glue.
i then lifted the base up just enough to get the glue in and secured at intermitent lengths where i felt the need. NB the screws were not tight.

i then started to add the screws at every 3rd hole. not tight...just in

then came all the other screws

i tightened every other (in a leapfrog and back 1 style) screw and then repeated until all screw heads were counter sunk into the wood

heres a scale picture. actually the dogs inspecting to make sure its done right! LOL

 

[Steve Manly]

super pissed off now.

i bought 4 x 3mm drills from our local chain hardware store and all 4 of the blighters have snapped whilst in use. whats happening is; they are geting clogged up with sap overheating and snapping.

oh well, at least i have the reciepts

any way as you can see from this picture its almost completed. just have to drill some guide holes for the front panel and sump and then its onto treating all of the exterior wood...

 

[jay_leask]

looks good so far

 

[Steve Manly]

looks good so far

thankyou

 

[Steve Manly]

update! 4 afternoons work and the tank is together and the sump is together!

ive changed my plans on how im gonna construct the hood/canopy about 5 times....

well ive now changed my mind on a major structural issue. this is partly because the Mrs has said she wants the tank in a different place! oh well...best laid plans and all that..

oh, ive also changed my mind on the waterproofing options. im gonna go for a full fibreglass and 6 coats of resin. ive found product on ebay that makes this a more viable and safe (IMO) option

photo's tomorrow

 

[Steve Manly]

right. reday for some piccies.

all of the structural work is done.

here is the carcass! oh and a 4tube night n day t5 unit...i found lying under the bed!!!



pic 1 bit close this 1...

pic 2 gives a better idea of the overall project

pic 3 just showing off the moooon light!

pic 4 more of the same... lights out!

right then. as per my previous post, ive changed the structure of things a little.....

ive never built a ply aquarium but am somewhat of a whizz of building glass aquariums. ive not seen a ply tank done this way before ....but im pretty sure of my physics calculations (yeah thatll work!)




ive chopped the corner off!

im 99.99999% sure this will work!

 

[Steve Manly]

heres a piccie of the inside up of the bracing..

 

[Steve Manly]

from the pictures it looks wonky... its not

 

[KrabbeAquatics]

looks good. Makes me wanna get mine done ASAP!

 

[Steve Manly]

heres the sump

bottom left section is where the water enters the sump.this section will be full of scrubbies as mechanical media. the reason that this section is split is for maintainence issues. its too tight a space to get all the way to the back and the scrubbies are really the only thing that need regular attention.
the water then flows into top left section which will have carbon / peat balls. (i live in a really really hard water area, upwards of 16d gh & upwards of 20d kh) and then into the main section.
in the main section will be air stones / heater and fluidized bed. i will be using cut up drinking straws as the media. i will "rough up" the surface of the straws by mixing them with concrete and agitating and then rinsing off all concrete. this gives the straws a less polished suface, allowing greater and quicker bacterial colonisation! (well thats my theory)
the water then flows into the bottom right section which has filter wool and then into the final section where the pump(s) will be