Time to try a wooden aquarium
Ha! that's the luckiest betta in the world.
He thinks he's in an ocean.
He thinks he's in an ocean.
My discus clan. I think I finally turned the corner on the cloudy water.
A couple of questions... On your sump build with the epoxy coated plywood, did you screw the already epoxied plywood pieces together and seal the joint with caulk, or did you epoxy the plywood and then join it with caulk like you were making a glass aquarium with the caulk providing the structural strength. It wasn't quite clear to me.
Now that you have a 10 foot long tank, do your discus use the entire length of it or do they pretty much stick in their "favorite" spot? I'd like to have a big long tank some day and discus is something I've always wanted to have, but if they picked a spot, due to structure or whatever, and stayed there it would be kind of boring. I'm not necessarily looking for constant motion, but some occasional group movement would be nice.
Now that you have a 10 foot long tank, do your discus use the entire length of it or do they pretty much stick in their "favorite" spot? I'd like to have a big long tank some day and discus is something I've always wanted to have, but if they picked a spot, due to structure or whatever, and stayed there it would be kind of boring. I'm not necessarily looking for constant motion, but some occasional group movement would be nice.
Thanks for visiting my forum.
I coated the plywood with epoxy first. Then I screwed it to the framing of the stand. The plywood isnt actually screwed to plywood. The cost of the project was building so instead of using fiberglass and pond armour at this point I just siliconed the joints. The silicone is not adding to the structural support. Well maybe a little, but not like a glass aquarium.
Discus are awesome. They float effortlessly, wander the whole tank, then spontaneously all come together and play follow the leader from one side to the other. Right now they are all in the center looking strait at me.
I coated the plywood with epoxy first. Then I screwed it to the framing of the stand. The plywood isnt actually screwed to plywood. The cost of the project was building so instead of using fiberglass and pond armour at this point I just siliconed the joints. The silicone is not adding to the structural support. Well maybe a little, but not like a glass aquarium.
Discus are awesome. They float effortlessly, wander the whole tank, then spontaneously all come together and play follow the leader from one side to the other. Right now they are all in the center looking strait at me.
I know it's taboo to discuss costs, but have you kept track of them? I'm curious how the wood build compares to a comparable glass or acrylic build.
Props for posting the things that didn't go to plan along the way... that's where the learning occurs!
Props for posting the things that didn't go to plan along the way... that's where the learning occurs!
I originally planned on keeping all my receipts. Then once I was in over my head it turned into "I don't want to know". The biggest mistake I made was not having a plan. For me that is the funest way to roll. The single most expensive part of course was the glass. Low iron 3/4" 8'x30 inches + delivery $900. Five sheets of 3/4" birch. $275. Maple hardwood option was $600. One gal of pond armour $350 (more than enough, I used 2 gal because of the background and have enough to do a background for a friend). Going 10 feet added to the cost, and structural concerns, but I wanted all equipment hidden, and no wasted viewing space. Joey has a nice design, but it is limited to the length of the plywood. If I had to do over I would have tracked down 10' 3/4 plywood. Where I live it was hard to come by. Or I could have over lapped the plywood to make my own 10' lumber. The bottom was already overlapped, so that would have saved about $400.The hardwood frame added to the price tag. The stand was about $50 for the rough structure.
Oak is a less expensive.
I liked the way epoxy sticks to hardwood. Pine absorbs a lot, but would probably be fine.
I went with this option because of the door jam width to the room that I wanted the aquarium in. 3/4" maple is available in 12' boards and is stronger than 2x4 pine. This option saved me at least 3", maybe more on the internal width. Hardwood maple is beautiful, I have never worked with hardwood before and became obsessed with wanting to leave no exterior screw holes. If I were to do again, I would go with a 2x4 frame like a house and halled it around to the back door which is 3" wider. Instead of being a perfectionist on the aquarium, I would spend time on taking off the door and door frame to save aquarium width. Add trim boards after the fact. That way would yield about 36" internal width. The back of my aquarium is beautiful too, but who sees it? At the time I thought, what if I want to divide a room with it. Like that will ever happen. I think the width on plywood tanks is where the cost savings are. The internal width of mine is 28 1/4. There will be another, someday. For now I just want to enjoy the fish. Those are the high points. Add 20% for screws, fiberglass etc.
Way cheaper than glass. Acrylic would break the Banks's bank.
Hope that helps.
Oak is a less expensive.
I liked the way epoxy sticks to hardwood. Pine absorbs a lot, but would probably be fine.
I went with this option because of the door jam width to the room that I wanted the aquarium in. 3/4" maple is available in 12' boards and is stronger than 2x4 pine. This option saved me at least 3", maybe more on the internal width. Hardwood maple is beautiful, I have never worked with hardwood before and became obsessed with wanting to leave no exterior screw holes. If I were to do again, I would go with a 2x4 frame like a house and halled it around to the back door which is 3" wider. Instead of being a perfectionist on the aquarium, I would spend time on taking off the door and door frame to save aquarium width. Add trim boards after the fact. That way would yield about 36" internal width. The back of my aquarium is beautiful too, but who sees it? At the time I thought, what if I want to divide a room with it. Like that will ever happen. I think the width on plywood tanks is where the cost savings are. The internal width of mine is 28 1/4. There will be another, someday. For now I just want to enjoy the fish. Those are the high points. Add 20% for screws, fiberglass etc.
Way cheaper than glass. Acrylic would break the Banks's bank.
Hope that helps.
