120 gallon plywood/acrylic tank

[rotccapt]

haven't decided on the plants yet live would be cool but not sure. i may get one of those floating logs that you can buy to let drift around the tank.

i received my acrylic today just to find out that the front piece was 1/2" too long to fit i guess my piece was on the plus side of the tolerance. but 8 bucks later and a new saw blade for the circular saw and it now sits with silicone curing on the front. tomarrow i plan on getting one side attached and then the last side on Wednesday. so how long should i let the silicone cure before i fill with water? i am thinking first fill will be on Saturday.

my plan for decoration will be some 1-2 inch river rock that will cover the pipes. i have toyed with a piece of drift wood too and some hiding places for the fish. you know the kind the turtle cant get into and are attached to the egg crate so they cant get moved. also to light the tank i will be using some under water lights any ideas here?

one more question if i put a 2 inch lip around the inside of the tank do i need to add a center brace?

and to answer the question about not going 6 feet long is: A) space where the tank will be and B) the cost of the acrylic the price almost doubled to get it 6 foot long and also shipping went up too.

for more mechanical filtration i may add the top drawer back in and put another layer of quilt batting there.

not much as far as pics go just waiting for the silicone to dry. i have the tank sitting face down on a flat surface with four 60 lbs sand bags on top of a towel on it to help it cure nice and flat.

 

[rotccapt]

well i got further than i thought i was going to get today all the acrylic is installed and i have sealed all the inside edges. i guess that silicone cures faster when it is 100 degrees in the garage. the front took an entire caulking gun size tube of GE silicone 1. the sides split a tube and then sealing the inside edges took another half a tube. the only way to seal the inside was to think like a fish and get in the tank. it is hard to tell in the pics but the acrylic is there.

since i got the acrylic in faster than i thought i plan on doing the first fill on Saturday. in the mean time i will finish the stand and get all the trim work done. to seal the exterior once it is stained i will be putting a coat of Thompsons water seal on it.

 

[rotccapt]

not much to show except for some trim work on my stand all that is left is to build the second door and rebuild the first door. the first door ended up ok but not square because my miter saw was off by a couple degrees when cutting the 45* angles. i really want to fill it up but i will be patient and wait till at least Friday to give the silicone plenty of time to dry and cure. the tube says 12 hours before exposing to water but to be safe i will wait a couple more days

what do you think of my trim work for the joint from the tank to the stand?

 

[rotccapt]

ok guys one more question i have decided to just put a center brace in. my question is will one 3/4 inch by 2 inch piece of oak be sufficent? also would it be ok if the brace was off center a bit i was thinking of installing it at 18" from one side so that i can set an 18 inch floor tile on it to form my basking area. this would be putting it 6 inches off center.

thanks for the help

 

[taninsama]

Hey, looking great! Your trim looks pretty awesome... are you going to stain it ti match the rest of the stand? I think the thickness of your brace should be okay, but I'm not certain what off-centering would do. I think it would prob. be fine, but I'm no expert.

 

[rotccapt]

yes i will be staining the stand and also adding trim to the tank and staining it. after it is all stained i will be giving it a coat of Thompsons water seal

 

[Valous]

offsetting it should not be a big problem with a tank that size. I am not a professional but it should not cause a big problem. how many coats of epoxy do you have on the tank?

 

[dirtbikerider]

Everything is looking good. I don't see the brace being off center being a problem, but like an earlier poster I don't consider myself an expert. I'm sure someone else will chime in.

 

[rotccapt]

i have 3 coats of epoxy on the tank and 6 oz fiberglass cloth in all the corners and also some .5 oz cloth on the bottom the egg crat is there to help protect the bottom from nicks and dings and to provide a place to secure decorations to

i just installed a GFIC plug box into my stand to attach all of my components to since the plug i will be using is not GFIC. the box is attached to a cut off extension cord so it will act like a power strip but it is attached to the stand

 

[rotccapt]

well i got a little bit more done today i finished the doors for the stand and also installed my offset center brace and also my basking area. i also received my order of bio balls, basking light and heat light fixtures and bulbs, and some conical screens for my overflows tomarrow i am hoping to make the last run to the hardware store to get the last few supplies to get the tank running. i still need to install the supports for the top screen install the ATBA acrylic, trim work on the tank and stain/seal the stand and the rest of the tank. i think i can see the light at the end of the tunnel but it is still a bit off in the distance. i really want to fill it up but i have been told to wait at least 4 days to let the silicone fully cure so that puts me at Saturday. besides i still have lots of work to do and it need to be empty to do most of it. my plan is to mask off all the acrylic and then use my spray gun to do the rest of the stain and sealer it will make the job quicker and more even.

on a side note my bio tower holds just about 4.5 gallons of bio balls and about 2/3rds of them will be out of the standing water