18' x 9' x 3.5' catfish tank build in progress.....

[pjgamber]

well this is a very entertaing thread. new here and i just read all 141 pages after 4 hours.

good luck on the build, theres a reason i moved to texas from northern Utah, i hated the winters. 70f days in January and February here in Houston sure are nice, although 100+days in the summer are brutal.

i have my filter sump in the garage for my two tanks that are in my living room. So my tanks during the summer stay around 81 or so with out my heaters coming on. dealing with -20, wow, thats just rough.

 

[necrocanis]

This window just sits on top of the tank and is removable. I don't think it will stretch at all. You've given me something interesting to think about though. I mainly made these windows on top for lighting, and to be removable for going into the tank and getting fish into and out of the tank. I have a bigger overlap on these because 1/8" acrylic is actually kinda flimsy lol. Just trying to make the best with what I have. This is the front top window and the acrylic is only 1' x 4'. My viewing area is going to be severly cut down because of the flimsyness.

Seems to me you could make that frame a little narrower all the way around to buy yourself some more viewing area. 1-1.5" of overlap should be more than enough.

As for epoxying the acrylic in place - you don't want to do that. Use something like DOW 832 to bond the acrylic to the frame after the frame is epoxied. If you use epoxy, the acrylic will want to fracture the epoxy as it bends when you fill the tank. Something like a silicone allows the tank to move and settle as it's filled.

 

[shaggz]

Been reading through this thread all week, finally got to the last page hoping to see pics of her filled up with the happy cats inside. I'll be checking back in on this thread till it's finished cause you got me hooked. Best of luck to you with the final stages of the project. Amazing work thus far man.

 

[Jel]

Hey guys just dropped in for a quick pic update! To answer a few questions. I chose wood because of practicality for myself. I do not plan on living here forever and I think it will be much easier to forklift out a wooden tank, or to cut it in half for removal and moving easier than a cement tank. I do not wish to alter my garage for this build.

Thanks for the clarification there. Looking forward to seeing it finished in all it's catfish keeping glory!

 

[zennzzo]

This window just sits on top of the tank and is removable. I don't think it will stretch at all. You've given me something interesting to think about though. I mainly made these windows on top for lighting, and to be removable for going into the tank and getting fish into and out of the tank. I have a bigger overlap on these because 1/8" acrylic is actually kinda flimsy lol. Just trying to make the best with what I have. This is the front top window and the acrylic is only 1' x 4'. My viewing area is going to be severly cut down because of the flimsyness.

3M 5200 Marine adhesive...for setting acrylic panels...

 

[cvermeulen]

This window just sits on top of the tank and is removable. I don't think it will stretch at all. You've given me something interesting to think about though. I mainly made these windows on top for lighting, and to be removable for going into the tank and getting fish into and out of the tank. I have a bigger overlap on these because 1/8" acrylic is actually kinda flimsy lol. Just trying to make the best with what I have. This is the front top window and the acrylic is only 1' x 4'. My viewing area is going to be severly cut down because of the flimsyness.

Oh sorry man, I just did a check into this thread on the run and didn't realise this was a top panel. I thought you were putting together your front viewing windows.

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

wow those skeletons are really cool.
i did one of my 27" redtail cat, i let maggots clean it and boiled it, then soaked it in bleach. mistake, the bones were so brittle. but rtc have bug heavy bones so i got it together after many many hours, then my fing ferret knocked it down and completely trashed how do you treat the bones before assembling?

 

[wow_it_esploded]

Although I would have gone with concrete blocks on this one, great job! I hope to see this filled soon... Actually, I think we all hope to see this filled soon!

 

[Eric A]

Love how the fins are still on the jag cichlid. I wonder what a short-body fish's skeleton would look like compared to a normal one...

 

[cnoel08]

Love how the fins are still on the jag cichlid. I wonder what a short-body fish's skeleton would look like compared to a normal one...

shorter....