523 gallon plywood build (pic heavy)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Awesome build man! Been following and felt nervous too but glad it all worked out! Doing similar build but mine is a 300 gallon (96"Lx24"Wx30"H) with 1/2" glass and GE silicone. The stand and "box" is put together. Now the part that makes me nervous.

Still deciding on the waterproofer, was gonna go with Liquid Rubber but didn't like how it turns brown, then thought about West System or MAS with black pigmant. Being in Canada and hazmat/border shipping costs, Sweetwater is out :( Like you, MAX ACR (with black pigment) sounds like the product I'm probably gonna go with. Did you say for your build you only used 1-1.5 gallon kit and got 6 coats? If 1 kit ($85-Ebay) was enough for yours, it should be enough for mine right?

Thanks for any help you can offer and can't wait to hear updates and see yours stocked!
 
Awesome build man! Been following and felt nervous too but glad it all worked out! Doing similar build but mine is a 300 gallon (96"Lx24"Wx30"H) with 1/2" glass and GE silicone. The stand and "box" is put together. Now the part that makes me nervous.

Still deciding on the waterproofer, was gonna go with Liquid Rubber but didn't like how it turns brown, then thought about West System or MAS with black pigmant. Being in Canada and hazmat/border shipping costs, Sweetwater is out :( Like you, MAX ACR (with black pigment) sounds like the product I'm probably gonna go with. Did you say for your build you only used 1-1.5 gallon kit and got 6 coats? If 1 kit ($85-Ebay) was enough for yours, it should be enough for mine right?

Thanks for any help you can offer and can't wait to hear updates and see yours stocked!

Thank you :) The most nerv wracking part for me was putting down the fiberglass cloth and the epoxy, but the Max Acr was a dream to work with, no different than painting a wall. Just make sure you buy a solvent roller to put it on, I figured that out on the 4th coat :irked: I would apply the first coat with a good paint brush and thin it out with Acetone or denatured alcohol to get a good "bite". After that it's as simple as rolling it on. I waited not quite 24 hours between coats (sometimes as little as 8 hours depending on work schedule) and did a very light sanding between coats with 220 sandpaper. 1 1.5 gallon was enough for the 7 coats + putting down the fiberglass, stuff really went far!! Good luck :)
 
looks awesome

did u say u were doing african cichlids?



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Thanks :) Yea I'm doing africans. Just got done diving putting the rocks in, didn't realize how cold 74 degree water was :ROFL: Now time to warm up and let the water clear and I'll take some pics, probably won't be til tomorrow I'm guessing, it's pretty cloudy after leveling the sand.
 
Cleared up a little so that I could take a few pics. Water was extremely cloudy when I took the dive so I did the rockwork by touch basically, I may change it around some haven't decided yet.
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What all are you planning on stocking? Like numbers and list? A 500g African tank would be very impressive!

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What all are you planning on stocking? Like numbers and list? A 500g African tank would be very impressive!

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Honestly it's still up in the air. As of right now I have:
7 Cyathopharynx Faoi Moliro
6 Ectodus Decampsii
10 Tropheus Duboisi Maswa
7 Placidochromis Phenochilus Tanzania Star Sapphire

The rest I will just see what people have locally :)
 
Wow, I have been following this thread and you have done a great job,looks great

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That looks great man!!

Thanks guys, it's been a lot of work for sure, but absolutely worth it. Feeling a bit bummed atm though, lost the 7 faoi's and 6 decampsii to ich. Had them in a holding tank for 1 week and had some fish I ordered in there with them so not sure which fish came with the ich but it wiped out those 13 fish :( So now changing direction and going with some larger malawi cichlid's.
 
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