Doc's DIY Tropheus Project - Photo Journal
- Thread starter Doc_Polit
- Start date
Great looking build. Well planned, designed and executed. Looking fwd. to seeing the entire project completed. Keep us posted. We'll be watching.
Well....... here is a rather brief update. I have been traveling on business and have not had much time to work on this project.
I have not had time to clean up "the beast" but here is a quick pic anyway.
As well, I put a bead of silicone around the perimeter of the "plumbing tray". That way if the overflow or return plumbing leak, the water will be contained.
The sump area is now finished with a layer of plastic laminate and a bead of white silicone.
More to come.....
I have not had time to clean up "the beast" but here is a quick pic anyway.
As well, I put a bead of silicone around the perimeter of the "plumbing tray". That way if the overflow or return plumbing leak, the water will be contained.
The sump area is now finished with a layer of plastic laminate and a bead of white silicone.
More to come.....
Doc_Polit;3984214; said:Well....... here is a rather brief update. I have been traveling on business and have not had much time to work on this project.
I have not had time to clean up "the beast" but here is a quick pic anyway.
As well, I put a bead of silicone around the perimeter of the "plumbing tray". That way if the overflow or return plumbing leak, the water will be contained.
The sump area is now finished with a layer of plastic laminate and a bead of white silicone.
More to come.....
Terrific pictures of you "beast". What's the volume and outside dimensions of your tank? It looks like it may be made of glass, just from observing the color of the edges and seams. Am I correct? What is the purpose of the smaller resivoir tank on the end?
Is your plumbing trays going to be have a drain of somekind to keep the trays from overflowing or have you considered this already and know for certain that this is not a possibility? Your plumbing trays are a spot on idea. It's a design idea I have not seen on MFK before.
On your plastic laminate, is it glued to the plywood subflooring or just layed in dry and then caulked around the edges? Excellent craftsmanship. Nice color selection on the laminate. Are the skins going to be stained or painted? From the view of the skins on the front of the viewing of the plastic laminate photo shot, the skins look rather thin. What is the thickness of your skins?
Progress is seems to be coming along steadily. Anxiously anticipating the completion and pictures when your project is up and running with your fish on display. Patiently waiting.
Thanks for your kind words and interest in my project. My tank is 142 gallons and measures 72" L x 19" W x 24" H. It is made of 1/2" glass and unfortunately it weighs a ton.
What appears to be a reservoir is actually an external overflow chamber. The end pane of the tank is notched at the top to form a spillway for the tank water. From there, the water will travel into a DIY wet/dry sump filter and be returned at the opposite end. I will post some close-up shots of the tank once it is cleaned up.
The plumbing trays are designed to support the overflow and return plumbing so that a careless elbow (likely my own) cannot knock anything loose and flood my rumpus room.
I glued the laminate to the ply subfloor with PL Premium construction adhesive. I got such a deal on the laminate. It was initially priced at $99/sheet but this one had a chipped corner and was sold to me for $19.
The skin is 1/4" oak plywood. I mainly went with 1/4" to keep from adding weight to the stand. It has worked out well and shows no sign of warping.
It will ultimately be stained although I have not settled on a particular shade yet.
Here are some photos of tonight's progress.
In hopes of keeping my cat out of my stand, while still allowing humidity to escape, I designed a back panel out of 1/8 pegboard.
Installed with Bostitch air stapler.
That's all for now........stay tuned.
Doc_Polit;3987292; said:Thanks for your kind words and interest in my project. My tank is 142 gallons and measures 72" L x 19" W x 24" H. It is made of 1/2" glass and unfortunately it weighs a ton.
What appears to be a reservoir is actually an external overflow chamber. The end pane of the tank is notched at the top to form a spillway for the tank water. From there, the water will travel into a DIY wet/dry sump filter and be returned at the opposite end. I will post some close-up shots of the tank once it is cleaned up.
The plumbing trays are designed to support the overflow and return plumbing so that a careless elbow (likely my own) cannot knock anything loose and flood my rumpus room.
I glued the laminate to the ply subfloor with PL Premium construction adhesive. I got such a deal on the laminate. It was initially priced at $99/sheet but this one had a chipped corner and was sold to me for $19.
The skin is 1/4" oak plywood. I mainly went with 1/4" to keep from adding weight to the stand. It has worked out well and shows no sign of warping.
It will ultimately be stained although I have not settled on a particular shade yet.
Here are some photos of tonight's progress.
In hopes of keeping my cat out of my stand, while still allowing humidity to escape, I designed a back panel out of 1/8 pegboard.
Installed with Bostitch air stapler.
That's all for now........stay tuned.
That's great. things seem to moving right along, but haven't seen much progress lately. when are we to expect to see it up and running?
Well, at long last I finally have some update photos. I was forced to take a break from this project to sell off my surplus equipment and then I had to deal with the crash of my grow-out tank.
Anyway....I have once again taken residence in my garage.
In true Doc Polit form, I changed the game plan part way through. Out goes the previous canopy design and the 2" x 2" frame. The new canopy is faced with 1" x 8" solid oak.
The front and sides are joined at a 45 degree angle.
Inner corner supports (3/4" x 3/4" oak) are pinned in place.
Oak tank rails are fastened to the front and side facing, leaving a 1.5" lip/overhang to hide the euro-brace (and water level).
The back supports are 1" x 2" fir slats.
As the canopy is (like the stand) 17" longer than the tank, inner tank supports are proving to be challenging. Here is the support that will straddle the euro-brace adjacent to the external overflow.
1" x 2" fir lid supports are in place and the rear half of the lid has been fastened. The pine lid will be skinned with 1/4" oak ply to match the stand.
Here is a quick teaser of the doors that I made from oak burlap and laminate which matches the inside of the stand. I just need to add edge trim and hardware.
That's all for now.....dinner awaits. Happy Easter everybody!
Anyway....I have once again taken residence in my garage.
In true Doc Polit form, I changed the game plan part way through. Out goes the previous canopy design and the 2" x 2" frame. The new canopy is faced with 1" x 8" solid oak.
The front and sides are joined at a 45 degree angle.
Inner corner supports (3/4" x 3/4" oak) are pinned in place.
Oak tank rails are fastened to the front and side facing, leaving a 1.5" lip/overhang to hide the euro-brace (and water level).
The back supports are 1" x 2" fir slats.
As the canopy is (like the stand) 17" longer than the tank, inner tank supports are proving to be challenging. Here is the support that will straddle the euro-brace adjacent to the external overflow.
1" x 2" fir lid supports are in place and the rear half of the lid has been fastened. The pine lid will be skinned with 1/4" oak ply to match the stand.
Here is a quick teaser of the doors that I made from oak burlap and laminate which matches the inside of the stand. I just need to add edge trim and hardware.
That's all for now.....dinner awaits. Happy Easter everybody!
You mentioned that the original plan for your canopy was scrapped. What changes did you make, to consider going with the 8" Oak canopy, opposed to the original plan? What was your original plan for the canopy?
