Pre build assessment.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Sounds pretty coo, but............

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LOL.
 
808_fairladyz said:
Thanx for such positive feedback. Your opinion is very reasonable and makes sense. I'll cut off the the top, re drill, re glue. Not to much drama. At least I didn't start laying the fiberglass yet

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Glad I could help. Another bonus to a slightly shorter tank is that it is much easier to reach the bottom for cleaning purposes. A tank significantly deeper than 2 feet is whole other ball game when it comes to maintenance. It may not sound like much but it makes a big difference. Lastly, less depth means you can get better lighting with less wattage.

Please do include some pics if you can. It is an inspiration to many to read threads like this. I'd love to see the fiberglassing part especially since I've been considering it for a while but am not really confident with the idea yet.
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808_fairladyz said:
I'll cut off the the top, re drill, re glue. Not to much drama. At least I didn't start laying the fiberglass yet

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Click to expand...

I would leave the top off for as much the sealing and fiberglassing as possible. I know eventually you want to overlap the fiberglass up on the top but I"d leave that for the end of the process.

I have maintained several tanks 36" or taller. I was younger then and as much as I loved them, they were a pain. I do agree with most of what others have said about the advantages of decreasing height and increasing the front to back depth if you can. So many advantages for a first time DIY build.

One thing I don't agree with is that eventually the fiberglass will crack. With enough layers in theory you could build a tall tank out of nothing but fiberglass. But do understand that the less you rely on wood framing and the more you rely on fiberglass reinforcement, the more the tank will cost.

If you're already planning on marine resins, why do you also want to use a paint over it? You can just tint your final layers of resin.

If you do use the paint, make sure you install your window first or at least make sure whatever you use to attach the window (silicone or whatever) bonds well to the paint.

My big issue with using paints is that they make furture repair difficult if the resins you used to seal the tank in the first place don't stick to it. I did a quick google search and it seems Zophar is tar based? If so I would not expect epoxy or polyester resin to stick to it nor silicone, at least not well.

I don't have a problem with using two different types of sealants on a plywood tank. But it it were me I'd using it as a means of sealing a hard to find pin hole leack or a leak that sprung up in the future.
 
Sweet. The other day. The show tanked did an all fiberglass tank someone else built it for them. I was sure wishing they would have showed more of the building of the tank. They even cut a window area in half and then made it work. I don't know of this would be cheap as fiberglass still does cost a good amount of money but cement and fiberglass or just wood and fiberglass might make a large life time tank setup.

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I start cutting out front viewing and access holes with my router Thursday. I start laying fiberglass on Friday. My full top was already pre drilled from when the aquarium was 36 inches, but as advised, I'll lay out my fiberglass before I put it back on. Good advice that was. As it was noted, I don't actually need a paint or sealer with the fiberglass, but I just wanted a black background to make the color and details of my fish pop. Zophar was a paint that was recommended that is used to seal water storage tanks for human consumption and it's black. Zophar has a few different applications so not all of them are suitable. I can't remember what number code it had on the can, but it's application was very specific. I don't really need it and I haven't bought it yet, so we'll see. What I haven't figured out is the thickness of the viewing material needed for an aquarium this long. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
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I've been so consumed with designing and building my aquarium and stand that I completely over looked the plumbing and filtration system. I've built an overflow system as directed by Uaru Joey that worked perfectly, but the pvc on that unit was having a hard time keeping up with my submersible pump. I'll go and make a bigger one, fab a kind of filter box to over the opening, turn one of my 55gal aquariums into a overflow sump filter unit. I've got more designing to do. I'll watch more Uaru Joey vids. Aloha.

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I've been looking @ different dyi filter systems and I'm going to have to step it up BIG time! Some filter systems that others have for an aquarium like mines is large and fairly complicated looking. There's no way I'm going to be able to initially build systems like ones I've been seeing. I'm going to need careful planning when doing my plumbing, making sure that I can expand it as I go along up grading parts. Wow! :eek:

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The taller you get with your tank the more $$$ the glass will be... Just a thought...You may want to call around to different glass dealers and see what your looking at..?? I know for my build, I had originally designed and planned for a 30" tall build...Until I started to call around for glass quotes.. Long story short there was a huge difference in price form a 30" to a 24".. and ultimately made me drop the height of my build. you could always go wider or longer and it makes lil to no change to your viewing window cost. Again just my two cents. ;)
 
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