vw4life Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I am looking at a couple different DIY possibilities. Building my own tank is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while now, so it will depend on what its going to cost to build the tank I want for now which is basically going to be a mini version of my "ideal" tank..... the potential soon to be tank would be 4'x30-36"x 24-30"T with the "ideal" future tank being 6-8'x3-4'x24-30"T. The tank that sprung a leak was 48x18x18 which was nice, but I miss the depth and height I lost from my 180 and want to play around with something deeper to see how deep I want to go in the future...... If the price isn't horrible I will build it, if its more then I want to spend right now (for basically a temporary tank anyway) I will strip the old tank down and reseal it. I'm not in any hurry to do anything with the tanks right now tho, pretty much everything is doing fine where its at..... although I do need to do a water change fairly soon, I've been busy with other things and still haven't even done one since the switch over LOL Those both sound like great tanks with some great depth. Yeah I understand that, I guess it all depends on the type of glass you get and any extras done to it (like beveled edges, pre-drilled, etc...). LOL yeah I wouldnt worry about it if everything is still growing and doing fine. Just curious, are you planning on using low iron glass on the tank? Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Those both sound like great tanks with some great depth. Yeah I understand that, I guess it all depends on the type of glass you get and any extras done to it (like beveled edges, pre-drilled, etc...). LOL yeah I wouldnt worry about it if everything is still growing and doing fine. Just curious, are you planning on using low iron glass on the tank? Yeah its kinda crazy how big of a difference a few inches depth makes. I liked my 18" tank, but I miss the 24" for sure, although IMO with the blue background I did on this tank it did seem deeper then it was and everything seemed brighter and popped more IMO as well so I will continue with the blue background..... unless I do a walk around or room divider tank. Its a possibility, I haven't ruled out yet. From what I have heard cost wise I will probably skip it on this tank because it is just going to be a temporary tank anyway, but on my final "ideal" tank in a few years I will probably splurge a little Link to comment
vw4life Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Yeah its kinda crazy how big of a difference a few inches depth makes. I liked my 18" tank, but I miss the 24" for sure, although IMO with the blue background I did on this tank it did seem deeper then it was and everything seemed brighter and popped more IMO as well so I will continue with the blue background..... unless I do a walk around or room divider tank. Its a possibility, I haven't ruled out yet. From what I have heard cost wise I will probably skip it on this tank because it is just going to be a temporary tank anyway, but on my final "ideal" tank in a few years I will probably splurge a little IMO black just looks really clean and blue just seems to busy for me. Just my .02. A walk around cube is something i really want to do someday. Yeah it is expensive and probably a smart idea not to use it on the temporary tank to save some money for the future build lol. Definitely splurge on a huge tank like that, starphire glass would make that tank look amazing! Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 IMO black just looks really clean and blue just seems to busy for me. Just my .02. A walk around cube is something i really want to do someday. Yeah it is expensive and probably a smart idea not to use it on the temporary tank to save some money for the future build lol. Definitely splurge on a huge tank like that, starphire glass would make that tank look amazing! All my previous tanks were black, but this last tank I put a metallic medium blue background and I won't go back to black after having it. Maybe its the extra shimmer of the metallic I dunno but it made the tank look bigger then it really was IMO and it looked alot better, brighter and cleaner then the plain black backgrounds..... That said my LFS has brighter light blue backgrounds and I don't really care for that as much. Yeah this current house is just to small in general for a good size tank without putting my fish room back together, and I don't want to move a large tank again. I moved my 180 like 4 times, which is why I sold it in the 1st place when we started talking about moving. Link to comment
vw4life Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 All my previous tanks were black, but this last tank I put a metallic medium blue background and I won't go back to black after having it. Maybe its the extra shimmer of the metallic I dunno but it made the tank look bigger then it really was IMO and it looked alot better, brighter and cleaner then the plain black backgrounds..... That said my LFS has brighter light blue backgrounds and I don't really care for that as much. Yeah this current house is just to small in general for a good size tank without putting my fish room back together, and I don't want to move a large tank again. I moved my 180 like 4 times, which is why I sold it in the 1st place when we started talking about moving. Interesting, I didn't realize it was metallic. That might have something to do with it. Maybe it looks more natural? Yeah thats the blue that I thought you had and I agree, I don't care for it either. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 Blue is seriously under-rated! As you say, it makes your tank appear to be larger Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 Interesting, I didn't realize it was metallic. That might have something to do with it. Maybe it looks more natural? Yeah thats the blue that I thought you had and I agree, I don't care for it either. Yeah the stuff I used has a silver metal flake in it, it turned out lighter on the glass (maybe because of the white I used behind it lol) then the top color, but I was very pleased with it. My wife also liked it and shes not big into the tanks. The metal flake isn't very noticeable so I don't think that makes as big of a difference as the actual blue color used. Now that you mention it tho, it does kind of remind me of the blue I saw far off in the waters of the bahamas while snorkeling when I was younger, paired with the slight LED shimmer it does have a fairly realistic distance look to it. Blue is seriously under-rated! As you say, it makes your tank appear to be larger I agree, I've had quite a few blacked out tanks and the blue definitely wins hands down IMO. I didn't think my acros popped any less then they did against the black either really. Pictures maybe, but in person no. Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Kicking myself in the ass right about now.... had alot of other shit goin on and haven't paid much attention to the stuff since it has gone into the rubbermaid........ I don't think I've even been in the room its in in a couple days... pulled out a handful or two of dead acro frags and I think my scoly might be on its way out too... the mouth is all screwed up and there is a chunk that had that bacteria junk I was dealing with before on it that I never noticed before, blew it off and off went the flesh right to the skeleton there too. I was having issues with the scoly before tho as the wrasses have buried it more then a few times..... Link to comment
Lawnman Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Pics of the rubbermaid? Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Pics of the rubbermaid? It aint pretty Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Pics of the rubbermaid? Couple quick crappy phone pics of the rubbermaid... nothin special, definitely not pretty: Link to comment
Lawnman Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Hey it is working right? Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Hey it is working right? Yeah it is more functional then pretty thats for sure. Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Hopefully tomorrow I will get a chance to remove the pos koralia seen in the pic and replace it with the mp40 that needs to be put back in use. Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 That's my boy lol Link to comment
Tochtli Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Congrats! & good song choice Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Congrats! & good song choice Thanks Link to comment
glennr1978 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 That's my boy lol Congrats man!! And why the hell is that last pic not your avatar pic??? Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Congrats. Congrats man!! And why the hell is that last pic not your avatar pic??? Thanks guys! Cuz it says its too large...... talk about a lifelong problem. I just made it my signature instead LMAO. Link to comment
glennr1978 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Who needs an avatar pic with a sig like that ......awesome! Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Who needs an avatar pic with a sig like that ......awesome! My thoughts exactly .... + its to late and I haven't hardly slept in the last couple days so I can't function to try to make it smaller for a avatar anyway lol Link to comment
BattleAthletics Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Congrats pops! Tell me more about the canopy! Looks sick and the stand too Link to comment
glennr1978 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 On that note, I need to go to bed myself. Once again, congrats on the new little one. Kid looks like straight up bad ass already!! Link to comment
Chris! Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Congrats pops! Tell me more about the canopy! Looks sick and the stand too Thank you. The stand and canopy are DIY. The stand has a 2x4 core skinned in 1/4" birch plywood, and the floating canopy is a 1x1 core. Both are trimmed out with the matching floor and door/window trim of my home, painted white to match. I came up with the idea for my "floating canopy" because I wanted LEDs but the wife wanted them to look good and fit in but I didn't want a full canopy so I made it about a foot wide the full length of the tank and hung it with a medium duty chain (the one part I want to eventually find a way to do better/ more appealing, that can still support the weight without being in fear of it dropping on/into the tank.) and a couple S hooks into eye bolts mounted into the ceiling. If you have any other questions about it or anything else feel free to ask for sure! On that note, I need to go to bed myself. Once again, congrats on the new little one. Kid looks like straight up bad ass already!! Thanks man, get some sleep for me Yeah he's already a strong little shit too Link to comment
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