paswed

could i use this rock for saltwater tank

Trpimp147

i wouldnt see why not it will hold alot of coral rock in them smaller holes and fish live in them alot

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paswed

i am glad you got your 55 gallon tank and for free way to go. I would sleep on it and then make a choice but if it was me I would start with the 55 gallon slatwater then move up that is what I did. I am in the same boat with you when it comes to room .so had to wait till the kids got some of thier stuff out and then hurry up and claim it for my new tank and stand that you help me build, picked up pictures today and will be uploading them sometime this weekend as I am packing up kids to go to grandma house now.

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You mean that MagpieTear helped you build I just gave the encouragement Oh and I am sure looking forward to seeing the pictures

I'd actually fix the 55g up as another freshwater tank instead of a saltwater one - maybe a cichlid tank - until I have the funds and space for the Big Marine; but a part of me would like to start putting the Big Marine tank together as it's been such a long time since I had saltwater fish;

If I'm going to do a SW tank I'd be much happier (and so will the wife) if it were the Big Marine instead of a 55g.

pistorta

I use the FX5 canister filter on a freshwater planted aquarium and have no complaints. Once pressure is applied, pump output is drastically reduced from their advertised flow rate, however, you can't beat the filter's volume capability for the amount of power it uses.

With regard to glass, it only allows approximately 80% (sounds hard to believe, I know) of light to penetrate compared to acrylic which is in the high 90th percentile. Extreme caution will have to be exercised when drilling (nearly impossible on tempered glass). I diamond bit (pricey) will have to be used and is only good for 1-2 holes.

I don't blame you for going with glass. A project that size in acrylic, my guess, would cost ~$4000.

Best of luck.

Coryd55

Go for the gold dude lol. Make the 12 ft. =). I just don't udnerstand how using parts of the 55 will make a 12ft long tank ?

Trpimp147

front and back and bottem are 48 inch each. 48x3=144/12=12ft. i would say go for the big one just make the front all glass and the rest plywood with a concreat base.

Coryd55

I just got an idea. i don't know if its been thought of already or not biut it eliminates having to get a really long piece of glass. Ok so get some decent sized glass pieces (30-50 inches.) Add it up and see how many you need to make twelve feet. Get the pieces. Line them up and silicone them together to make one giant piece of glass with little segments. Then take a piece of trim (Like for cheap counter edges/sides) and glue it where the seems are for aesthetic reasons. Just an idea might work, might not.

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Cory, have a look again at option A

Coryd55

Oh. lol my bad.

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No worries

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Project Update

Went with my brother-in-law to his jobsite and picked out a good bit of scrap lumber consisting of some 2x4's, plywood ranging from ¼" to 1¾" thick and some 1x6's. All were different lengths/widths. Filled up the back of my pickup truck and even got a nail through my shoe for my efforts Left it on there over the Christmas period until Tuesday, then made an area under the carport to store it - that took me all afternoon.

I'm going to use some of it to build a stand for the 30g that I have as I'll be able to get some more in the future. Nice to have a brother-in-law when one is not working.

A couple of posts back, I mentioned the idea of using MDF instead of plywood and today I'm heading up to Lowes to compare prices. If it's too much more expensive, I'll stick to plywood.

That's all for now.

MagpieTear

Lemme know if you have any questions about MDF, that's what we use primarily at work. I will say up front, it does NOT like to be in damp/wet conditions. Swells up and loses all it's strength.

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Understood, that was my main concern.

What if I covered the MDF with 4 coats of drylock, then put the tank together, sealing all joints and corners with sealant and putting the glass on last (again using sealant). Thoughts?

Trpimp147

sounds about right to me...

MagpieTear

Uhhhh, I dunno about the MDF now that I re-read your post and did a google on plywood tanks. Especially one the size you're talking about. Plywood is sheets of veneer glued together, if it starts delaminating, you'll have some warning and time to react. With the MDF (which is little more than compacted wood fiber and dust and a binder. Not glue. Binder)you'll have little to no warning before a failure.

MDF has little deflection strength when dry, it's appeal to manufacturers is it resistance to compression and it's workability. Making a tank requires deflection resistance to hold back the pressure and weight of the water. Tensile and fatuige resistance are of little concern in tank making, again plywood would beat out MDF in both. And sealing it could be problematic. It soaks up paint like a sponge, and takes many coats to get a smooth, uniform surface. I'm not familiar with drylock, but it would have to be nonporous at the molecular level for me to have any hope of using it for holding water.

However, it would make a good substrate to ply being used for stiffening ribs and braces if you could keep it dry. I have no confidence in it in any damp or wet application. Inert phenolics would be a much better choice, but then you run into the price issues you had with the glass construction.

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Thanks for setting me straight. I knew you be more clued up on MDF than I am.

So for the record, the MDF concept is now officially thrown out the window.