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My 430 gal build

Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Very cool project. Thanks for posting up a progress thread. It's pretty inspiring.

What are the dimensions of the tank? Have you given any thought as to filtration? DIY sump perhaps?
 
808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Aquarium is 96Lx34.50Wx30H. I'm going to replicate Uaru Joey's fluidized moving bed filter system that uses on his YouTube videos. He used 60 ltrs of kaldness k1 media in his, but I'm going to start out with 50 ltrs. Kaldness sells for about 116.00 per 50 ltr box. Shipped to Hawaii, I'll definitely have to pay more for shipping. My entire build, minus the full coverage of fiberglass, is based on Uaru Joey's designs. I did a little more modification here and there, but mostly his. I'm no carpenter, and my skills is pretty general, but his designs are that simple.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
I did a test yesterday with the resin pigment to see how it works, and that stuff is great. I used a very small amount of pigment and mixed it with 2 oz of resin. The whole thing turned into paint. The pigment didn't even dilute, it just spreads into a solid paint looking resin. I applied it to some bare wood and some dry fiberglass and the results where great. The color is so bright actually, I even second guess using it. I was told that blue is the most commonly used color during fish exhibitions so this is what I'm going with. Fyi, it dried like resin normally does.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Today I found out that polyester resin is not suitable for long term water storage. A member on MFK had brought this to my attention, so looked into it, made some calls and found out that it's true. Most everyone sugg using some kind of sealer primarily an epoxy based resin for my build specifics. There are other people that use rubberized compounds for their builds with success. Either or, It looks like I'll have to change somethings up. I did call around for epoxy resin and it's actually a bit more expensive and even uses a different type of catalyst. I've been looking into a product that is used specifically for water storage called Zophar. It's all black, dries hard but is flexible. Sounds promising to me but would mean that I'd have to ditch my blue aquarium background color. I'm still weighing my options. Here's an example of Zophar. Let me know what you guys think.



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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Avatar said:
That's the way the pros/installers do it. Which island by the way - am guessing 200 miles puts you on the big island - either because it's that far to Oahu or because you're on the far side it from where your glass arrives. Or are you talking round trip from Oahu to Kauai/Maui?
Click to expand...

Yeah, on the Big Island, from Hilo to Kona and back. That's cool that you knew that. Are you local?

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
I forgot to mention that I'll be using one of my spare 55 gal to create my fluidized moving bed filter. I'll be picking up my glass next week Friday but will have to decide what method of sealer I'm going with. I'll also be wrappings my stand and building my canopy soon. I'll post more update as they become available.

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Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Black is always in

I'm sure your sealer research is solid. Hard to go wrong with black, inside or out - have always preferred it to blue for aesthetic/landscaping reasons, and even more so for freshwater species as it's generally more consistent with the inhabitants' natural habitats.

Am not a local except for about 6 weeks once upon a time marshaling a high-seas expedition out of Oahu and Kauai in a little wooden craft that ended high-seas drift-netting. As I understand it that little escapade indemnified me henceforth from being a haolie, not sure where that leaves me as the only Hawaiian i know is" Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono". Pity it's not our national motto rather than just Hawaii's. :D

Mahalo
 
808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
I was kinda Leaning towards black and now I decided that's what I'll do. Thank for your feedback. It turned out to be the defining factor for me.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Not familiar with that type of product. I've decided to go with Zophar. I haven't found any information that would make it unsuitable for my application. Also, black is not to bad and Zophar can be used for sealing many different things.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Ok so I've just drove 200 miles round trip to pickup my glass. Seeing 3/8 glass in person was pretty impressive. It's thick and has a green tint to it. At 90x24 inches, that thing was heavy. I had to lift and pack it up myself. I'm about two weeks away from installing it. I finished laying all my fiberglass and now I'm waiting for it to cure. Next week Thursday I'll start applying my over coat. I'll let that cure for a few days than install my glass. I'll have to wait about a week for the silicon to cure before my test fill. I'll post update pics next week after my first layer over coat.



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Jefft

Jefft

Members
As it should be pretty obvious to you at this point, you have garnered a reading following here on the east coast. This is the first time I have posted in your thread but I have been following daily as posts come available. Thanks for sharing all this with us. Its inspirational. I haven't decided yet if it is inspiring me to one day try a build myself, or, if it is inspiring me to stick to buying tanks.. LOL None the less it is a cool thread to read and watch your process and progress.
 
808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
Today I applied my first layer of top coat using Zophar no.111 hydraulic black. It's definitely not a normal paint. It's a rubberized type of material that was easy to apply, has low odor, good adhesion, and dries fast. Zophars packaging doesn't have any information as far as how long it takes for it to cure, so I made a sample piece that I'll be able to assess. I'll also test it's durability per layer applied. Zophar layers up real nice and evens itself out somewhat. It's a really nice product and I like what I see so far. Tomorrow if my sample piece has cured fully, I'll be applying 1 or 2 more layers. I may be able to seat my glass ahead of time. I'll post more updates tomorrow.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
I applied a second coat but my aquarium looks the same as it did after first coat so update pics seem pointless. I will note that Zophar dries with alot of gloss. It settles nicely also. Dries as black as black can get. I'm happy I settled onto this product. It's also very abrasion resistant and smell not aggressive at all. Smell is starting to go away already. I'll continue to let it cure. I'm hoping to install my glass on Sunday. We'll see.

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808_fairladyz

808_fairladyz

Members
I installed my glass today using GE 1 pure silicon. Used two tubes to install glass. Sorry I can't upload pictures, keeps telling me I need to sign in or pictures will load up but doesn't. I don't get what's going on.

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