I especially like your light hinge idea! I think its going to turn out great!
THIS is going to get interesting....
Hi Guys. This is my first time posting on here. I've been lurking and reading and lurking some more and this site has been a WEALTH of information to help me with this project that I've embarked on.... so I figured I'd start a journal up here, and maybe help keep someone from repeating mistakes that I have made while learning in the process.
This WHOLE project started.... (Drumroll please....) Because we decided to paint a room. (yes, you read that right.) It had this godawful flowery, stripey, yucky wall paper that my mother put up when this was her house. (she has since moved and I've taken over the house) It was her formal dining room, and we are converting it to a living room/family room type of thing.
A quick little bit about me: (this will prove relevant as you move through the thread.)
My nickname is McGyver. Anytime people need to figure out how to do something or fix something, I am always the first call. (Flattering, but sometimes annoying.) I spent sixteen years as a landscape Nurseryman, and can probably speak more latin plant names than all but one or two people in North Jersey. (Joisey as the New Yorkers call it... LOL) I got laid off a year ago and vowed never to back to the business, and my back thanks me for it. I now fix Glass. (Think fancy Waterford Crystal champagne glasses and all sorts of artsy fartsy stuff like that. Hey... It's paying the bills.) Now that all of that is out of the way.... Let me explain how this all really started.
"Honey... can we strip this wallpaper off and repaint the room?"
"Yes dear".
"When do you want to start?"
::::Mumbling to self:::::: (I don't really WANT to start) "I dunno. When do you want to?"
"Saturday?"
"Ok Dear."
So like any good man would... I made a godawful mess of stripping wallpaper, scraping Wallpaper Glue, Sticking my fingers together with said Wallpaper Glue.... and all that kind of stuff. Then there was the Spackling and sanding.
(I swear, this will get on to aquaria related stuff soon.!!!)
This is what I was left with:
![]()
While working on the room, I moved a few times, an old 85 gal aquarium. It was in my possession because I was asked to "Turtle sit" for two months, for friends that moved to South Carolina. That was two years ago. Way I look at it.... It's mine now. I had to let the Turtles go because they out grew the tank in six months. (and I told the folks that I did too.) So I said:
"Honey.... I want to set this tank up and make it the focal point of the room"
"OK. Now get painting."
::::Mumbling.... Grrrrr... Inaudible:::::
And so we went on painting.
And then it hit me! I'll set up a "Dog-Quarium!"
![]()
I don't believe Dear Marie was going to let me go through with that plan, but I DID get a chuckle out of her....
So.... I decided to set up an aquarium. I've had many over the years starting when I was just four. Then for my first job I worked at a pet store. I had Oscars then until my well meaning mother washed the windows directly over the tank and the overspray did in my Oscars.
Then I had a "Native aquarium" for years until my pickeral ate me out of house and home. I had him in there with some sunfish that were bigger than him... Crayfish.... etc....
But I've always dreamed of an aquarium with lots of gorgeous Cardnals schooling together, Kulhlies rummaging around......
So.... I like to do things right. First I was going to get one of those cheap photo backgrounds, throw some plastic plants in there and fill'er up.
But like the true Plant Geek I am.... I decided to go with real plants..... and THIS..... is where it all got interesting. I started researching lighting and substrate, and stumbled across "Concrete over styrofoam" backgrounds....
::::Wow. That looks cool. I can do that!::::
So then I spent a WHOLE bunch of time researching backgrounds.....
"HONEY!!!! Put the computer DOWN and come help me paint!"
"Yes dear...."
In the interest of not making this particular one TOO awful long, I'm going to stop here and continue with a new entry....
"FLYING STYROFOAM.... Or.... Pink Styrofoam tracked all over the house!"
This WHOLE project started.... (Drumroll please....) Because we decided to paint a room. (yes, you read that right.) It had this godawful flowery, stripey, yucky wall paper that my mother put up when this was her house. (she has since moved and I've taken over the house) It was her formal dining room, and we are converting it to a living room/family room type of thing.
A quick little bit about me: (this will prove relevant as you move through the thread.)
My nickname is McGyver. Anytime people need to figure out how to do something or fix something, I am always the first call. (Flattering, but sometimes annoying.) I spent sixteen years as a landscape Nurseryman, and can probably speak more latin plant names than all but one or two people in North Jersey. (Joisey as the New Yorkers call it... LOL) I got laid off a year ago and vowed never to back to the business, and my back thanks me for it. I now fix Glass. (Think fancy Waterford Crystal champagne glasses and all sorts of artsy fartsy stuff like that. Hey... It's paying the bills.) Now that all of that is out of the way.... Let me explain how this all really started.
"Honey... can we strip this wallpaper off and repaint the room?"
"Yes dear".
"When do you want to start?"
::::Mumbling to self:::::: (I don't really WANT to start) "I dunno. When do you want to?"
"Saturday?"
"Ok Dear."
So like any good man would... I made a godawful mess of stripping wallpaper, scraping Wallpaper Glue, Sticking my fingers together with said Wallpaper Glue.... and all that kind of stuff. Then there was the Spackling and sanding.
(I swear, this will get on to aquaria related stuff soon.!!!)
This is what I was left with:
While working on the room, I moved a few times, an old 85 gal aquarium. It was in my possession because I was asked to "Turtle sit" for two months, for friends that moved to South Carolina. That was two years ago. Way I look at it.... It's mine now. I had to let the Turtles go because they out grew the tank in six months. (and I told the folks that I did too.) So I said:
"Honey.... I want to set this tank up and make it the focal point of the room"
"OK. Now get painting."
::::Mumbling.... Grrrrr... Inaudible:::::
And so we went on painting.
And then it hit me! I'll set up a "Dog-Quarium!"
I don't believe Dear Marie was going to let me go through with that plan, but I DID get a chuckle out of her....
So.... I decided to set up an aquarium. I've had many over the years starting when I was just four. Then for my first job I worked at a pet store. I had Oscars then until my well meaning mother washed the windows directly over the tank and the overspray did in my Oscars.
Then I had a "Native aquarium" for years until my pickeral ate me out of house and home. I had him in there with some sunfish that were bigger than him... Crayfish.... etc....
But I've always dreamed of an aquarium with lots of gorgeous Cardnals schooling together, Kulhlies rummaging around......
So.... I like to do things right. First I was going to get one of those cheap photo backgrounds, throw some plastic plants in there and fill'er up.
But like the true Plant Geek I am.... I decided to go with real plants..... and THIS..... is where it all got interesting. I started researching lighting and substrate, and stumbled across "Concrete over styrofoam" backgrounds....
::::Wow. That looks cool. I can do that!::::
So then I spent a WHOLE bunch of time researching backgrounds.....
"HONEY!!!! Put the computer DOWN and come help me paint!"
"Yes dear...."
In the interest of not making this particular one TOO awful long, I'm going to stop here and continue with a new entry....
"FLYING STYROFOAM.... Or.... Pink Styrofoam tracked all over the house!"
2
41 - 60 of 127 Posts
You should have come to the Antique show last weekend at the fairgrounds! It was an extremely slow show for me.
It would have been fun to have someone to talk to. I grind, polish, and repair glass at the shows, and got into the show last minute. No one knew I was going to be there, so no one brought me work to do. I ended up spending the weekend grinding on Geodes and granite chunks making marbles out of them just to look busy.
Ok....
Tank will be planted El natural..... Community tank with Cardinals, Endlers, Kuhlies.... (open to suggestion, but these three are definite.) Still trying to make up my mind if I want to use that monster piece of driftwood that I've got. I'm thinking that since the backdrop is very coarse in appearance, that piece of wood is going to be too big. (Plus it's not going to leave me enough room for plants.)For now- I'm waiting on getting the new carpet down in the room.... I'm not setting up the tank and then have to move it to do the carpet. I still need to attach the hood lift mechanism.... I need to get a new heater as the one in it released a stream of bubbles and then died.
If it makes ya feel better, the suspense is killing ME too.
Well... there's a SMALL update......
Got motivated again.... and decided to get the beams all sanded and done..... they're being left "half finished" to go with the colors in the room. The pictures don't do it justice. We've decided to leave the carpet... (I THINK....) and use throw rugs or area rugs to blend it and make that fugly yellow color and make it less obtrusive. (Which is good because I can set the dang tank up!!!!!)
The "Artsy Fartsy" department has been NO help in this department by the way.... when asked what she could help with.... and I told her the beams..... she decided to take the dogs out for a walk, but take a few pictures of me before leaving with them.... (See IntoTheNew... your post is approaching legendary status.... I've seen your terms such as "artsy fartsy department" used in other posts.... and have used a few of your terms in mine... )
So anyways.... Here's a few pics of the current progress.... Who knows.... I may have the tank up there with water in it within a week. Anyone who feels like a RAOK.... I will need a lot of plants for this bugger!!!!!
So here's my "Darth Vader" impression:
![]()
And a very awkward way to hang on to a ladder:
![]()
AND.... Finally.... the beams are finished.... (and no... that godawful chandeleir is NOT going to stay)
![]()
Hopefully at the end of the coming week.... the tank will be up.... or if I really bust my butt I can give myself a birthday gift and get the tank up by tomorrow night!eace:
Got motivated again.... and decided to get the beams all sanded and done..... they're being left "half finished" to go with the colors in the room. The pictures don't do it justice. We've decided to leave the carpet... (I THINK....) and use throw rugs or area rugs to blend it and make that fugly yellow color and make it less obtrusive. (Which is good because I can set the dang tank up!!!!!)
The "Artsy Fartsy" department has been NO help in this department by the way.... when asked what she could help with.... and I told her the beams..... she decided to take the dogs out for a walk, but take a few pictures of me before leaving with them.... (See IntoTheNew... your post is approaching legendary status.... I've seen your terms such as "artsy fartsy department" used in other posts.... and have used a few of your terms in mine...
)So anyways.... Here's a few pics of the current progress.... Who knows.... I may have the tank up there with water in it within a week. Anyone who feels like a RAOK.... I will need a lot of plants for this bugger!!!!!
So here's my "Darth Vader" impression:
And a very awkward way to hang on to a ladder:
AND.... Finally.... the beams are finished.... (and no... that godawful chandeleir is NOT going to stay)
Hopefully at the end of the coming week.... the tank will be up.... or if I really bust my butt I can give myself a birthday gift and get the tank up by tomorrow night!
eace:
3
Well.... Um.... We had a little bit of a catastrophe today...... I worked all day getting the second side of the hood lift mechanism done... Got it attatched to the tank and got it working properly. Took a bunch of photos..... Drained the tank in preparation for moving it upstairs..... Called my buddy to come give me a hand.....
And then I got a little impatient.
I slid the tank off the end of the stand, rested the bottom edge on the ground, and stood it up on end. I then decided to tip it up onto its top edge so I could flip it around. It was resting on the top edge of the end.
About this time... I heard this sickening "POP".
I looked down, and the end glass panel popped. There is a crack from the center of the top rim, clear down to the bottom.ray:
I was going to post photos of the hood lift tonite..... but I had to just walk away from it and leave it where it is.... just to cool down and relax. (there were a few choice expletives that probably brought the neighbors to their window wondering what the heck was going on....
I'll post pics of the hood lift mechanism..... so y'all can see how it came out....
And then I'll post pictures of the damage.
I've got to do a bit of thinking to figure out exactly how I'm going to handle this. I'm going to fix it but I'm not exactly sure how to yet.
Pics will come tomorrow.
And then I got a little impatient.
I slid the tank off the end of the stand, rested the bottom edge on the ground, and stood it up on end. I then decided to tip it up onto its top edge so I could flip it around. It was resting on the top edge of the end.
About this time... I heard this sickening "POP".
I looked down, and the end glass panel popped. There is a crack from the center of the top rim, clear down to the bottom.
ray:I was going to post photos of the hood lift tonite..... but I had to just walk away from it and leave it where it is.... just to cool down and relax. (there were a few choice expletives that probably brought the neighbors to their window wondering what the heck was going on....
I'll post pics of the hood lift mechanism..... so y'all can see how it came out....
And then I'll post pictures of the damage.
I've got to do a bit of thinking to figure out exactly how I'm going to handle this. I'm going to fix it but I'm not exactly sure how to yet.
Pics will come tomorrow.
Awwwww.... So sweet of ya Gipsy......
OK.... HERE GOES.
With a RENEWED SENSE OF ENTHUSIASM AND "DON'T LET THE [email protected] GET YA DOWN" Attitude..... (I was in a REALLY REALLY foul mood last night....)
Here are a few pics of the hood lift mechanism. I discovered that due to it's weight I will need to put handles on the top. It's too damn bulky to lift straight up. (That or I'm gonna put a pair of those gas powered shocks on it like they use on car trunks...)
I made so many notes on the mechanism (it is slightly complicated) that I got some of them wrong.... you will see some labled "Top" that area actually bottom. Somehow it all made sense to me.
Lifted up... (Wall clearance is going to be an issue.... unplanned problem) with my fancy Schmancy prop mechanism. :twisted:
Front view.... again containing the fancy home made prop rod....
A closeup of the mechanism before all edges are rounded and the whole thing is painted.
AND........ (Drumroll please.....) My catastrophe:
Since I work with glass.... I'm going to try some of my fancy "crack sealer" and see if that will do the trick.... but honestly I think that that will only stabilize the glass. I doubt it will make it waterproof. If all else fails, I will cut a piece of glass and silicone it in place.... (on the inside) My crack sealer will make the crack less visible..... (hope for the best, expect the worst....)
There will be updates very soon...... I'm fired up again... and dangit.... I'm gonna get this thing up and running for Christmas. (And still hoping anyone feels like sending trimmings! I'll pay the freight!!!!)
5
Yeaaaa glue isnt going to fix that Such a large tank will put a lot of pressure on the glass walls so I doubt a sealant will hold it together safely. Best thing is to replace the pane, which is certainly a pain to do and somewhat tricky since removing the silicone and then the glass without cracking or chipping the other pieces is going to be difficult at best. You might also need to buy replacement rims for the tank, they cost about 40$-60$ for the plastic trim, so try not damage it if you can!!
Such a large tank will put a lot of pressure on the glass walls so I doubt a sealant will hold it together safely. Best thing is to replace the pane, which is certainly a pain to do and somewhat tricky since removing the silicone and then the glass without cracking or chipping the other pieces is going to be difficult at best. You might also need to buy replacement rims for the tank, they cost about 40$-60$ for the plastic trim, so try not damage it if you can!!
In the interest of "telling your friend the brutal but necessary truth" I'm with Zapins on this one.Yeaaaa glue isnt going to fix that
You are already too vested in a rockin tank to set yourself up for a disappointment,
you can easily, if tediously, fix on the front end. We are a patient bunch, we will wait.
There are many more folks who will read this a year from now, than are currently.
When I saw your fancy prop, I threw back my head and laughed. Then I had to take
a second look to make sure it was a mallet, not a sledge. BTW, you have a splendid
crop of crud growing, well done.
By the time you read Zapins & my posts, you will have glued yourself back together
and our posts will be nothing more than community support. Off to scrap some green
crud off my tank-with-a-view, so I can see the blizzard I am hoping cancels class again.
HA!!!! That made my day intothenew.....
I took the rather unconventional route.... (remember..... I work with glass....)
I use this really fancy stuff to bond glass together. It's about $45 an ounce and it comes ind different viscosities. One for bonding, one for crack sealing. I was able to get the crack sealer to penetrate the crack. This stabilized the glass and will take the pressure. It didn't penetrate every tiny part of the crack so I doubted it would be watertight, so I decided to apply a "Patch" to it. The patched end will not be visible from the main viewing area, and from there you will only see the edge of the plate I put in. I figure this should be easily hideable with some stem plants. Total fix time including cutting the plate? 20 min.
Here's a view of the UV Light curing the crack sealer:
And the new patch:
And the outside view.
It's 10:15am and I'm waiting for the silicone to cure for leak testing.... and you can rest assured I will ASK FOR HELP this time getting it off the stand.
IN THEORY.... I could be adding substrate this weekend and....... WATER!
As mentioned before i will be using a topsoil base and following the "au natural" route. I am not opposed to DIY CO2. (I added it to my little 2.5 gal tank and now I can SEE my fish and plants and the lotus just went absolutely bonkers.)
So ummmm..... Uhhhh.... does anyone feel like sending out trimmings?
3
Gipsy.... you're awesome....
First off, here's a list of what I already have....
One Crypt. Forget the variety but one that supposedly does not melt. It's been growing beautifully for me.
One Ozelot sword that melted and is coming back slowly.
One Lotus that is doing it's impression of Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors.
One little bunch (1.5" wide) Of microsword that is slowly... slowly spreading.
One bunch of hairgrass, same size as microsword, slowly spreading.
One unknown sword that appears to be sending up a flower spike.
One bunch of red Ludwigia that started sending out aerial roots like CRAZY upon the addition of the DIY CO2.
(and all of that is in a little 2.5 gal tank)
After reading... and reading.... and reading..... Here's a list of stuff I'd like in the perfect world. DEFINITELY looking for input here.... sound off if you have ideas!
Vals-corkscrew
Java Fern
Rotala, and Rotala 'Magenta'
Wisteria - Hygrophila Difformis
Dwarf hairgrass. I already have some and like the way it looks but would like to see more.
I'd definitely like one of the Marimos and the Marble queen....
Anything you could spare basically. It'd give me something to tinker with while it's too cold to be outside working on the veggie garden.
41 - 60 of 127 Posts
