# Smitti started another one...



## Smittiferous (Feb 29, 2016)

Picked this up from Gumtree







1200x450x450 and came with a stand and a canister filter that from what Google tells me seems to be a fairly reasonable one (Otto PF450G).

Already stripped out the interior silicone for re-snotting. Going to replace the mouldings around the stand with some DAR pine that'll be firmly fixed to the stand (read: all the screws!) and will have a tower-style lid that rests atop that, with loads of tiered platforms and ledges with branches affixed for monkey business. 


Ultimately will be home to a trio of oh-so-very tiny EWDs I picked up two weeks ago! Two of these will be re-homed on to friends when they get their collective arses into gear and get their permits in order. 

Never done a semi-aquatic build before so if anyone has some words of wisdom, I'm all ears (eyes, rather)


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## BredliFreak (Feb 29, 2016)

The hype for another awesome DIY Thread! About time you showed up :lol:


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## Herpo (Feb 29, 2016)

I love seeing how these things progress! Good luck!


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## Smittiferous (Feb 29, 2016)

BredliFreak said:


> The hype for another awesome DIY Thread! About time you showed up :lol:



Yeah, been crazy busy with work as before the boss disappeared off to Thailand he handed me some sets of plans and the company credit card, uttering the words "just make it happen".

I was hoping the exterior dimensions would match up with what's available from Bunnings for ease of construction but it appears that isn't the case. Will have to get creative with design as I hate ripping timber in multiple directions :S

Got some new ideas I want to try out though...


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## BredliFreak (Mar 1, 2016)

Any cool fake rock backgrounds or structures?


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## Smittiferous (Mar 1, 2016)

That's one of my plans... The aquarium has cross-braces, so to hide them and brace the actual tower structure at the bottom I'll be using some marine ply that will be the same rough dimensions as the braces, with some faux rocks made from grout, to make some of the platforms. Also going to make some of those fake vines like in the DIY thread, one of them I'll entwine a low-wattage heat cord I have sitting around, to make a sort of heated night time warm-ish spot to rest on.


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## Smittiferous (Mar 1, 2016)

I also scored some fake stacked-stone cladding, looks like it's made from compressed fibreglass. Once i determine how suitable it will be I may use it as a basis for a fake rock background.


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## Snapped (Mar 1, 2016)

Looking forward to the progress on this one, I'm a big fan of DIY.


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## Smittiferous (Mar 1, 2016)

Re-applied the silicone on the inside of the tank. 











Looks balls.




Bought some silicone profile thingies (different sized radii/square profiles etc). Finger finish would have been better! Might cut it all out again and re-do it...


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## Smittiferous (Mar 3, 2016)

Scraped off the new stuff and did it again with a smaller profile. Still looks like ****, but less so. Snot can go [email protected]$k itself.

And so the seven day curing period starts again.


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## Smittiferous (Mar 6, 2016)

After getting all the woodwork on the cabinet conversion done, turned my attention to this job. Started by stripping the mouldings from the stand and sanding back the glue, and adding screws in addition to the brads used by the manufacturer:






Rant:

This makes me ******. "Professionally" made stand and this is how they fixed the shelf:










Are they ****ing serious? I wondered why it was so wobbly. This is an absolute joke. I'm not a carpenter and have had zero formal training and can do a better job with my eyes shut. Learn to carpent! ****!

/rant


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## Smittiferous (Mar 6, 2016)

New fascia added, secret screwed and imperfections filled. Next stop staining.


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## ronhalling (Mar 9, 2016)

Hey Smitti, have you thought about doing a foam and pond sealer type background for all 3 sides of the aquarium? the big problem i had with my 6 ft aquarium that my Intergrade used to live in was massive heat loss through the glass, i ended up getting some Styrofoam sheets from the big bin out the back of the good guys plus some other foam packing and a couple of cans of expanda foam and made a 3 piece sandstone wall looking backing for 3 sides of the tank, I used blue tack to attach to the glass so if i wanted to i could make a couple of different 1s to either mix and match or just have a few different backgrounds, anyway it fixed my heat loss probs and looked good in the process.  .................Ron


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## Smittiferous (Mar 9, 2016)

[MENTION=36030]ronhalling[/MENTION] Stay tuned, got big plans for this one. Hopefully I can pull off what I want to create. Yes there will be fake rock style backgrounds, but if all goes to plan not what people would expect


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## Herpo (Mar 9, 2016)

Turning our great Smitti! Damn, you could make a living outta this. Make enclosures, grab a cuppa sitting in front of your animals!


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## Smittiferous (Mar 10, 2016)

Herpo said:


> Turning our great Smitti! Damn, you could make a living outta this. Make enclosures, grab a cuppa sitting in front of your animals!



If I thought it would be viable, I certainly would... Main problem is I am never ever completely happy with anything I do for my own, it'd be doubly as bad if I were making them to sell!


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## Smittiferous (Mar 13, 2016)

Some progress shots... 





Bits cut, ready for fixing






Test fit. Fits ok. 






Other side assembled. Gives an idea of size and concept.


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## Murph_BTK (Mar 13, 2016)

Aussie building beach i noticed the "gatorade"


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## Smittiferous (Mar 13, 2016)

Getting there, kinda

Ran out of screws!


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## Smittiferous (Mar 13, 2016)

Test fit of front facade and roof. All fits together well.


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## Burgo89 (Mar 13, 2016)

That's coming along nicely mate was just the other day I was thinking how one would go about this exact same setup and you have nailed it. Top stuff, can't wait to see the end result


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## Herpo (Mar 13, 2016)

Me neither! But be careful, all these empty enclosures are the primary source of EES (Empty Enclosure Syndrome). You wallet won't recover! :lol:


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## Smittiferous (Mar 13, 2016)

Oh don't worry [MENTION=41642]Herpo[/MENTION] all these currently empty enclosures have occupants lined up already... 

I am picking up two enclosures next weekend that I will be reconditioning, nothing lined up to go in those though.... 


... Or is there?


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## ronhalling (Mar 14, 2016)

WOW, when you said watch this space i did not envisage anything as spectacular as that, i will be waiting with baited (or smelly) breath for the next lot of progress pics. 10++++ for this 1.  ...................Ron


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## Smittiferous (Mar 14, 2016)

Test fit of platforms. Not sure I like the middle one, it's there to hide the glass brace but it looks too.... Enclosed. Thoughts? End platforms will be staying.


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## Smittiferous (Mar 14, 2016)

Middle brace replaced with something smaller, to that I'm going to fix a rocky outcrop or some such to hide it. Didn't want it there but I feel it is necessary to stop the front bowing in or out. 

Platforms glued and tac-nailed down, roof panel glued and tac-nailed, front facade fixed in place. All that remains is the rear panel fixed in place and all the vent/water hose holes bored out, and that's the timber work done!


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## Smittiferous (Mar 15, 2016)

Anyone know how much weight aquarium glass can sustain? The four legs are designed to take the weight of the shroud, but I foresee alignment issues where they meet the surround they're sitting on. I'd like to simply lop them off if I can, and the shroud isn't very heavy.


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## Aztec (Apr 3, 2017)

Smittiferous said:


> That's one of my plans... The aquarium has cross-braces, so to hide them and brace the actual tower structure at the bottom I'll be using some marine ply that will be the same rough dimensions as the braces, with some faux rocks made from grout, to make some of the platforms. Also going to make some of those fake vines like in the DIY thread, one of them I'll entwine a low-wattage heat cord I have sitting around, to make a sort of heated night time warm-ish spot to rest on.



That sounds so cool! I would like to do similar in the enclosure I posted on my thread to you.
How would I make the sections that create ledges such as in this pic?

Then create the rocky aspect without adding too much weight. Polystyrene?


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## Smittiferous (Apr 3, 2017)

@Aztec Wow I forgot about this thread. I'll take some pics tomorrow to show how the ledges are fixed. 

For light fake rocks I'd use polystyrene with a thin layer of tile grout over it, hit with a paint brush or similar as it was drying to create some nice texture. 

Still haven't actually finished this thing. So close to completion but so much to do.


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## Aztec (Apr 3, 2017)

Smittiferous said:


> @Aztec Wow I forgot about this thread. I'll take some pics tomorrow to show how the ledges are fixed.
> 
> For light fake rocks I'd use polystyrene with a thin layer of tile grout over it, hit with a paint brush or similar as it was drying to create some nice texture.
> 
> Still haven't actually finished this thing. So close to completion but so much to do.



How exciting! Thankyou ;-) I can't wait! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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