# DIY shrimp tank plans



## mahamotorworks (Nov 7, 2006)

The plans look good. I would use a pump instead of a Power head. It will give you more flow. I would also incorporate a spray bar on the output to spread the flow out so you dont have a stong current that the shrimp wont like. I also think that adding some strips of acrylic in the "Overflow" area will allow you to use egg crate to create different area so you can have different media in the "Overflow" area. You may need to add something to keep the shrimp from falling into the overflow. Other then that I like to design of the tank. When I get time I will probably build one of the same design. 


MAHA


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for that info  internal or external pump? Anyone know of the best sources for compact internal pumps? I'm thinking I'll want to stick with a flow rate of at least 100gph to compensate for the distance of the return and still have room to put some length on the tank, a small ball valve could be used to adjust flow (again, I have little experience here so this could be way too much power). I'll probably get a few pumps or PHs with different flow rates and experiment in a wooden prototype so I can work out the flow rate and scale of the tank. For now I'm just trying to find one with the outlet closest to the 'top' so I can keep all the plumbing slammed to one side, like I have in the pics, with minimal adjustment to the riser into the PH/pump.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

The project has reached scaled status, also included mahamotorworks' spraybar suggestion. Next step is to find a few PHs that fit the plan, some scrap pipe and some wood for a prototype. Then I'll know if I need to step up to a pump with higher flow.

Approximate volume = 11 US gallons


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## Storm_Rider (Sep 30, 2006)

Seems a bit complex, but I really like it. My suggestion is to build it like a traditional built-in-overflowed tank though because you'd get more horizontal room and you wouldn't have to look at the not so visually appealing overflow box and it's contents.

I'll PM you with a sketch I drew up based on your idea and if you like it, then I can't wait to see you execute it. If you don't.. then, oh well


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for sending me the sketch, I never thought of doing a concealed corner overflow. Hmm, I dunno though , I sorta like seeing everything, it was those little self contained pico/fuges that originated the idea for me, I've always thought those were cool and a cornerflow would defeat it. I suppose many would see this as ugly or taking away from the aesthetics of the scape... I'll have to ponder that one for a while.


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## estill (Jan 25, 2007)

You could always use a tinted acrylic for the filter/pump housing.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

I love this idea because it sort of simulates a river, which is the natural habitat for many of our shrimp (please correct me if I'm wrong). So that big overflow would work better I think than a corner overflow for that river effect, and a spraybar would also work better for that river effect again.

I can't wait until this thing starts taking shape!



AND I just realized this thread is like 2 weeks old. Any updates?


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

That's exactly what I had in mind, also why I sketched out the scape that supports the "river flow". I'm glad you noticed. The only thing I'm concerned about is the height I've scaled out, this will be a nice one on the extension of my desk or on the bar separating our kitchen and living room, but the sides allow very little head-on viewing angle, I'm afraid you will have to bend down to really see anything when walking by it.

No updates yet, everything costing money has been put on hold until I get back on my feet, employment is not a pretty subject in these parts for many right now.  

In the meantime, I've been reading up on working with acrylic and glass, there's a chance I might make this out of glass instead.


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## Storm_Rider (Sep 30, 2006)

rivers have curves and bends too you know  and an overflow is a waterfall, not really a river. the position of the spraybar effects the direction of the current more than the position of the overflow. that's just my experience though.

mind sharing the reasons you might switch to glass? i like acrylic seams better but that's a small issue.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Really the only reason I'm considering glass is so I have the option of using this as a reef tank in the future. I don't think acrylic would withstand the trauma of me scraping coraline, or gobies and snail scraping aragonite sand against it. Honestly though, I would do an entirely different design in the overflow area if this were a reef tank, IME reefs this small are self sufficient with nothing more than live rock for filtration along with a powerhead. Maybe I'd leave one compartment for a refuge, but I've already decided my next reef tank will be a green tank with macroalgae growing throughout the display, so a fuge would serve little purpose for anything but pods.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Does anyone think 48w from two 24" T5s would be too much for this (11gl / 6" depth)? 

Plant mass will be low, I'd like to be able to grow a good carpet of UG, and will probably add a few vals here and there, nothing thick. I'm thinking tech light, but would 48w be too much? Maybe I can set up peak hours on one bulb.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

I think 48w would be fine. Probably overkill but if you kept up with the dosing/CO2 I think you'd be able to grow anything.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for the input, sandiegoryu. :thumbsup:

If I go tek light, I can always hang it higher too, if probs arise. Better to be prepared than not have enough, I suppose. I spent a few hours last night trying to learn how to convert lumens>lux>LSI, chasing lumen ratings down, 5 calculators and ten tabs open, reading reading reading, until I finally gave up and decided to stick with WPG for big tanks, and stick with what works for others on their small tanks. But, this one is super shallow, I don't think any amount of math will ever have the right answer.

Right now I'm taking off 1/4" from the inner panes and adding up square inches and feet to take to a glass guy. I'm pretty set on glass, I'm going to hit up nano-paul at NR for pricing on his 1/4" low iron. I'm not die hard low iron or anything, if the price is insane I'll just use regular glass.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

When subtracting the 1/4" from the inside panes, do I also need to subtract room for the seam? The baffle panes will fit inside the tank and I don't want it to be too tight of a squeeze. And I don't want the bottom pushing the sides out, messing up the corner seams.

It _is_ wise to coat the seams with silicone and press them, correct? I was reading a DIY on NR and it looks like they just taped the tank together then ran down the insides with silicone, scary.


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## Cactus Bastard (Jun 5, 2007)

Definitely coat the edges first, then push the pieces together, and run an additional seam on the inside. Try and run a smooth bead too. If it's very rough, you will have air bubbles become trapped in there. I doubt they'd remove a significant amount of strength, but they look bad .

I really like your design, the aquascaping you've got planned out is simple but very effective. I think it'll make a wonderful shrimp tank. I don't think 48W will be too much light, most shrimp will appreciate any algae that would end up growing even if it's only lightly planted. What kind of shrimp were you planning? I may have missed that.

I think you'll be happy you went with glass. It's not very difficult to work with, and especially with small pieces like you're using, it's CHEAP (well, 3mm is at least). 3mm would have been plenty strong, and at my local glass shop, would probably run about $15 for what you're building. I haven't had to purchase any 1/4" yet.


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## Cactus Bastard (Jun 5, 2007)

jaidexl said:


> When subtracting the 1/4" from the inside panes, do I also need to subtract room for the seam? The baffle panes will fit inside the tank and I don't want it to be too tight of a squeeze. And I don't want the bottom pushing the sides out, messing up the corner seams.


Most tanks have the side panes sitting on edge on top of the bottom pane. Also, if you made the baffle pieces should be exactly the same width as the end pieces, they would fit perfectly. I'll draw up a little mspaint thing to show you how I think I'd go about building it.


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## Cactus Bastard (Jun 5, 2007)

I would set the front (or rear) piece of glass face down on your work surface (on top of newspaper). 
Then the two end pieces, and the baffles can be siliconed on their edges. They will probably stand on their own edge just fine, but using squares is handy. I have some small magnetic ones for welding, I place them on either side, and they can clamp the pieces to hold them straight. You could cut pieces of wood to act as spacers for the baffles, as well as to hold them square. Just make sure whatever corners will be facing into the joint are well beveled so they don't get stuck.








I'd probably leave it on it's face like this to glue the bottom onto it, and then glue the front (or back) on last.

There are plenty of ways to assemble this, but those are some ideas to consider at least. Hope I made sense.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Wow, you pretty much drew the picture I had in my head for the construction, lol. But I'll be building up from the bottom pane rather than the side , the pic would still look the same though. My plan is 1) Put the ends and lower baffle on first with the help of square edges and blocks. 2) Flip it sideways and attach one long side. 3) 180° flip and attach the upper baffle with the help of some squares and blocks to hold it in place and level. 4) 180° flip and finish off with the last long pane.

My reasoning for not setting everything on the bottom pane is because silicone is at it's strongest in a tensile joint, rather than a shear joint as it would be in your explanation where the pressure pushes the side panels across the top of the lower pane. The side pane pushing straight out from the bottom pane's edge would be a tensile joint. Most of the aquariums I've seen are built like this (except for a few DIYs), it's also why the front (longest pane) lays against the side's edge (besides for aesthetics), the sides won't have enough pressure on them to need the tensile joint like the front/back will, since the front/back is usually the largest in most designs and will have more lb/ft² pushing on it. In any case I don't think it really matters with as little as 11gl. I'm not very good at explaining shear and tensile so I whipped up a little pic.


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## Cactus Bastard (Jun 5, 2007)

jaidexl said:


> silicone is at it's strongest in a tensile joint, rather than a shear joint


Damn, I didn't know that :icon_conf Oh well, at least I've never built anything that's under a lot of pressure...
I know a lot of silicone manufacturers list information such as shear and tensile strengths under defined conditioned, I guess I should have checked. Especially before giving advice to others :icon_redf 
As a matter of fact, I was taking apart a 15G tank recently, and noticed that the bottom seal was in fact under tension. 

I was thinking a bit about the filtration end of your system. Do you plan on using tinted glass for the first baffle? Since there will be water on the other side as well, it will not mirror, like the sides of a traditional tank do, so it may be a good idea for aesthetic reasons. You will also avoid growing algae on your filter media.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm thinking black (or lighter color) inside the first sponge area, maybe just the side wall that is visible from inside the tank. Not sure if I'll do the entire filter area though, this will probably be something I'll decide after it's built. I figure I can mask everything I want clear and spray in some of that non toxic Krylon or whatever it is.


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## eyebeatbadgers (Aug 6, 2007)

any new updates??? This is a really neat idea for a tank.


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## puchisapo (Sep 10, 2007)

what did you do those drawings with?


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## Storm_Rider (Sep 30, 2006)

MS paint? or the most recent ones at least, no idea about the original first ones


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## Landon (Aug 22, 2007)

Where did you get the aquarium joint information? Im just curious as every aquarium Ive seen (and built) has been built like the right side. The sides of the tank rest on the bottom. 

The plans look good, but bring up another question:
Is linear flow beneficial?


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

eyebeatbadgers said:


> any new updates??? This is a really neat idea for a tank.


Not really, I pretty much got laid off two months ago and have been banging my head against the wall trying to get jobs, so my aquarium fund is pretty much limited to dollar-a-dozen ghost shrimp and plants right now. Low Fe glass turns out to be way too expensive for this gig, I'll be going with cheap glass, nothing wrong with green edges.



puchisapo said:


> what did you do those drawings with?


Illustrator 9



Landon said:


> Where did you get the aquarium joint information? Is linear flow beneficial?


 I found that info in a few places online. I think one of those places is Scolley's (sp) Big Clear Kahuna thread, it may be buried somewhere in the first super long thread. I haven't seen any scientific backup, I just went with it since it makes a lot of sense to me, at least from the few bits of experience I've had with silicone. Think of rolling dry silicone off your fingers after working with it, shear force gets the job done quickest.

I don't know any great benefit of linear flow besides emulating a river. I suppose in this case it has a bit of artistic meaning, kind of like nature's beauty being churned along by the man made machine. Maybe I'll cal it "River of Life Support"... lol.


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## Jens (Apr 21, 2006)

Landon said:


> Where did you get the aquarium joint information? Im just curious as every aquarium Ive seen (and built) has been built like the right side. The sides of the tank rest on the bottom.


Just check the only available manufactured rimless tanks in the USA - ADA. ADA has those tanks build in Germany. Germany even has a country-specific ISO norm just for rimless tanks which defines proper silicon and glass thicknesses. 

Build instructions

A 14G build I did with display store glass shelving I found in the trash.


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## LordMaximo (Aug 31, 2007)

I bought a 5gl micro tank from PetCo for my shrimp tank.
I raise shrimp and snails to feed the critters. It was worth the time to set up a farm. Now my kids really think its cool to be pond ranchers......lol.....8-o

Maximo


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Just an update on the situation at hand. Still trying to find a good job to get myself back into the groove I was in before. I think there's more than 15000 unemployed in SWFL at this point. Even my own mother got laid off and now has to move back to MI to live with her sister since her bank account has run dry. For now, I'm stocking grocery store shelves from 9pm to 7am for $11 an hour just to pay rent, and we're about to change our phone number to get rid of constant creditor harassment, f#@%ers even call on sunday. I've managed to keep the plants coming in by selling off my own clippings. So anyway, this idea is not dead, but on hold indefinitely. :icon_roll


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## dwstonebraker (May 3, 2007)

Very Neat! I cant wait to see the finished product!


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## newshound (May 9, 2005)

hey I like it alot.
I am down with incorporating filteration in the tank.
I want to build the same thing for my loaches but bigger.
With more flow using rock formations as rapid water flow areas and pools of "dead water".
check out loaches online for the river tank design
http://www.loaches.com/articles/river-tank-manifold-design
http://www.loaches.com/articles/a-river-runs-through-it


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Where the water flows over into the pump area, stage 1, I would make that fit an Aqua Clear 110 sponge maybe two one on top of the other and leave the filtration at that. The top sponge can be purely mechanical and the second layer bio. You would probably never have to clean the bottom sponge and you could simple rinse the first in tap water with no ill effects.


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## leoslizards (Feb 2, 2007)

Great design. I also like how the filter is incorporated into the tank. I was wondering what NR means? Is that Nano Paul's website? Link? I would like to check it out. What's the difference between cheap glass and low iron glass btw? I'm also unemployed in SWFL also btw. :|


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks for looking everyone! 

Fishfanatic, I was actually wondering if there was an aquaclear sponge that would fit close to my dimensions here, or could be cut to it. Those are my fav sponges.



leoslizards said:


> Great design. I also like how the filter is incorporated into the tank. I was wondering what NR means? Is that Nano Paul's website? Link? I would like to check it out. What's the difference between cheap glass and low iron glass btw? I'm also unemployed in SWFL also btw. :|


NR = nano-reef.com. You can find him there and message him for a price on low Fe glass, I don't think he has a website. This project was priced at $365, which is too steep for my first DIY, so I'll be using cheap glass. I'm stocking shelves at a super market at night just to pay the bills  going back to school soon to open up my options in the future and not be somehow reliant on the housing market or influx of visitors, which seems to be almost every job here one way or another. What we have left is dying, messed up ecology, so I'll be trying to get into conservation, outside or maybe a simple lab tech position for a while, or even just a private aquatic weed control company, so I can float around in a boat all day and ID plants. roud:


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## leoslizards (Feb 2, 2007)

jaidexl said:


> ... or even just a private aquatic weed control company, so I can float around in a boat all day and ID plants. roud:


That sounds like an interesting job.  
Thanks for the info. Btw, you didn't answer my question about "What's the difference between normal cheap glass and low iron glass?". Does it keep your plants of inhabitants healthier or simply for looks, etc..?


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

jaidexl, 

I read the beginning of the thread where someone talked about using an external pump. Based on the size of your plans and the footprint of the tank, I think a power head would work fine. I have used a Rio 400 and I think it might actually be a little much for the tank. You would definitely have some current though. If you were able to mount the power head a little higher in the "sump" you wouldn't loose any pressure from the powerhead.

Sorry to hear about the work situation. Have you ever considered driving a truck or something? I am in the Web Hosting industry working at a large data center and I am actually considering getting a class A license and becoming a long haul trucker. My friends and family think I am nuts, but the truth is that I am sick of living on the edge of not having a job. I have survived about 10 rounds of lay offs and 3 merger and acquisitions. Four companies later and I am thinking that it would be nice to just have to worry about getting from point A to point B on the road. The other thing is that if the company gets bought/sold, I just drive for someone else if I don't like the situation.

I actually have a chance at a job in CT making decent money with one of my former bosses (I have had 13 over the last 7 years). My wife doesn't want to move away from GA though. Thats why Im thinking about driving trucks. I wonder how many truck drivers have a Bachelors in Information Systems?

Sorry to get off topic. The whole job thing is kind of consuming me right now.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

No truck driving for me. 1; it hurts my arse, 2; my driving record is similar to Dale Jr's :hihi:




leoslizards said:


> What's the difference between normal cheap glass and low iron glass?


 Low Fe = clear glass edges, Normal glass = green edges, and I believe there may be some clarity difference, not positive on that, in any case I'm happy with the clarity of normal glass.


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## leoslizards (Feb 2, 2007)

Ok thanks for clearing that up jaidexl. 

I've heard that trunk drivers get good pay. Something like $20 an hour. Might be worth looking into. Plus you get to travel alot! lol.


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

**

Actually, I just had a tank built very simalar to this... (was my Christmas present)

Mine is 48"L x 12.25"W x 13"H (33 gallons). Instead of having the filtration incorporated into the tank like our design, I went with a drilled tank to connect an XP1 canister. The idea was to have it look as sleek as possible. The only things you can see in the tank are the intake and return, which I plan to change to clear pvc soon (I also have clear bulkheads). 

The tank was $40 and each hole was $5 extra (2 holes total) from a local tank builder. In all I expect to have just over $160 in the entire setup (tank $50, XP1 $70, In-line heater $40).

I don't want to highjack your thread, so please let me know if you'd like for me to post pictures here or start a new thread.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

I don't mind hijacking or adding experiences, but just for the sake of keeping the thread clean and giving your own tank it's deserved attention, you should probably start a new thread about it. Then you can link it here if you want to draw in folks that read this thread, that doesn't bother me at all.  

FYI, in the future if you want to drill an old tank yourself, pick up a dremel and it's tile cutter bit, looks like a gritty drill bit. Draw your punch out, run a hole in it with the tile cutter, then draw around the circle once you've made it through. Not sure how thick the glass can be, but a few people have done this in a matter of minutes. Have someone squirt water while you drill, and pick up a few bits since they can wear out quickly. Obviously, you were having it built so might as well have them do it, but I thought that's an interesting tidbit to share.


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## leoslizards (Feb 2, 2007)

AndrewH said:


> Actually, I just had a tank built very simalar to this... (was my Christmas present)
> 
> Mine is 48"L x 12.25"W x 13"H (33 gallons). Instead of having the filtration incorporated into the tank like our design, I went with a drilled tank to connect an XP1 canister. The idea was to have it look as sleek as possible. The only things you can see in the tank are the intake and return, which I plan to change to clear pvc soon (I also have clear bulkheads).
> 
> ...


That's a great price. Mmm, I wonder how much a 300g tank would cost? Anyways I would like to see your tank, please make a new thread.


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

Here's a thread about my tank.

The larger tanks require much thicker glass, so the price is much higher.


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## leoslizards (Feb 2, 2007)

AndrewH said:


> Here's a thread about my tank.
> 
> The larger tanks require much thicker glass, so the price is much higher.


Thanks.


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## ifixk9s (Jan 14, 2008)

i was thinking of doing the same with my 10 gallon tank making a shrimp tank out of it. and growing different kinds of moss or other love carpet grasses. clover, hair and so forth. any ideas on what kind of plants or shrimp?

it is in the planning stage so far all planning that is dont is thought about it. any ideas would be helpful. right now it has feeder guppies in it. and has been up and running since june of 07. still dont know what to do with it. at one time it was going to be a seahorse tank but then i said no. and then it was going to be my extra quaranitine tanks and then i said no. and so forth. so now i am thinking about a shrimp tank.


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

I'm not positive what plants I'll use, maybe some val nana, some java ferns, and anubias nana petite, I know I want to try Utricularia graminifolia for the carpet.

Not sure what shrimp I'll have either, I'd really like some of the black ones or tiger shrimp, but the insane prices will probably stick me with the same boring cherries or whatever everyone else has, they don't trip my trigger much but I'm sure after having them I'll learn to love them. I'll likely add a Hara jerdoni as well as a few other nano sized fish.

I'm just getting my bank account in check after the unemployment followed by a long slump in finances. Next I get to bring credit card bills up to date, so if this is going to happen any time soon, I'm gonna have to find some scrap glass somewhere, maybe I'll search some trash piles at a demo'd house or something. The aquarium fund from selling plants is going toward some manzanita for a rescape of the 65gl, which is a priority over this shrimp tank. Everything is tight right now  Time to go make some PB&J and count my pennies


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## ibjhb (Feb 25, 2008)

Any updates?


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Not really, life is still standing still over here. :icon_roll 

How's the job market in St. Pete?


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

w00t!

Just found out an old buddy is now cutting glass and acrylic and wants to do me some favors. Doors have just opened in big ways. :thumbsup: 

This will probably be done in acrylic, eventually. The question is... how big of a glass cube do I wanna try and build?? :bounce:


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

Too sweet...

Did you finalize the design, or are you going with what was previously posted?

One thing I would change about my tank if I had it to do over again... instead of having the holes above and below each other (one on the back glass and one on the bottom glass), I'd have one on the left and one of the right. Otherwise, I love my tank (and updates to come). The plants are growing so fast it's hard to keep up with them !!!


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## AndrewH (Dec 24, 2007)

I also meant to let you know I saw another light like I found on eBay not too long ago...


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

AndrewH said:


> Did you finalize the design, or are you going with what was previously posted?


 The only thing not finalized here is the exact dimensions and whether or not I want to incorporate the screw off ends and exposed tubing on each end, it was meant to make cleaning easier but I'm not sure if i's really worth it when I can just run a hose off it into the sink and blast it with hot water, maybe fish a snake through it really good. I mean, if I have end caps, I still have to do the same thing, only thing I'm losing is an easy drain. Maybe I'll do it on one side... maybe.


For now, I've got visions of rimless cubes dancing in my head, big ones. Trying to decide exactly how big I want to attempt, nothing huge like Scolley's tank. I'm 99% sure I'll be using black GE RTV w/ between-glass beads, small corner beads as thin as I can make them, all tensile joints even the bottom, drilled floor bulkheads at each back corner. I want to try my hand at a really quality tank like everyone shells out heavy for (out of whatever glass this guy can offer, probably no strarfire type stuff). The new glass hook up has me pretty excited, so as you can imagine, this little build here is starting to take the back seat again.


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