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29 gal, noob build

1K views 6 replies 3 participants last post by  timten 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,
I've been reading a lot, and have finally started my build. I'm and ex reefer, which it sounds like there are serveral in this group. I think I'm making it way harder then it has to be. Here is a pic of where I'm at.



I plan on making a small waterfall on the right side out of Styrofoam blocks and cement. I'll fill around the main area with gravel. I'll use great stuff and coco for a back ground. I have drilled the back for a closed loop fan system. I have a few questions,
1) Where do you get small amounts of cement, and how do you dye it? I'd rather not paint it, just form and give it lots of time.
2) What kind of wood would you recommend, and where is a good place to purchase it? I just saw Josh frogs has pics of the pieces, how does grapevine hold up to moisture?
3) Any problems you guys see so far?

Mistakes I've made so far.
1) I bought couplings for the bottom, but for some reason forgot to put them in. Now the tank is stuck to the stand so all silicon work has to be done in super small amounts after everyone is asleep and the windows open.
2) Drilled the bottom of the tank before purchasing the stand. What was I thinking, I really made it a lot rougher on my part making asumptions.

So far I'm having fun, I can't wait to get it planted. Thanks for looking

Tim
 
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#2 ·
You can get small bags of cement or mortar from Lowe's or HD. You can also get cement coloring there. Grapewood will mold and rot in the high humidity. For wood I would go with Malaysian or ghost wood if you prefer a lighter colored wood with lots of texture. A lot of people buy from thedriftwoodstore.com. I get my wood from saveoncrafts.com, they have a pretty good selection under the natural branches link on their site. They are also pretty inexpensive.

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#3 ·
Looks great so far, Mopani wood is excellent and Petsmart carries it. I know you'll see some cement rock walls but I’ve e found them to be a pain, not only do you have to deal with the ph issues but it doesn't seem to hold up over time. I would try the dry lock method, I can't comment on it but the results look pretty good, you can search the threads for more info. I prefer to make rocks out of epoxy, but that's a whole other story.

Good start
Brian
 
#7 ·
Hi Everyone,
Well after one year and zero progress, I relize I should have taken everyones advice. I made it way to complicated and with a young one, this never got a live animal. I made a few mistakes and kept trying to over engineer everything. To every other noob reading this just buy a tank, don't even think of a water feature. I hope to get frogs once my son is old enought to help. I don't have the post count to post in the for sale forum, so I hope this is okay. If anyone wants a deal on a Myst king and ecozone contorller please email me at tim_t78@hotmail.com , I have several referances on other forums using the same name. I just would rather give this community a deal before the dreaded ebay. Take care and hope to see you guys in a few years. Just glad no animals where harmed in my failed attempt at a new hobbie.
 
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