PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

BillHN: thanks! hopefully, another update in a couple days...going to wait and see if there are any leaks, I might empty it out tomorrow, or sometime next week... then another progress update!

 

[Anonymous]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

I realized that the ash chute on the fire place would make a GREAT place to drain the water, figured I'd put a large hose, big enough to fit a regular sized hose for draining water when I need to do water changes. The water goes down through the ash chute, and goes out onto the lawn. Perfect! Just gotta put a small pump, strong enough to just "kickstart" the draining process, once it starts draining, I can turn off the pump, and let gravity do the rest. :woot:

Awesome!

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

theChad: Woohoo!! looks like the grass where the water drains out of, will get a nice water fertilizer once a week hahahaha

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Basically, what I want the Aquariumplace (what WAS the fireplace) to look. Just concept art. I don't necessarily want discus fish in there, but the aquascape is similar to what I want, and the frame around the tank is basically how it will look. Hurray for photoshop



Definitely NOT going to have discus in the tank, I'm still sticking to small fish...perhaps a combination of neon/cardinal tetras, rummynose tetras, cherry barbs, julii corys, a dwarf gourami, and the like. Contemplating if I want to add shrimp in there... we'll see.

I'm hoping to use strong magnets that will hold the wooden frame up, strong enough to keep it up, but still have it easy to come off so I can do tank maintenance stuff. I'm still trying to think of a way so I can feed the fish easier...maybe I'll just buy one of those automatic feeders, that I can just refill every week during water changes. Yeah, that'll most likely be the solution!

 

[Salzabar]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

HA! I was like "WHAT THE!!??!!" then I read the post. Looked real to me. :shock:

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Salzabar: WOO... my photoshopping has deceived! Well, thank you! LOL.

Tank is still full of water, no leaks! Going to leave the water in the tank for another day or so, before draining it through the ash chute in the back.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Semi-Progress!

Did a test to see if the water drained properly from the tank, down the ash chute, and onto the grass in the backyard. Looks like everything worked as planned!

Connected a small pump in the tank, and your typical hose you use for draining a tank, and placed that hose into a bigger 2" diameter hose, which then runs down and through the ash chute and out to the grass.

Turned on the pump long enough for it to pump water through the hose and turned it off and let gravity do the rest. Glad to say that it worked w/o any problems! WOOHOO!! Next, will be covering the back on the fireplace, and possibly blocking out the chimney shaft.

 

[Salzabar]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Google "Chimney caps". You will need to block off the chimney flue to maintain tank temp and keep out "anything" that can get down the chimney from outside and into your tank.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Salzabar: Yep, we have one installed on our chimney already. What I need to figure out, is how to prevent any of the soot that's already in the chimney from falling down into the tank, besides cleaning it with a chimney broom. =P

 

[Salzabar]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Stuff it with some home depot R-3 house insulation. Fire proof and should keep out the soot.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Oooh, I'll check that out, next time we head over there. Thanks for the tip, Salzabar!

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

More Progress!!

So, after the SAAS (Seattle Area Aquarium Swap), I met some really great people, got some really great stuff, and now I was geared on continuing my work on converting the fireplace, into an aquarium.

My last update was when I was testing the tank for leaks, and that passed with flying colors. The next thing we did, was to form the back portion of the fireplace, to block off the back area behind the tank, and find a way to block the top portion of the chimney so that any soot that may still be in there would remain AWAY from the aquarium.

Also ordered a glass hood on Amazon for the 36 bowfront, and fixed two canister filters in the process! Overall, great weekend project with a lot of progress!

Next step is to paint the back of the tank black, or possibly just cover it up with black paper, or something.

 

[Anthraxx]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

painting a tank is super easy, the only thing i can stress is to take your time with taping the borders and the tank as a whole. krylon flat color paints seem to work best as well. again the only thing i can stress is go super light on the coats and just do a BUNCH of them. if you dont go light the paint can run a bit and it can give u an unsightly appearance. GL to ya, i may have some pics of the whole process from the first cpl times i did it.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Thanks Anthraxx! Is there a noticeable difference between using those background decorations that you just tape on the back (was just thinking of getting one of those, that was black, as opposed to painting the back of the tank?

There's also some sort of "glue stick" looking thing, that makes the backgrounds look more vivid, is that worth it?

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

I think I saw your post and pictures of how your painted your tanks. Great pictures! I think I'll just end up painting my tank! Thanks again Anthraxx!

 

[Anthraxx]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

the glue stick thing fails to work after awhile, it does work but not for long. the backgrounds always have a kind of sheen to them. paint is the way to go, just take your time with it and itll look amazing.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

Thanks Anthraxx! Yeah, I was getting tired of the backgrounds being very dull in color because of the glass. I'm getting paint and sponge rollers, and will be working on it tonight.

How long do you usually wait for each coat to dry before adding another coat? 1 day?

 

[pbmax]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

I use black felt behind my tanks It's easier than painting, but it can get ugly around the back edges if you don't take a little time to attach it.

 

[PokeSephiroth]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

pbmax: Ah yes, black felt. I had a friend tell me about using black felt. I was almost convinced, but something about seeing the fabric through the glass makes me think like the background is made out of yarn. Hehehe! I even almost tried using black trashbags, but didn't like the idea of seeing the creases of the trash bag. My OCD is kicking in! D:

I've already put on the first coat of paint. Just waiting for that to dry before I add another coat.

 

[pbmax]

Re: PokeSephiroth's Fireplace 36 Gallon Bow Front Tank (Finished Project)

I think if your felt looks like yarn then maybe you're buying the wrong stuff???