Plywood Aquarium Q & A with the Australian Aquarist!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ธ.ค. 2024
- A shoutout to those who viewed and commented on my Timelapse video of the construction of my plywood turtle and rainbowfish aquarium.
Here I answer viewers questions, explain how I build plywood aquariums, and introduce the first member of “My Fish Family”.
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Great explanation Adam. Glad to see that it's all going well.
I just learned how you put an 8ft tank in your laundry wall. I’m wondering how you got it past your wife !!
Didn't ask, just did.
can't wait for a video tour of this setup, pretty unique and stunning. Looks like you cut up a section from the river and put it up on display.
Thanks @apolloravindran! That’s what I love to do…. take my memories from snorkelling and diving home!
This is such an Aussie video. love it.
Thanks kehw! Glad you enjoyed it
I also had mated 2 pieces of glass to span my 10ft plywood aquarium viewing panel. I had siliconed them to the front frame of viewing panel. The 3/4" plywood had braces designed into the face, in 2 places. Then the 2 panels got a 2" piece glass siliconed behind, that overlapped them.. Please look at my 1210g system build. That will better explain my comment. Ive been following along and subscribed a while back.. Thanks
Will do Free Swimmer
It sounds like you have a plywood front with the viewing windows cut out. This acts as the fixing surface for the glass, and doubles as bracing. I’ll go have a look
Will do Free Swimmer
It sounds like you have a plywood front with the viewing windows cut out. This acts as the fixing surface for the glass, and doubles as bracing. I’ll go have a look.
On the side walls could you do the same fixing as you do at the front .. fix an edge strip alone the 4x2 then screw a wood edge then fix glass inside ..screwing the face plate to the 4x2 ..hope this makes sense
I’m preparing a new build , and actually came to the exact same conclusion myself! Thanks Barry
Any chance of an 'Australian Aviarist' review sometime on what it's like to keep a black cockatoo? (Red-tailed black?)
Possibly! Haven’t thought of that one
Noisy, messy, like having a toddler!
Ok epoxy we use pond shield over here in US which is a two-part epoxy same I'm sure as the boat epoxy, but it goes on thick. so when you're putting down the epoxy how do you keep the true gap say 1/2 inch ( 13mm) for the glass without going cheap on the epoxy and jeopardizing it in that area. Or do you not use epoxy in the glass gap? Without waterproofing all the wood especially if it's going to be outside how do you keep the wood from expanding and contracting, which could potentially crack the glass.? That's why tanks have a border of plastic or metal. It was my notion that you would waterproof the entire thing especially if it's going outside. I love the two sides of wood and the two sides of glass, I'm really impressed with it and considering a build of my own.. I got to be completely honest it's the nicest one I've seen on U tube so far. I've been studying everybody's builds. Just wish the cost the glass was a little lower..!!
Hi Ian
I do apply the epoxy to the ledge that the glass sits on. I’m guessing that the pond shield is a thicker consistency, so I’d recommend getting a scrap piece of timber, apply the recommended coats and measure the thickness of the cured epoxy. Add that value on to the glass thickness and the 3mm for silicone, and that value then becomes the distance that you set back the top plywood.
Definitely seal both sides of the plywood if you are building an outdoor tank!!
I live in what’s considered a subtropical climate, so although we get warm days , we don’t get freezing temperatures - never snow!! I wouldn’t do an outdoor aquarium in that sort of climate.
Remember that the joins in any aquarium are never glass on glass, or glass or wood/metal. There is a silicone joint that is flexible and allows a little movement.
I think i am gonna give this a shot in my unfinished basement at some point. - that I need to finish out might as well make it a man cave.
so on the end where the glass meets the side wood wall. is it just silicone and the metal holing it to the wall. i did not fully understand that part.
The silicone does adhere to epoxy, but I wouldn’t trust the bond to be structural. The metal angle, siliconed to the glass and screwed into the timber is structural. The glass cannot move outwards because it is trapped by the metal angle. Obviously you need to use good quality long screws, and screw every 3-4 inches. I describe this at the very end of my “ finished” Palau video
@@australianaquarist thanks mate. looking forward to more videos.
Hi, you have an amazing tank build. What was the name of the silicone you used?
It’s mostly Bostik V2 general glazing silicone
@@australianaquarist thanks heaps for the reply. I've got a 150g/568L tank that needs to be completely redone.
Hi, im wanting to switch to rainbow fish to my 4ft turtle tank. My turtle is a Mcleay River turtle, which is smaller than the Murry River turtle but looks similar. Currently hes with barbs as I was told they are one of the best fish to have with turtles. He did eat a few feeder fish but doesn't eat his current tank mates. Do u have issues with your turtles eating the rainbows? I live down south so I have to buy them, nowhere to catch them here! Might get costly.... I also want to add some live plants like Val ribbon grass.
Hey Bethany
My turtles haven’t eaten any of the rainbows. I was more worried about the longneck as they are more carnivorous than short necks, but all good. I did put some freshwater mullet into the tank for algae control. The longneck did initially chase them, but they were faster and are still fine. The turtles ignore the fish now.
My only concern would be the size of the tank. Obviously in a smaller tank, there’s less room for the fish to evade the turtles.
Once the fish get stuck in a corner, they’d get picked off.
However, there’s only one way to find out!…
I’ve actually had problems growing the aquatic plants. I think it is time for a tank update. I have had Val uprooted and floating in the tank. I think it is not so much the shortneck eating the Val, but more so rummaging around .
You could try placing heavy river stones over the root system of the Val, so that your turtle can’t uproot it
Good luck
Feel free to ask questions
Adam
@@australianaquarist thanks for the reply! Not much info out there on keeping them together although I did find a video on tips on how to introduce your fish/turtle to minimise the fish getting eaten. He recommends taking the turtle out while u change up the tank instead of dumping new fish in, having hiding places for the fish etc. I think it will just be trial and error unfortunately but I really want to give it a go! Thanks for the plant tip, good idea! Wish me luck!
Good luck!
Well I did it! Took the turtle and barbs out, changed the scape and added rainbowfish, let them settle for awhile then added the turtle back in. Hes been a bit nervous with his new surroundings but all the fish are still alive after 2 days. I think definitely depends on the personality of each turtle. I have a friend with the same breed and it eats anything that goes in its tank.
I think your odds are better with a macleay, than a longneck. They just don’t have the speed when they strike, compared to that snake like neck.
Keep your turtle well fed. Maybe try training it to eat from your fingers, in the same spot of the tank. Maybe up at the water surface down one end. You may be able to develop such a pattern , that it only associates good with you, and doesn’t look anywhere else.
Good luck
Keep me updated
G/DAY ENJOY THE CHANNEL LIKE TO ASK U USED PLY ON BACK WALL // SIDE //FLOOR COULD U USE BLUE BOARD CHEERS STEVE
By blue board I assume you mean a fibre cement sheeting used to clad houses? I assume you’re worried about termites?
I don’t know, and I’ve never heard of people doing so. Epoxy does stick very well to concrete, so assume it would waterproof successfully. You could also consider making a tank/pond out of concrete blocks, even dry stacked, then core filled and epoxy coated
You would also need to space your timber studs and joists closer together , as the sheeting isn’t as thick as plywood. You can get very thick sheeting used for bathroom floors, where the room is on bearers and joists. I think it’s called scyon. Very expensive though