150 Gallon Cuttle Farm Army tank build!

[Thales]

Daniel,

Let me know when you are ready for animals, and I'll see if I can find you the cuttle you desire.

 

[monty]

If Im unsuccessful in my Officinalis quest, Ill have the answer to your question.. =)

I was really impressed by the Pharonis they had at MOTE, too... they looked and behaved quite a bit like Officinalis but were a bit more cryptic when resting... Of course, I haven't heard of any suppliers except the NRCC, who can't sell to private ceph-keepers, so they're probably even harder to get the Officinalis

 

[Paradox]

Thales - Just checked water parameters again (but with crappy test kits) All still seem to be in perfect parameters. How many cuttles and at what age are yours? Ill need to know what kind of bio load to expect and to setup a food tank.


Monty - Ive not had the opportunity to see Pharonis in person. The rare amounts of times Ive seen Cuttles in public aquaria, they have always been Officinalis. Wish I coulda been there to see them!

 

[Thales]

Hey Daniel,

I have 8 3 month olds right now. I will prolly be able to take care of them myself for the rebuild, but I'll let you know.

 

[Paradox]

Thales - Just let me know if you need anything. Im going to plumb in a small live food tank soon, and throw some grass shrimp in there and watch my parameters. If nothing changes, Im going to assume Im good to go.


Been finishing up the hood today. Here is a current picture. I made it so it is actually 2 pieces that can slide apart if I really need to get my hands in there.

 

[sorseress]

That's a real work of art. I'm impressed.

 

[Paradox]

Thanks!

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Omg that's cool! Looks like a Lamborgini tank!!!

 

[monty]

very cool, you are a master aesthete and quite a woodworker! Did you do all the router stuff yourself? And the staining?

 

[cuttlegirl]

Been finishing up the hood today. Here is a current picture. I made it so it is actually 2 pieces that can slide apart if I really need to get my hands in there.

You mean you don't have to lift a ridiculously heavy hood to actually get to the part of the tank you need to maintain??? You have a future in tank design... I also like how you suspended the lights from the hood so that they are not sitting on the top of the tank.

 

[delosa]

How thick is the glass you used? Can you give me an idea of just the glass price. I've been thinking of building a plywood tank. You tank is an insperation.

 

[Paradox]

Brock Fluharty - Originally I wanted to have the hood be in two parts as it is now, but each side would be able to swivel out. Now that woulda been a real Lamborghini tank =)

Monty - Thanks for the kind words! I didn't do all the routering myself on this project. I don't have access to all the tools as I used to, so Im limited to what I can get away with in a small art room and a bathroom.. The staining I did here, which was probably a bad idea because Im sure ive lost some very important childhood memories due to all the fumes.

Cuttlegirl - I hear you on the ridiculously large and heavy hood thing. After my last tank, I realized I needed something different. Too bad I don't have a secret tank room on the other side of the tank like so many hardcore reefers do..

Delosa - I purchased the tank from a friend for 200 bucks. It was new and never used, so I couldn't pass up that deal for it would be similar in price as building my own tank. The glass is 1/2 inch thick and is sturdy as a rock. Only thing I dislike about it, is there are two braces that go across the top of the tank which block a small amount of light. I really wanted a glass tank though for a couple reasons. Tank transfer heat right through it, while plexi is an insulator and keeps the tank warm. And no matter how careful I am, my plexi tank will build up scratches.

While researching, on Reef Central, I saw a few incredible plywood tank builds. Its cheap, very easy to configure to your exact needs and pretty easily done. If you start that project, be sure to keep us posted with a lot of pictures!

 

[delosa]

Thanks for the info paradox. This has been a real interesting thread. I haven't researched plywood tanks yet on reef central. That's a good suggestion.

Can't wait to hear/see more of your progress.

 

[DWhatley]

Paradox,
What stain did you use to get the dark cherry color? When I inquired about how to get the color at an unfinished furniture store, I was told it was nearly impossible to create the color at home and that it was a special three coat finish. The last thing I tried, I had to paint the stain on - no wiping - and let it dry for 2 weeks. It worked pretty well but was a real pain. The project before that, I used hair dye as well as a stain.

 

[bigred1970]

wow. I have got to agree with some of the others here that you ought to start a tank design business.