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Mazprot DIY Tank Thread

mazprot

Cuttlefish
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Oct 27, 2012
Messages
22
Hello Tonmo. I am new to the site and to keeping octos but have been an aquarium hobbiest for many many years now. I currently have a 29g planted freshwater tank which some people believe to be one of the more difficult systems to handle but I love mine and it works great. I have had saltwater tanks in the past and loved them so when I move this coming summer I am building a DIY 100g plywood tank to house an octopus.

I was wondering if anyone had anything to say about my plans thus far.
Like i said i currently have a 29g freshwater tank which will stay that way until the summer. I am in the process of setting up a 10g nano coral tank to house some corals, some bivalves, shrimp, crabs, or the like ( I havent decided yet what to keep in there yet any suggestions?) as a starter feeding tank for my octo. Becasue of the cost of food I would really liek to be able to grow some of my own. Plus I understand that octos when not challenged get antsy so I want to provide it with live prey to hunt. When i move I intend to break down both tanks transfer the 10g stuff into the 29g and make the 10g a sump tank.

Although I was wondering if for a 29g a sump was necessary.

I absolutely love octopuses and am super excited about keeping one. I will post pictures here in a week or so of my tanks and my octopus tattoo :smile:
 
Welcome to TONMO! 100 gallons would cover the needs of many octopuses, but there are exceptions (like Giant Pacific Octopus). I'm I understanding that the tank in its entirety is going to be plywood? If so, I've never seen that personally, but I'm still in the beginner phase myself. You've come to the right place for expert octo advice though; peruse the forums, & you'll absorb a lot of knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask either, everyone here is cool about answering questions. Don't hesitate to post those pix either, we'd all love to see them! Good luck to you!
 
Tentacle Toast;193840 said:
Welcome to TONMO! 100 gallons would cover the needs of many octopuses, but there are exceptions (like Giant Pacific Octopus). I'm I understanding that the tank in its entirety is going to be plywood? If so, I've never seen that personally, but I'm still in the beginner phase myself. You've come to the right place for expert octo advice though; peruse the forums, & you'll absorb a lot of knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask either, everyone here is cool about answering questions. Don't hesitate to post those pix either, we'd all love to see them! Good luck to you!

I think a plywood tank would be perfect and easier than a glass tank to secure the top for the little escape artists. Not to mention I intend on only putting one acrylic piece and having the other sides wooded hopefully making the octopus feel right at home.

Check out diyfishkeepers.com It is a FANTASTIC forum for DIY systems and builds.

Here is a plywood tank build
 
Thanks Dave! Check it out. The guy who does those videos from DIYfishkeepers is great! Pretty much anything you can think of he builds himself at a cheaper cost then store bought items.

Canister filters
nitrate filters
you name it he has pretty much done it

PS. he has a really cool DIY video on coffee table tanks
 
I'm going to have to check that out. Is the wood lined with something, or otherwise treated/waterproofed with some type of chemical application? Careful of anything with metals, especially copper...
 
Welcome Mazprot!!

Yes the plywood tanks are basicly a box but the front panel has an area cut out and covered with glass. The tanks are usually sealed with rubber paint or some other kind of waterproof material. It is in fact the cheapest way to go big. The only thing still unkown about plywood tanks is there ability to hold water long term. Also getting the glass to stick to the wood can propose a bit of a challenge as well. If ever we move into a house my wife already knows a plywood tank will be in our future.

Securing the top would be much less of a challenge then normal tanks but I would strongly recomend doing a ton of research on what you decide to seal it with. A 29g sump seems a little small (30 inch footprint) for a 100g Display in my opinion. I would check locally for a used 40 - 55.

If you keep your current planted 29g you could breed ghost shrimp but should rehome any other fish or inverts you have. The shrimp will spawn best when not feeling threatened. This wouldnt be the octos main diet (from what I have read) but will add a nutritous snack. The best part is you will be able to keep your plants since you will have a ton of shrimp pooping in your tank and getting a balanced cycle going on.

This may or may not be the fate of my current 29g (salt tank) as i am still undecided.
 
Sometimes, the challenge of a DIY project is the whole point of doing it, but if your goal is just to save money, I think that a used 100 gallon tank would be cheaper to buy then the materials to make a 100 gallon plywood tank (once you add in the sealing paint, fasteners, glass or acrylic front pane, sealant, paint rollers, etc.) The plywood tanks I've heard about where typically built as a cheaper alternative to buying a very large tank (larger than 125 gallons). Brand new glass 100 gallon tanks sell for $190 around here, but I think a used tank is the way to save money. In fact, more than once I've bought a used tropical tank setup, and sold off the live rock, lights, sump, etc. separately, for as much as I paid for the who setup, essentially getting the tank for free (if you don't count some hassle, and a little risk).

I suspect that building an escape-proof top harder with a wood tank than with an acrylic one, and even a glass tank isn't too hard. Acrylic can be easily glued (chemically welded), drilled, and the drilled holes can be tapped so that nylon bolts can be threaded into them. You can't drill all the way through your plywood without piercing whatever waterproofing layer you put on the inside. If a glass tank has a plastic rim around the top, you can drill that plastic rim (lip) and attach to it (I used nylon bolts)
 
That's a wild idea, but I'd want to see results over the long-term before choosing that as my pet's permanent housing. Is it just your basic plywood, or is it something like epay or white oak (or some other resistant species)? How is it assembled & sealed? I'd imagine there's some kind of Octo-safe material to line it with (& maybe thereby extending its life). Does anyone know how Plexiglas fairs in saltwater? That's pretty inexpensive, & comes in plywood-sized sheets,but I don't know if it'd leach out any nasties into the water though...that sounds like a fun project; there's probably a million ways you could pull it off, too!
 
Tentacle Toast;193848 said:
I'm going to have to check that out. Is the wood lined with something, or otherwise treated/waterproofed with some type of chemical application? Careful of anything with metals, especially copper...

The wood is typically coated with liquid rubber which is a chemical of coarse but I havent heard of anyone having any problems with it leaching or anything. I will double check the chemical make up of the stuff but he uses it for his salt tanks so I doubt there is an issue there
 
Radioactive;193851 said:
Welcome Mazprot!!

Yes the plywood tanks are basicly a box but the front panel has an area cut out and covered with glass. The tanks are usually sealed with rubber paint or some other kind of waterproof material. It is in fact the cheapest way to go big. The only thing still unkown about plywood tanks is there ability to hold water long term. Also getting the glass to stick to the wood can propose a bit of a challenge as well. If ever we move into a house my wife already knows a plywood tank will be in our future.

Securing the top would be much less of a challenge then normal tanks but I would strongly recomend doing a ton of research on what you decide to seal it with. A 29g sump seems a little small (30 inch footprint) for a 100g Display in my opinion. I would check locally for a used 40 - 55.

If you keep your current planted 29g you could breed ghost shrimp but should rehome any other fish or inverts you have. The shrimp will spawn best when not feeling threatened. This wouldnt be the octos main diet (from what I have read) but will add a nutritous snack. The best part is you will be able to keep your plants since you will have a ton of shrimp pooping in your tank and getting a balanced cycle going on.

This may or may not be the fate of my current 29g (salt tank) as i am still undecided.

Hmm. I intend to this to be a long term holding tank for octopuses being that they only live a year or so in captivity so I will definitely do more research into their long term water holding strength.

I believe you misread me, my 29g will be turned into a reef tank with all the stuff I get going in my ten gallon nano reef tank. Once I move the 10 will be the sump for the 29g not the 29g being a sump for the 100. my 100g will have a sump all its own big enough for it.

I though feeding freshwater foods to octopuses could be harmful or at least not as nutritionally balanced as say crab or saltwater shrimp.
 
Tentacle Toast;193854 said:
That's a wild idea, but I'd want to see results over the long-term before choosing that as my pet's permanent housing. Is it just your basic plywood, or is it something like epay or white oak (or some other resistant species)? How is it assembled & sealed? I'd imagine there's some kind of Octo-safe material to line it with (& maybe thereby extending its life). Does anyone know how Plexiglas fairs in saltwater? That's pretty inexpensive, & comes in plywood-sized sheets,but I don't know if it'd leach out any nasties into the water though...that sounds like a fun project; there's probably a million ways you could pull it off, too!

I too am still researching the long term effects of holding it but from what I have read so far, the liquid rubber is a permanent, non-leaching sealant. The plywood is screwed together an acrylic glue is applied to the corners. You have to use acrylic glass due to the weight needed to be held back. I know you can use fiberglass as a top but I would not recomend using it as a facing piece. Even some acrylic glass will sag if you do not get the right thickness. I would suggest regular glass or acrylic.
 
Joe-Ceph;193852 said:
Sometimes, the challenge of a DIY project is the whole point of doing it, but if your goal is just to save money, I think that a used 100 gallon tank would be cheaper to buy then the materials to make a 100 gallon plywood tank (once you add in the sealing paint, fasteners, glass or acrylic front pane, sealant, paint rollers, etc.) The plywood tanks I've heard about where typically built as a cheaper alternative to buying a very large tank (larger than 125 gallons). Brand new glass 100 gallon tanks sell for $190 around here, but I think a used tank is the way to save money. In fact, more than once I've bought a used tropical tank setup, and sold off the live rock, lights, sump, etc. separately, for as much as I paid for the who setup, essentially getting the tank for free (if you don't count some hassle, and a little risk).

I suspect that building an escape-proof top harder with a wood tank than with an acrylic one, and even a glass tank isn't too hard. Acrylic can be easily glued (chemically welded), drilled, and the drilled holes can be tapped so that nylon bolts can be threaded into them. You can't drill all the way through your plywood without piercing whatever waterproofing layer you put on the inside. If a glass tank has a plastic rim around the top, you can drill that plastic rim (lip) and attach to it (I used nylon bolts)

you make some good points. The problem I have unfortunately is that I live in the mountains and aquarium equipment is terribly hard to come by. I typically have to travel 1-2 hours or more to pick up whatever I find. Luckily however I have an absolutely fantastic tank store in my small town which specializes in salt water and tropical freshwater fish and equipment but he also has one coldwater tank. I have never seen those nylon bolts before thanks for the link. My thoughts were that for a 100g tank becase of the wight the plywood has to be supported by a small stud wall which is part of the stand. So you can drill directly into the stud walls from the top missing drilling the plywood altogether.
 
I was thinking of the Plexiglas as a liner, not the actual "build" material. Save some fumes from the rubber at least. Speaking (typing) of...is it rubber specifically for the aquarium industry/marine applications? Do you know the brand most often used? I ask out of curiosity alone; the whole notion of a wooden tank is really interesting:smile:
 

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