# 1200 Gallon Plywood build 2



## hondas3000

Learning from my last build so this time I go bigger and better plus I don't have to rush to have it done this time. So here is what I done so far for the pass 2 weeks. It is a 8' x 7' x 3' with 1" plywood and lots of 2x4.

Ok let me go into detail a bit as I am changing 100% on my last tank. 
I will be using fiberglass cloth throughout the tank not just for corner and then apply waxed polyester resin then for the color I use gel coat mix with color for the last coat.

I build a stand this time so I can do plumbing and bottom drain for sump, beside in case it leaks I can get down and find out where the leaks come from. I also build this from the inside out, so that means I use waterproof wood glue to glue the plywood first then 3" screw for every 4" apart and after that 2x4 framing around it with glue and screw as well. So it is a many step protection and I will not except even a tiny expand on the joint. Last time I rely too much on liquid rubber and this time I don't. I also use 2 side good plywood so the surface is very smooth therefor its better to apply fiberglass.

This is where I need help from. Does anyone know or think I should frame the top with plywood and drill holes 3" apart for LED DIY light. The LED will be 3" above water but instead of putting glass on top for light to shine through so why not build LED into the tank. The tank will be 8'x7' so with 1W or 2W I need 896 LED bulb for the tank. Man that will be a lot of wiring, so if anyone work with DIY LED before let me know or give me some idea as I like the build in tank LED more then LED above tank.


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## Nicole

holy coww..good luck with that!! Would love to see progress!


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## rwong2k10

wow ! can't wait to see the progress of this tank!
looks like an awesome start!


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## monkE

oh man i can't wait to see this monster take shape!


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## Tiwaz

looking good, what are your plans to seal it?


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## Adz1

sweet baby jesus....
this is gonna be awesome..


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## jay_leask

wow this is going to be crazy i cant wait.


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## arash53

OMG I cant wait to see the progress


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## gklaw

Insane  ! Considered putting the 2x4 lets on sleepers (2x4s on flat) and cross bracing them ?


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## hondas3000

This will be a long build . My body is in pain trying to lift all that 1" plywood today.



Tiwaz said:


> looking good, what are your plans to seal it?


I will fiberglass tape cloth through out the tank with waxed polyester resin and apply gel coat mix with color that I want. In this case sky blue.



gklaw said:


> Insane  ! Considered putting the 2x4 lets on sleepers (2x4s on flat) and cross bracing them ?


There are many reasons why I have to use it flat, sleepers is only good if you need room on the bottom and less support stud and small stand only not with this scale.

1. I need more surface area for the plywood to sit on.

2. sleepers 2x4 you can't make strong screwing for it as you can only screw it in an angle where flat you can have it straight in. Beside double 2x4 only give you 3" sleepers when flat I get 3.5"

3. Stand is only strong as number of vertical stud you have and in my case I have it every 16" and only 24" high with double 2x4 so it is over kill.

4. When you do double flat it is as strong as sleepers that is why our house frame and support frame all have double flat instead sleepers as sleepers will lean.

5. You also notice I don't have 2x4 flat on the floor as my floor is not level so I have to level it out with each stud to get the stand level and with flat 2x4 with double 2x4 vertical support it is enough surface for me to screw in and strong enough so it is not leaning either side unlike sleepers it will lean when you have heavy tank sitting on it and no support on the floor so when you lean on the tank the whole thing will collapse.


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## gklaw

Awesome project ! If I do that, my wife will literally think I am insane and call the mental hospital :lol: May be I can threaten her with you picture so she will let me have the love birds


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## hondas3000

hahaha, I build this when my wife and the kids visit her family for a months. They will be back next week and I think I will get grounded or no allowance for a year when she is back. .


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## skrick

Hahaha you are awesome what a build truley amazing I have to come for a visit and check it out if you need some help I'll help you for a day I don't mind I like that stuff call me if you need it will be fun


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## m_class2g

awesome build! its funny how you are building while the wifes away lol. whats the stock!?


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## hondas3000

> Awesome project ! If I do that, my wife will literally think I am insane and call the mental hospital May be I can threaten her with you picture so she will let me have the love birds.[quote/]
> 
> I think what you need is a dinner for her and convince her, just like how you win her to become your wife. Dinner in metro the you can walk over to a pet shop in there that way you can show her how much you love birds. If you truly means it she will understand. Good luck.


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## hondas3000

m_class2g said:


> awesome build! its funny how you are building while the wifes away lol. whats the stock!?


It will be 5 rays, 5 aro and a few cichlids.



skrick said:


> Hahaha you are awesome what a build truley amazing I have to come for a visit and check it out if you need some help I'll help you for a day I don't mind I like that stuff call me if you need it will be fun


You can drop by anytime on the weekend. As for help I am done with heavy stuff and just the finish touch that I have to do and I will take my time to do it right since I want it to last a long time.


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## target

That is going to look great when finished.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail

Excellent Job!!


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## hondas3000

Thanks everyone, this is also part of the hobby that you build your own tank. There is nothing done today as my body muscle still in pain after a golf driving range. Hopefully tomorrow i can finish with the framing.


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## onefishtwofish

hmmmmmmm. must be tough.............time out from building tanks for golf. I want to be reincarnated as you.


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## rich16

onefishtwofish said:


> hmmmmmmm. must be tough.............time out from building tanks for golf. I want to be reincarnated as you.


I was thinking the same thing!  
Great looking build by the way, I'll be eagerly following this progress for sure!


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## Insane in the Fish brain

HOLY CRAP!!! that is amazing!!! why both to ever to go to the Vancouver Aquarium when we can all go to Hondas3000 place lol. Im more curious to know what you are going to house in it? I one day would love to build one of these beast. My Fahaka Puffer would love it. Good job!!! can wait to see final result.


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## hondas3000

Insane in the Fish brain said:


> HOLY CRAP!!! that is amazing!!! why both to ever to go to the Vancouver Aquarium when we can all go to Hondas3000 place lol. Im more curious to know what you are going to house in it? I one day would love to build one of these beast. My Fahaka Puffer would love it. Good job!!! can wait to see final result.


Lol, I don't have to go to Vancouver aquarium but you do because they still have a lot more fish to see there. As for me I just stay home and enjoy my tank as I already have all the fish that I want to see. Wait till mine is done and will be open for public . But for now I will keep my stock secret as I am still decide what is going in the tank.


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## FishFreaks

wow sweeeeeet! ive seen the other one and that was impessive, this one is just insane!


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## AWW

Good to see you went with a bigger viewing window this time 

Can't wait to see the final product.


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## hondas3000

AWW said:


> Good to see you went with a bigger viewing window this time
> 
> Can't wait to see the final product.


That because I happen to get a deal with 1" acrylic before I even start building. Too bad I couldn't go any bigger as this is the biggest I can build and I don't want to have electrical inspection showing up at my house for inspection. Hope the inspector can see this thread and don't bother come as I am just insane trying to heat my tank to 28 Celsius, or maybe I should have a sign at the meter saying heating big tank .


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## Flygirl

hondas3000 said:


> Hope the inspector can see this thread and don't bother come as I am just insane trying to heat my tank to 28 Celsius, or maybe I should have a sign at the meter saying heating big tank .


Haha... maybe this is the way to go... we can all post sign - "Fish grow op". Almost sure to get their attention =)


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## Jessia

Wow, that looks amazing so far! I'm definitely going to follow this thread.


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## hondas3000

Here is some update. I also build a 180G sump for it as well and did some fiberglass on the corner. Building is fun but working with fiberglass is not, it is a mess, smell and and sticky, it seems like forever just to do the corner alone not to mention I have to do the whole tank, but it should be good after I did the first coat as I have to remove the bubble and straight corner.


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## m_class2g

Nice! Your special fish will have a great home in there! I cant wait to see updated pics of your new monster. Why not post a pic while your at it!?


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## hondas3000

m_class2g said:


> Nice! Your special fish will have a great home in there! I cant wait to see updated pics of your new monster. Why not post a pic while your at it!?


let save the fish pics for last as my tank is a mess right now.


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## hondas3000

Here is some update on the build. Finish with gelcoat and going to install the acrylic this weekend the I will work on the plumbing and sump while I wait for the silicone to cure and do a water leak test.









This is how the opening look like, I use the glass panel from a sliding door for it. 









and here is 1500w 120v heater, there is more watts heater but after 1500W it require 240v and I don't want to mess up with electrical work. So why titanium heater when I can get this for much cheaper.


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## Fishman21

Cardinals! Just a whole lot of cardinal tetra's That's all you should put in.......


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## 2wheelsx2

Fishman21 said:


> Cardinals! Just a whole lot of cardinal tetra's That's all you should put in.......


Charles will probably jump in here and say 10,000 of them.....


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## charles

what, why? do I always say cardinals or what 

He can't put cardinals in there, he has monster fish


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## hondas3000

charles said:


> what, why? do I always say cardinals or what
> 
> He can't put cardinals in there, he has monster fish


Charles knows me well. I just had an expensive feeder, $350 6" araipama went through an over flow pipe into the main tank and got eaten by one of the aro and I don't even know which one eat it .


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## m_class2g

hondas3000 said:


> Charles knows me well. I just had an expensive feeder, $350 6" araipama went through an over flow pipe into the main tank and got eaten by one of the aro and I don't even know which one eat it .


sad... guess you have to get another! that setup is not complete without a pima.


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## AWW

Sorry to hear about the araipama, 

Man i better get off my @$$ and work on my 450.... I cant let you finish before me!


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## hondas3000

AWW said:


> Sorry to hear about the araipama,
> 
> Man i better get off my @$$ and work on my 450.... I cant let you finish before me!


Lol you should get it done before me as you don't have a wait time. Mine I have to wait a few week for silicone to dry and another week for water leak test. And lots of plumbing to do


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## 2wheelsx2

How will that heater be mounted? In a sump through a bulkhead? And where did you get it from (sorry if you already talked about it but I must have missed it.


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## hondas3000

2wheelsx2 said:


> How will that heater be mounted? In a sump through a bulkhead? And where did you get it from (sorry if you already talked about it but I must have missed it.


There is many way you can hook up with that heater, it comes with 1" thread so you can use 1" pvc pipe or yes mount it bulkhead. But you need a controller for this heater. As for mine I will hook up with a 1" T inline pipe outlet so it will spread the heat out more evenly. And for the wire connector, after you hook up the wire, you can then put silicone on it so it is water proof and hazard save. Oh and I got it from homedepot at the hot water tank section.


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## tony1928

So you're going to use the sliding door glass for the tops? Or for the main viewing pane? Can't wait to see more build pics!


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## hondas3000

tony1928 said:


> So you're going to use the sliding door glass for the tops? Or for the main viewing pane? Can't wait to see more build pics!


sliding door glass for top, it will be moveable so I can have access to the tank and big enough to have light through. Front view is an 1" acrylic


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## tony1928

Great idea! 1" acrylic! Wow, that's beastly. Just that piece alone is pretty pricey eh?



hondas3000 said:


> sliding door glass for top, it will be moveable so I can have access to the tank and big enough to have light through. Front view is an 1" acrylic


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## 2wheelsx2

hondas3000 said:


> There is many way you can hook up with that heater, it comes with 1" thread so you can use 1" pvc pipe or yes mount it bulkhead. But you need a controller for this heater. As for mine I will hook up with a 1" T inline pipe outlet so it will spread the heat out more evenly. And for the wire connector, after you hook up the wire, you can then put silicone on it so it is water proof and hazard save. Oh and I got it from homedepot at the hot water tank section.


Nice. The Ranco temp controller will control up to 1500 w. I use a controller is 3 of my 4 tanks which are heated, anyway. Wouldn't trust my $ fish to the cheap controllers in the little heaters.


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## hondas3000

2wheelsx2 said:


> Nice. The Ranco temp controller will control up to 1500 w. I use a controller is 3 of my 4 tanks which are heated, anyway. Wouldn't trust my $ fish to the cheap controllers in the little heaters.


yeah that is what i am using too. I been using all type of heater even titanium one and I love the ranco controller, it is the most trusted brand.


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## hondas3000

tony1928 said:


> Great idea! 1" acrylic! Wow, that's beastly. Just that piece alone is pretty pricey eh?


I score a deal on craigslist so its not bad, but yeah when it come up the an 1" price is way high even plywood too.


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## hondas3000

So the acrylic is up, it is so heavy and I try to lift if myself so this build I end up loosing a finger nail when I slip and the acrylic fall on my hand, lucky I have glove on so there is no cut but the nail pretty much off.  btw now the tank look smaller now, its doesn't seem or look as big when first build.


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## tony1928

Wow, you are a brave man! that's gotta be a 150 lbs easy. 1200 gallons is still 3 times the size of my 400. It's still big man!


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## hondas3000

tony1928 said:


> Wow, you are a brave man! that's gotta be a 150 lbs easy. 1200 gallons is still 3 times the size of my 400. It's still big man!


It could be more then 150lb as I only lift up one end and slide it, there is no way I can lift up the whole piece up. As for size I think the color make it looks small compare to the clear where you can't tell the distance from the back. But once my fish is in I think they will make the tank look small as well. My smallest fish is 16"


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## skrick

Very nice I love it .....!!


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## HIGHLANDER

Even all blue it's still huge!!!!
Once you put gravel on the bottom it should give it some depth.
Looking forward to seeing it filled.
cheers.


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## Lan

Perhaps you could use 8 or so of these to light that man water cave 

PRIME 100W 8000LM LED Emitter Metal Plate - Pure White - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


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## hondas3000

skrick said:


> Very nice I love it .....!!


I am waiting to see your next move as well, if you ever do a build, get in touch with me so I can get you better deal on material.



HIGHLANDER said:


> Even all blue it's still huge!!!!
> Once you put gravel on the bottom it should give it some depth.
> Looking forward to seeing it filled.
> cheers.


I am a fan of bare bottom and if I do fill gravel with this tank it will be a lot, also my tank I build with two 2" drain holes on the bottom as well so nothing can be on the bottom or it get suck into the drain. 2 more weeks and I will do a fill up test, can't wait myself too.



Lan said:


> Perhaps you could use 8 or so of these to light that man water cave
> 
> PRIME 100W 8000LM LED Emitter Metal Plate - Pure White - Free Shipping - DealExtreme


Thanks for the link, I will look into it later as right now my priority is to finish the tank and have it running properly then I will look into high tech oh and more fish as well .


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## Tiwaz

Ok if I am getting impatient wait for you to fill, it must be killing you.


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## hondas3000

Tiwaz said:


> Ok if I am getting impatient wait for you to fill, it must be killing you.


Same here, I just want to fill it right away but can't take the risk, last week I even have a dream seeing my tank leaks, so really nervous when filling since it is my first tank build this way.


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## macframalama

you could use gravel if you made a pvc pipe that stood out of the substrate a few inches, just a thought i too once entertain the thought of my dream build.... but my wife quickly shot me down...
but one day... 
lottery maybe...
cant afford divorce, haha
cant wait to see pics, i can live vicariously through your tank build,


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## overlord1957

Hi Honda.
In this thread you was mentioning that you use liquid rubber on your first tank and this time you decided to sue fibre glass instead.
Could you please explain the neg effect on liquid rubber application.
I have built 2 10,000 liter tank and line them with pond liner and they are doing the job as far as holding the water in. This time i plan to build many 30,000 liter tanks and still debating which material to use.
Any for sight will be much appreciate.
Cheers.

Van



hondas3000 said:


> Learning from my last build so this time I go bigger and better plus I don't have to rush to have it done this time. So here is what I done so far for the pass 2 weeks. It is a 8' x 7' x 3' with 1" plywood and lots of 2x4.
> 
> Ok let me go into detail a bit as I am changing 100% on my last tank.
> I will be using fiberglass cloth throughout the tank not just for corner and then apply waxed polyester resin then for the color I use gel coat mix with color for the last coat.
> 
> I build a stand this time so I can do plumbing and bottom drain for sump, beside in case it leaks I can get down and find out where the leaks come from. I also build this from the inside out, so that means I use waterproof wood glue to glue the plywood first then 3" screw for every 4" apart and after that 2x4 framing around it with glue and screw as well. So it is a many step protection and I will not except even a tiny expand on the joint. Last time I rely too much on liquid rubber and this time I don't. I also use 2 side good plywood so the surface is very smooth therefor its better to apply fiberglass.
> 
> This is where I need help from. Does anyone know or think I should frame the top with plywood and drill holes 3" apart for LED DIY light. The LED will be 3" above water but instead of putting glass on top for light to shine through so why not build LED into the tank. The tank will be 8'x7' so with 1W or 2W I need 896 LED bulb for the tank. Man that will be a lot of wiring, so if anyone work with DIY LED before let me know or give me some idea as I like the build in tank LED more then LED above tank.


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## macframalama

diy led, is a massive undertaking... buckle up, especially on that size of a build ,


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## 2wheelsx2

I just got a bunch of LED flood lights from Costco for my garage recently, they are 9 watts, work well and replaced my 50 watt halogens. You may consider doing that instead of a massive LED build.


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## hondas3000

macframalama said:


> you could use gravel if you made a pvc pipe that stood out of the substrate a few inches, just a thought i too once entertain the thought of my dream build.... but my wife quickly shot me down...
> but one day...
> lottery maybe...
> cant afford divorce, haha
> cant wait to see pics, i can live vicariously through your tank build,


This Sunday tank will be fill with water, so finger cross. Yeah if I win lottery its the second thing I would do is building a bigger tank .


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## hondas3000

macframalama said:


> diy led, is a massive undertaking... buckle up, especially on that size of a build ,


I know but I do need to look into LED for light as I need to save energy bill as well.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I just got a bunch of LED flood lights from Costco for my garage recently, they are 9 watts, work well and replaced my 50 watt halogens. You may consider doing that instead of a massive LED build.


How is the light output for it? and what color? I will swing by Costco this Sunday to check it out.


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## hondas3000

overlord1957 said:


> Hi Honda.
> In this thread you was mentioning that you use liquid rubber on your first tank and this time you decided to sue fibre glass instead.
> Could you please explain the neg effect on liquid rubber application.
> I have built 2 10,000 liter tank and line them with pond liner and they are doing the job as far as holding the water in. This time i plan to build many 30,000 liter tanks and still debating which material to use.
> Any for sight will be much appreciate.
> Cheers.
> 
> Van


I pm you my # as it is too long to explain.


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## tony1928

There's a ton of regular line voltage LED bulbs out now....I just replaced all of mine in my pot lights for the kitchen. Even dimmable with a standard dimmer. I paid around $25 bucks each on sale from Home Depot...made by Philips. They are of the "soft white" variety. Decent looking. I think they would work nicely for you since the area you need to cover is so large.


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## 2wheelsx2

hondas3000 said:


> How is the light output for it? and what color? I will swing by Costco this Sunday to check it out.


It's warm white, I think in the 3200 K range. Cost me $16 a bulb I believe. Par 30....straight replacement for a 50 W halogen flood.


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## hondas3000

tony1928 said:


> There's a ton of regular line voltage LED bulbs out now....I just replaced all of mine in my pot lights for the kitchen. Even dimmable with a standard dimmer. I paid around $25 bucks each on sale from Home Depot...made by Philips. They are of the "soft white" variety. Decent looking. I think they would work nicely for you since the area you need to cover is so large.


That is the thing since there is so many and the more they have the harder to choose. Beside I need light that is bright enough to light 3ft deep and low electric cost. So if it cost me that much to light up the tank, I might as well go for LED reef light from Charles as I really like the color of it.



2wheelsx2 said:


> It's warm white, I think in the 3200 K range. Cost me $16 a bulb I believe. Par 30....straight replacement for a 50 W halogen flood.


I might get a few of it to replace some in my house.


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## Tiwaz

hondas3000 said:


> This Sunday tank will be fill with water, so finger cross.


Ok its Sunday how'd the fill go? No leaks I hope.


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## hondas3000

I delay one day till Monday for Victoria days for my tank as well.

It's [email protected] pm first drop of water in, just cold water only so now let see how long it takes to fill up. I will be sleeping next to the tank tonight just to watch for leaks 









1HR fill









3HR 









Full Tank is 4 hours long


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## hondas3000

Water is freezing. So far so good, no sign of leak yet. Now is a waiting game. Let it sit with full tank for a week and I will setup sump and test run with back up pump.

swimming pool pump, this suck so much power so I only use it for back up only.









Custom made inline heater 1500W.


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## gklaw

So have you been grounded for a year haha. Well, with such a massive project, you pretty well grounded yourself for a year any way.

Looking good !


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## hondas3000

gklaw said:


> So have you been grounded for a year haha. Well, with such a massive project, you pretty well grounded yourself for a year any way.
> 
> Looking good !


Its true, I ask for trouble, there is still tons of work to be done. Look on the bright side, I never have to do WATER CHANGE again. Just feeding only.


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## hondas3000

Day two and so far so good, tank holding up good.


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## djamm

Great to see the tank taking shape and holding water. I really would love to see your tank once your fish are in the tank!

Cheers

Drew


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## hondas3000

djamm said:


> Great to see the tank taking shape and holding water. I really would love to see your tank once your fish are in the tank!
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Drew


Anytime Drew, I been stocking up for it lately so it will be completely different from the last time you saw it.


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## hondas3000

Good news, tank is holding up fine and leak free. The only thing I notice is the 1" acrylic view bow out at the middle about 1/4". You can't tell by looking at it but with the level you can. So now I just wait another week to see if more bowing on the acrylic and in the meantime do some plumbing so I can run the backup pump and heat up the water to 28 Celsius. Right now the water is 16 Celsius so no free swimming yet.


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## tony1928

With that much water I'm not surprised at the bowing. I notice the bowing in my tanks the most via looking at the reflection. On my 100g Tenecor Cube (probably one of the last ones ever made by them) they used fairly thin acrylic...probably around 3/8" and the bowing is very very noticeable. On my 400g, they used 3/4" acrylic but there's alot of bracing inside and the bowing isn't noticeable at all. There's additional 3/4" strips of acrylic inside the tank at the seams....so that effectively makes the thickness there 1.5". 

Dude, this is an awesome project. That's swimming pool sized! You should get a pic of you snorkeling in there.


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## hondas3000

tony1928 said:


> With that much water I'm not surprised at the bowing. I notice the bowing in my tanks the most via looking at the reflection. On my 100g Tenecor Cube (probably one of the last ones ever made by them) they used fairly thin acrylic...probably around 3/8" and the bowing is very very noticeable. On my 400g, they used 3/4" acrylic but there's alot of bracing inside and the bowing isn't noticeable at all. There's additional 3/4" strips of acrylic inside the tank at the seams....so that effectively makes the thickness there 1.5".
> 
> Dude, this is an awesome project. That's swimming pool sized! You should get a pic of you snorkeling in there.


I was thinking going for a swim in it first since my family think I am building a swimming pool not fish tank. But I need to heat up the water as it is too cold and boy, next electrical bill my wife will question me why it is so high . My excuse would be I heat up the tank so the kids can swim in it  .


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## macframalama

yeah good luck with that one, get some pics up lets see this monster


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## hondas3000

Guess what i use to test my water or cycle it . No filter yet, only pump and UV running to clear up the water and an air sponge. FYI the 2 goldfish is 5" so the fish at the back is a monster, 20lb at least.


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## m_class2g

very nice!!!! that pacu better hurry up and cycle your tank so you can start adding the nicer fish in there lol.

you keeping the pacu or relocating him after? 

you need an arapaima and school of african tiger fish


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## hondas3000

m_class2g said:


> very nice!!!! that pacu better hurry up and cycle your tank so you can start adding the nicer fish in there lol.
> 
> you keeping the pacu or relocating him after?
> 
> you need an arapaima and school of african tiger fish


 If you can find me a person willing to house it . I need to save up for arapaima now.


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## m_class2g

hondas3000 said:


> If you can find me a person willing to house it . I need to save up for arapaima now.


haha no idea david. where did you get that pacu anyways? lol.

arapaima would be very nice in there.


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## m_class2g

you still need to go in there and take the a in tank shot. lol.


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## hondas3000

m_class2g said:


> you still need to go in there and take the a in tank shot. lol.


I will but I need to find a bikini first :bigsmile: Maybe you can help me find a bigger arapaima instead. Something 12" or bigger so it can go direct into the main tank. Those gold fish my RTG can finish it in one bite .


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## Kenta

cool, field trip to your house soon


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## hondas3000

Kenta said:


> cool, field trip to your house soon


Anytime Kenta, as you live only 5 mins from my house . I wont be done for another 2 to 3 weeks as I busy with other work right now.


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## r.a.s.henson

saw this monster tank today as i picked up his freebie 75gal bowfront tank ( big thanks ) this build is just jaw dropping. lots of work , thinking and money has been put on this but id say in the end its all worth it especially after work sitting in front of it with a beer on one hand and cigar on the other ( not that i smoke :0) ) PRICELESS!!! your rays will be so happy. if all your monter fishes could speak , youll never hear the never ending thank you. great job man!! i hope im welcome for a tour when its all done. thanks again.


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## hondas3000

r.a.s.henson said:


> saw this monster tank today as i picked up his freebie 75gal bowfront tank ( big thanks ) this build is just jaw dropping. lots of work , thinking and money has been put on this but id say in the end its all worth it especially after work sitting in front of it with a beer on one hand and cigar on the other ( not that i smoke :0) ) PRICELESS!!! your rays will be so happy. if all your monter fishes could speak , youll never hear the never ending thank you. great job man!! i hope im welcome for a tour when its all done. thanks again.


lol beer and cigar. This suppose to be relax for me after long day at work or the kids driving crazy or wife is mad at me then I have my man cave to go to. Also thanks for helping lifting the sand filter and good things you are big and strong.

Here is some update. Did hook up the sand filter and running the back up pump and boy it is so strong that my 2 two inch pipe drain can't keep up with it.


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## King-eL

hondas3000 said:


> If you can find me a person willing to house it . I need to save up for arapaima now.


Is the pacu red bellied pacu or the black pacu?


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## hondas3000

its black pacu Earl.


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## King-eL

hondas3000 said:


> its black pacu Earl.


Aight I'll house that monster once ur done.


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## hondas3000

King-eL said:


> Aight I'll house that monster once ur done.


lol for real Earl? It is strong one of the strongest fish I been encounter so far. I'll let you jump in and catch it out as it will be tough with that much water now hehehehe.


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## charles

my frying pan is big enough. You can also bring it over.


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## King-eL

hondas3000 said:


> lol for real Earl? It is strong one of the strongest fish I been encounter so far. I'll let you jump in and catch it out as it will be tough with that much water now hehehehe.


got a big net to catch that monster.


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## hondas3000

King-eL said:


> got a big net to catch that monster.


I have fishing net here too, but what is hard that my ceiling is low, only 20" clearance on to but tank is 3 ft deep so I can stick a long net in. I think its best to use a fishing rod and fish it out hehehe. So when ever you are ready then just come pick it up.


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## hondas3000

charles said:


> my frying pan is big enough. You can also bring it over.


hehehe, I heard they breed pacu for food, so it must be good.


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## charles

yes, they are now using pacu in Africa for local to use them as food. I think River Monster show has learnt that they are starting to munch on meat as the veggie or floating veggie islands are disappearing and the pacu starting to run out of food. Meat including human's leg...


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## King-eL

hondas3000 said:


> I have fishing net here too, but what is hard that my ceiling is low, only 20" clearance on to but tank is 3 ft deep so I can stick a long net in. I think its best to use a fishing rod and fish it out hehehe. So when ever you are ready then just come pick it up.


might have to go swimming in


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## Foxtail

charles said:


> yes, they are now using pacu in Africa for local to use them as food. I think River Monster show has learnt that they are starting to munch on meat as the veggie or floating veggie islands are disappearing and the pacu starting to run out of food. Meat including human's leg...


It wasn't a leg Charles 

Sent from my SGH-T959D using Tapatalk 2


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## tony1928

Ouch.......



Foxtail said:


> It wasn't a leg Charles
> 
> Sent from my SGH-T959D using Tapatalk 2


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## Elle

Very. Cool. Build. 

Who else thinks that hondas3000 needs to start charging admission to see the man-cave tank? Get enough BCA members through and you could pay to build an even larger one!!!!


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## hondas3000

King-eL said:


> might have to go swimming in


bring your wet suit instead and I will film you while to hand catch the pucu let see who is faster .


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## hondas3000

Elle said:


> Very. Cool. Build.
> 
> Who else thinks that hondas3000 needs to start charging admission to see the man-cave tank? Get enough BCA members through and you could pay to build an even larger one!!!!


No admission necessary as this is my dream tank and its great that other appreciate and enjoy my tank and that is all I need. The only way I can build a bigger tank is getting a bigger house. I think my wife patient is enough with this size already and wait until she sees the hydro bill next month


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## hondas3000

So here is some update. Some fish is moving over but the expensive one will wait till this Saturday and I will shut down my told one. I haven't see my fish side way for almost 2 years and boy they sure surprise me in size. Its a lot bigger in person.


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## target

very cool. that is one big tank.


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## charles

That pacu is big  Makes your big silver looks small.

I think you need some albino pacu in there


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## King-eL

Nice to see some of those cichlids finally got the home they need. Ur not adding the tilapias and black belts?


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## King-eL

hondas3000 said:


> bring your wet suit instead and I will film you while to hand catch the pucu let see who is faster .


Hahaha I'll go diving in there with a net.


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## spit.fire

Do saltwater and buy my sharks


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## hondas3000

charles said:


> That pacu is big  Makes your big silver looks small.
> 
> I think you need some albino pacu in there


I am not a fan of pacu, this one I just feel bad so I rescue and now he is the dominion in the tank.



King-eL said:


> Nice to see some of those cichlids finally got the home they need. Ur not adding the tilapias and black belts?


Black bar yes but not tilapias as they grow for food so it is in 180g. I do want your Midas pair and Ausi lungfish now 


spit.fire said:


> Do saltwater and buy my sharks


Was thinking of divide it in half and have half salt and half fresh water.


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## hondas3000

So here is a sneak preview of full stock tank shot. There will be 2 more rays coming later.


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## Bluebarry

Nice tank David!! Congrats man!


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## tony1928

So does your setup take up most of the garage? No chance of squeezing a car in there anymore? Lol. The tank looks awesome!


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## jay_leask

oh wow they are in, that is awesome!!!!


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## hondas3000

Bluebarry said:


> Nice tank David!! Congrats man!


Thanks Barry, still got a lot of work to do. It is will one busy summer for sure.



tony1928 said:


> So does your setup take up most of the garage? No chance of squeezing a car in there anymore? Lol. The tank looks awesome!


My wife just talk about parking today too and I told her the truck wont fit in here as I have 2 car garage and this take up one side already. I told her I would build it longer if the garage bigger .



jay_leask said:


> oh wow they are in, that is awesome!!!!


Yeah and eating as well. I have 13 goldfish in there today and when I come down again to feed there is only 10 left.


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## gklaw

That is one crazy build  Awesome !

Hope you never have to replace that garage door opener  O, you won't be using that :lol:


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## hondas3000

here is a shot of my 1 month pregnant marble motoro. The pup will be F1 as both parent is wild caught from Charles awhile back.


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## m_class2g

nice david! should have some some good quality MM pups!!! 

how about some closer shots of the leos!?


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## charles

That is one awesome pattern marble motoro female. Who is the daddy?


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## hondas3000

m_class2g said:


> nice david! should have some some good quality MM pups!!!
> 
> how about some closer shots of the leos!?


will do when I clean the acrylic .



charles said:


> That is one awesome pattern marble motoro female. Who is the daddy?


This female is the first batch of marble you bring in Charles. Her pattern never change and the Daddy is a lot smaller but also from you and I bought it off from Andy. So the Mom is more then 2 years old now.


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## hondas3000

so here is the short video of it, still not complete on tank work yet as I am busy taken the old one apart. That pacu can eat dog food crazy .


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## hondas3000

my old tank. Quite a few changes in tank and fish as well.


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## jay_leask

wow that pacu is huuuge!!


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## hondas3000

jay_leask said:


> wow that pacu is huuuge!!


that is why it broke the tank from last owner and i have to rescue it. Such a strong fish was well when trying to catching it out.


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## shady280

There are 2 free 12" pacu in the classifieds. I thought of this tank when I saw that. Although yours is just a cycle starter. Lol


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## macframalama

holy moly angelina jolie, thats a sweet tank, and awesome stock, goood job man.


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## djamm

Great looking tank! So glad it worked out so nice!

I can hardly wait to see it

AWESOME!!!!


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## joker1535

You must go through tons of food with these monsters  beautiful arowanas btw


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## hondas3000

shady280 said:


> There are 2 free 12" pacu in the classifieds. I thought of this tank when I saw that. Although yours is just a cycle starter. Lol


I learn my lesson and only get fish that worth more then the food I feed. So this is the last fish I would rescue.



macframalama said:


> holy moly angelina jolie, thats a sweet tank, and awesome stock, goood job man.


THanks, building is an easy part, the hard part is to be able to maintenance for forever.



joker1535 said:


> You must go through tons of food with these monsters  beautiful arowanas btw


Let say the cost of food per month is enough for me to get many more aro, but then I am coming second on food cost, King_EL is #1 as it cost him more to feed his fish then himself.


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## hondas3000

so here is my early Christmas present. Monster tank require monster equipment.


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## tony1928

Tha's gonna be a lot of bubbles!


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## 2wheelsx2

Dumb question, but wouldn't it make more sense to have the return be above the water line to introducing gas exchange rather than using an air pump which requires more power and complexity?


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## hondas3000

2wheelsx2 said:


> Dumb question, but wouldn't it make more sense to have the return be above the water line to introducing gas exchange rather than using an air pump which requires more power and complexity?


lol its a good question. There are many factor that I need to do this. As the tank is too big so I need to have enough current so the heat can be evenly spread through out the tank therefore, I can't have the return above the water as it does nothing good except having bubbles and heat lost. I also getting 2 hydor #8 to help with flow as well. The air pump is mainly for the sump as I am using k1 media and every section of my sump I have an air stone underneath to stir up the build up and keeping bacteria stay alive. So you see only 1 air line will go into the tank just enough to create oxygen but the rest is for sump and other diy k1 media filter for my 180G as well. This is also good for power outage because I have enough air to cover the tank and sump and it doesn't require lots of power.


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## 2wheelsx2

Ah.....that all makes sense.


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## blurry

Any update on this amazing tank?


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## hondas3000

blurry said:


> Any update on this amazing tank?


So far so good and fish been happy in there plus ray breeding well too. I will update a video of it when I have time. Still very busy with work now.


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## hondas3000

So here is a short video of the tank. Everything is running good and fish are happy and ray start to breed again. I haven't got a chance to finish up the outside of the tank yet but this is it for now and will do more work when I have time.


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## skrick

Great job looks nice and clean great stock


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## AcidFear

Thats a pretty impressive fish tank! nice work


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## Ra's al Ghul

The first two pictures the arrow looks like a seal, awesome tank


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## macframalama

crazy tank, nice work


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## Elle

Holy giant tank, batman! Am I imagining it, or are all the fish at least 50% larger?


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## hondas3000

skrick said:


> Great job looks nice and clean great stock


It could be more clean if I can use stronger pump but then it would cost me on electric bill .



AcidFear said:


> Thats a pretty impressive fish tank! nice work


Thanks, I think I push my hobby to the max now. So in the future I don't have to talk about the fish I own but the size of the tank I own instead.



Roberto Luongo said:


> The first two pictures the arrow looks like a seal, awesome tank





macframalama said:


> crazy tank, nice work


crazy is the right word and that is how my wife describe me too.



Elle said:


> Holy giant tank, batman! Am I imagining it, or are all the fish at least 50% larger?


 They are actually 50% smaller in the video.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail

Great looking Tank but I miss the Pacu,I thought it was cool......


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## hondas3000

JohnnyAppleSnail said:


> Great looking Tank but I miss the Pacu,I thought it was cool......


The pacu is cool but its diet is not a good mix for this tank as it eats too much and to costly to feed prawn.


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## hondas3000

So Its almost one year and the tank is still incomplete  but on the bright side its been holding water fine and fish are happy except my wife .


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## hondas3000




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## hondas3000




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## hondas3000




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## hondas3000




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## 2wheelsx2

Tank and fish look great!


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## hondas3000

2wheelsx2 said:


> Tank and fish look great!


thanks, fish is doing great but tank need to finish up. Need to install background and do some finishing touch around the viewing window.


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## 2wheelsx2

I can't remember if you mentioned it before but what background are you putting in?


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## crimper

All I can say is wow! I wish my wife will allow me to set up such huge tank... so we save the trip to Vancouver Aquarium each year :bigsmile:

Awesome fish collection!


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## hondas3000

2wheelsx2 said:


> I can't remember if you mentioned it before but what background are you putting in?


No I haven't talk about background yet as I didn't plan to have one before but now I am bored of the blue color so I want to add some nice touch instead of drift wood. Here is the background I gonna use and I will use under water silicone to glue on.


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## hondas3000

crimper said:


> All I can say is wow! I wish my wife will allow me to set up such huge tank... so we save the trip to Vancouver Aquarium each year :bigsmile:
> 
> Awesome fish collection!


I save a lot on Vancouver Aquarium but I do still go there just for the kid to enjoy the activities as for me I like to look at my fish more .


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## m_class2g

A+++!!! crazy tank, crazy stock


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## Hammer

My hat goes off to you. That's epic monster!!


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## Clownloachlover

do you ever plan to install some sort of substrate on the bottom? While I commend you on the fact that this is a DIY project, it just looks so bare without gravel and plants and stuff...granted with those sized fish...it might be tough...I would love a tank that size in my basement


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## kacairns

I don't think he has the tank anymore, I believe Fantasticfish8 (David) does, in fact if I free some time up I'll be headed to his place to look at it for putting a base under it =)


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## eternity302

U own my dream!!

And poor Midas 

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk


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