125 Malawi Build

[censeoflife]

So I bought an Acrylic tank from CL and this is it's budget build story. lol..

Its pretty scratched, and the stand has seen better days. 280$ spent for tank and stand.

I thought the tank was a little to low so I scrapped some pallets for a lift.

I liked the red lacquer for the color. Steel wool and 3 coats got it nice and dark.

The existing panels where not for me so I chopped up some plywood.

Thought I could get away with a low profile lid. We shall see if this works out.

The work station.

Remember to put those kids to work!!

Especially the big ones! lol

Preliminary fit, The top needs a second coat but I think it looks great!

Here is my work on the "decorations". Started with 2" styro-foam insulation.

So I end up spending 10 hours total carving foam... lol..

But what I was left with is looking good!

I did get better at the little "houses" as I went on so I do like some better than others.


Here's some concrete work.

This is all based on the home made back rounds found on Our site and You tube.

 

[Spyral]

Dude, that is awesome! Looks 100% better than it did in the first few pics.

 

[censeoflife]

Oh I didn't put that I had polished it. no pics of that.
So this last one is after the #3 polish. still have 2 and final.

Thanks spy, I have been at this since February.

More pics to come, working on decorations too!!

 

[larry.beck]

Look great man! I love my 125g malawi tank, I'm anxious to see yours as it progresses.

 

[censeoflife]

The rusties I got from you larry, will call it home. plus the offspring of those red zebras too. I got some peacocks going in, and the rest is a shopping list. Lol.

 

[larry.beck]

Awesome! Glad to hear the rusties are doing well, and the zebra offspring as well. I've got a bunch more species you can consider when the time is right.

 

[censeoflife]

I will post when I'm looking you can bet money on it. lol.

 

[censeoflife]

Done with the tank polish now! Whoot.

 

[larry.beck]

Looking sharp! Can't wait to see how you set yours up. I love my 125g malawi setup. I'm upgrading my tank from an AGA to an Envisions Acrylic tank that I get to pick up this weekend. Then I think the AGA 125 will become the "new" grow-out for the Tanganyikans, while I work on getting the 300 ready. It needs a lot of TLC though.

Did you have to sand many scratches out of yours Cense? Did you sand and/or polish by hand or with a sander?

 

[censeoflife]

I used a set of buffing wheels on a cordless from Wesco, with 3 step Novus system. It didn't make it brand new again but damn, it was worth the investment!

 

[Anthraxx]

lol didnt make it brand new. thats a cleaner look then any of my all glass aquariums.. looks great. GL building the backgrounds and deco. personally for the time itll take id just buy lace rocks lolz. or that huge holey rock dudes been selling on craigslist for two months. just my two cents. GL to ya sir

 

[censeoflife]

I agree with you there. I put way to much time into the hides. That big piece of THR wont fit through the windows in the top of this tank, been eye balling that sucker. lol.. In the long run I just may end up with real rocks in the 125 and the hides I made in my other tanks.

 

[Anthraxx]

for the amount of time it takes to craft those things u may as well go grab the kids and head down to a pottery shop. ive seen some really nice things made out of clay before. either way keep pics coming of how that setup develops it looks fantastic.

 

[censeoflife]

Put water in it Today!

Also has used sand with MTS and some used gravel too.

This puppy is runnin around 400 gph with some media that I got ready ahead of time for this build. Can't wait to add lights and heater(s).

 

[Spyral]

Awesome man, I love it!

 

[Anthraxx]

thats a nice setup. is that your office or something? quite the statement if so hahah. either way looks great. kids did a good job sanding it all down

 

[censeoflife]

It's the waiting room to the company. My office is across from the tank. Perfect placement.
You can see a piece of the old stand where I was keeping a 30G fresh water. My boss liked having the little one around so it was pretty easy to get a big one in.

 

[Paintguy]

Ahh.. so your plan all along was to get him hooked with the little 30g. Looks great. I have two tanks in my office now. The subtle sound of trickling water is soothing. I think it keeps my stress down a notch.

 

[Spyral]

So, what Parker lines do you carry? We buy some Parker stuff as needed, mostly A-LOK and hydraulic fittings.

 

[censeoflife]

We supply Air and Hydraulic - hose, hose fittings, Hose assemblies, valves, pumps, motors, accumulators, filters and tube fittings. I am the customer service rep and material planner. exciting stuff! lol.. We only service Terex, Genie Ind. here in Redmond though. Nice small branch of the big world of Parker.