SeaTurtle Custom Build: 180 gallons (Done Project)

[Sea Turtle]

[Sea Turtle]

Day 32

i've sanded the interior of the tank using 280 grit sandpaper in preparation for the final lamination tomorrow...




i've spotted a few rough surfaces upon sanding the masilya so more patching was done instead of already painting the stand...


the right face of the tank was also installed today using 1/2 ply. dimension of which is 31.5" length and 27" height...




i also managed to seal the overflow today. the panel that was used was coated with epoxy first and then it was glued and screwed to the main tank...


i will be sealing the rear sump tomorrow and probably do some painting on the stand. the final lamination will also be done tomorrow. more updates to come and thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 33

the build started out with surface prep. the interior of the tank was wiped clean with lacquer thinner to remove possible residue from the sanding yesterday. what seems to be a simple job took more than an hour to finish
when everything's clean already, i laminated the interior again...




after 4 hours...


the front face of the tank was also installed. 1/2 ply was used here and was glued and screwed on the tank. it will be trimmed tomorrow of its rough edges and will be coated with putty...


the left side of the face also serves as the overflow front cover...


for the chamber that will hold the filter foam, i cut 2 pcs of 1/2 plywood measuring 5" high and 5.5" wide then cut to curve...


the 2 pcs of wood were joined by a pc of 1/8 plywood measuring to 15" in length and around 8" wide i think (forgot the width). the ply was glued first on the 2 1/2 ply then nailed using 1" nails. the nails were around 1/2" apart to get a good curve...


this thing will be coated with epoxy putty tomorrow...


i will continue working on with the filter chamber tomorrow and will probably glaze the front face of the tank. the rear exterior wall of the main tank will be installed tomorrow and will also try to work on with the rear wall of the sump so i could seal it already. more updates to come and thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 34

Minor update: the rear exterior wall of the main tank was already installed. it was glued on the baffles of the rear sump using epoxy then screwed...


the sump rear wall was also installed...


more updates to come later. thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 35 - 38

no major changes so far as i have been working on with the small details like sanding, sanding and more sanding. but i already started the 70% leak test yesterday just to see if there are leaks at the bottom part of the glass.

this were taken yesterday...








as of today...


the groove will serve as a gutter to keep the water (if there's any) from dripping at the front and at the right side...


well... more sanding to come tomorrow. lol! hopefully i could finish the the painting this weekend so i could already start on the hood. more updates to come and thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 40

all the sanding and glazing are 90% done already. i will probably finish it tomorrow before noon and move on to painting the tank. i also started fabricating the hood early this evening and will try to accomplish it by tomorrow so i could paint it on tuesday...

after 2 days of surface prep, she'll finally be painted by tomorrow...




here are the wood to be used as the basic framework of the hood...

t5 NO's will be used here...

then assembled. i cut 2.5-inch wide holes on the middle supports so the t5's could pass through it...


1/8 ply will be used to skin the hood...


more updates to come and thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 41 - 43

the tank was finally painted after the nightmares of sanding...






the hood has been skinned using 1/8" plywood and lots of screws then it was glazed earlier today...


and the 2nd day of the full tank leak test. glad there were no leaks...


i will continue fabricating the hood tomorrow so painting could be done by friday. will be posting more updates. thanks for viewing.

[hpowerleds]

very nice. i was wondering since you use wood did you treat it in anyway to prevent it from expanding/contracting?

if you answered that already please ignore.

[Sea Turtle]

no. there were no other treatments used here aside from sealing the wood with epoxy because there is really no need to do so.

[hpowerleds]

oh i see, glasurit or polytuff gamit mo?

[Sea Turtle]

pioneer epoxy sir. though i'm planning to switch to cord. i think polituff is polyester and not epoxy

[Sea Turtle]

Day 44 - 45

Minor Update: the tank was painted a second layer of epoxy paint yesterday and let it cure overnight before sanding (again) the parts that was painted red today...

i will be doing the second layer in a while and will also be painting the hood. will be posting updates again later. thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 45

shown here was the hood prior to painting. gaps on the joints were filled with auto body filler then was sanded using 280 grit sandpaper...


then it was coated with a layer of black epoxy paint. this will be sanded again tomorrow and will be painted red as well...


second coating of red paint was done earlier this afternoon...



trying out the hood

and the 5th day of leak the test...


will be posting more updates later. thanks for viewing.

[Sea Turtle]

Day 46

6th day of leak test. still holding up and no leaks...


the epoxy paint on the hood was sanded using 120 grit paper before it was coated with two layers of red enamel paint (4 hours interval between each layer)...

yung mga gustong magpa-fabricate ng hood pm nyo lang ako. lol!

i sprayed metallic black acrylic epoxy paint on the main tank as the final finish...




after the spray...



parang hindi kita yung pagka-metallic...

the sump...



filter foam chamber already installed

and with lights on...





since this is intended for a fw set up, we opted to use t5 NO's...

this is scheduled to be picked up tomorrow so i will be draining the tank early in the morning and will clean the whole thing. will be posting more updates. thanks for viewing.

[gallardo]

wow sir tapos nah galing naman hehehe kelan nyo po bibigay sakin yan?? hehehe TIA hehehe