My Escape proof Octopus Tank

[Octopussie]

well i have just constucted my first octopus tank. whatcha think? its a 50g tall tank, xp2 canister filter, seaclone 100 skimmer (modified a little), 36 watt uv sterilizer, inline heater.

i cut a piece of plywood for the top and constructed a surface skimmer for my canister filter out of a breeder box(i made the slits in it as small as i could). no octo yet but i do have a xl domino damsel (this thing has cycled 3 of my setups so far, hes been threw hell and back many times) to cycle the tank.

so just tell me if ya see any flaws.
tanks,
Anthony

 

[Thales]

I am a little worried about the underside of the plywood getting wet and molding/dripping back into the tank. Painting all the wood with marine epoxy paint would make me less worried.

 

[Jeff]

Why not use the wood as a pattern and trace it onto a piece of 1/4" acrylic? How are you planning to get light into the tank?

 

[Animal Mother]

Looks like the ambient light from the room will be enough for the tank.

Like Thales says, the wood will eventually rot/grow mold. Acrylic would be best, or maybe plexiglass. Some people use "Light diffuser" material with mesh screen over it, would be relatively cheap. I used the glass aquarium lids, and cut out styrofoam to fit around the filtration and fill in gaps, with lots of duct tape to hold it in place. Looks pretty redneck but it works. Yours is much more appealing to the eye!

 

[Octopussie]

do you think i could use some 2 part epoxy and coat the underside of the the top or maybe a bunch of coats of polyurethane?

 

[Octopussie]

i have yet another question. i want to keep a bimac or valgaris. i did some research on the internet and it said that bimacs to better with tempertures between 65 and 72 degrees. i took out my inline heater and my temp wont go below 75.3 degrees. is this ok or do i NEED a chiller?

 

[Octopussie]

you were right. i only had it running for 5 days and its already starting to mold. im going to lowes tommarow and looking for a big plastic cutting board that i will cut ant fit on it. i want to use a material that i can easily cut with a table saw.

 

[Octopussie]

Well i made a new top today. its made out of 2 plastic cutting boards hinged together. i screwed one side to the aquarium and used lag bolts with wingnuts to hold the door shut. i also made a spot for the light to shine threw. Goodbye mold.

So now what do you guys think?

 

[scuba kid]

Wow, that looks awesome! Great work!
Just one question though, where do you open the top?

 

[Animal Mother]

Very, very nice.

 

[Octopussie]

you just undo the wingnuts and lift up.

 

[ryan_paskadi]

awesome....I think i will copy the idea of using cutting boards

 

[Octopussie]

Dont use plexiglass on the light opening. i warps and comes off from the heat. i switched to glass i works a lot better.

 

[Echidna09]

Do you plan on adding live rock? If not I would get at least enough for him to hide in. He won't be very active or happy without any.

 

[Octopussie]

 

[wmfsoll2]

Nice work. How long till you are able to inhabit the tank?

Bill

 

[kydsexy]

beautiful. why dont you get fish that will last long and not a short lived octo?

 

[Octopussie]

well i have always wanted an octopus since i was a kid, so here i am haha! i will have my octo a soon as i find a place to buy one.

 

[melev]

I would suggest you replace the metal screws with nylon bolts. That way they won't rust. The wing nuts are fine made of metal, since water won't be in contact with them.

Looks very child proof. The test will be the octopus.

 

[ryan_paskadi]

did u use cell cast acrylic or extruded acrylic from lowes or home depot before you switched to glass?