Tank has facelift

[SeanySean]

Hi all,

I finally managed to get around to giving my tank the much needed facelift it required, there was simply too many different kinds of wood in my apartment and was making it a bit gloomy, so I decided to chuck the wood and throw yet another crazy idea at this ever lasting project, I decided the new face should be marble and it had to go with the new clean look I have given my place.

even if still not finished, here is the look so far, I have just finished doing the marble on the front and have literally just finished tiling the side, I will be also doing the canopy and back, to finish it off, I will be using a colour / color enhancer to give it a wet shiny look as I have chosen honed mosaic tiles, This was not a small task to do and was my first attempt at tiling, but I have to say that I am quite proud of the results and can't wait for it to be finished. The tiles are cemented on 18mm Brasilian ply wood using a flexible cement and a sanded grout (yeah I know what I'm talking about now!!! honest

so... what do you guys & gals think?

before

and now

 

[Capt_Cully]

Well now! Can't say I've seen one like that before. Very nice work!

 

[SeanySean]

Thanx the people who sold me the marble said the same thing they thought I was mad, come to think of it most people have!!!

 

[jsmall79]

Looks Great..! Thank you for the wonderful idea I have learned so much on this site!!

 

[SeanySean]

Thanks, I learned everything I know on this site.... Thanks guys

 

[cdness]

looks good, I like the odd looking table in the picture too...

 

[atrox]

Bravo nice job, couldnt have turned out better. I think the cow in the pic has had better days though.

 

[SeanySean]

ha cheers cdness

just for you

 

[SeanySean]

the cows name is mable. however, my girlfriend will not allow me to put a table on it

 

[atrox]

Let me know if youd like some input on the the otherside. I work with glass, and that would make a great area for a mosaic

 

[SeanySean]

Just done it... shame I did not pyt the idea here first, maybe the back.....

 

[The Saltman]

Nice

 

[leoslizards]

Nice job! What's up with the green wood though, not done yet?

I've been thinking of doing that same thing to my stand for the past two months now. I have a ton of black marble in my front yard. They're 7" X 12" tiles but 1" thick so it'll be difficult and heavy to attach. My tile saw will only allow me to cut the tiles smaller but the thickness will still be 1". I was thinking of just crushing the marble and using it as decorative rocks in my FW and SW tanks but I don't know if it will mess with the water chemistry.

 

[leoslizards]

Well I did the vinegar test on the marble and it bubbles. Therefor it's not aquarium safe. I put some tiles up against the stand it it looks great! Each tile weighs about 10lbs each and I figured I would need about 28, 10X28=280lbs plus the 100lbs the stand already weighs. 380lbs! An all marble hood would be out of the question though. I also found some small nice looking limestone(?) tiles but not enough to cover the entire stand. They also failed the vinegar test. I also got a 6' by 4' by 1" slab of slate that weighs like 200lbs and about 4 different types of ceramic tiles. I like the black marble the best though, how would I go about attaching the tiles to the wooden stand?

 

[inachu]

Thats a lot of purple!

 

[leoslizards]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13061815#post13061815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by inachu
Thats a lot of purple!

LOL yeah I forgot to mention, you need a scrapper bad!

 

[macchicks]

I like the look of just the front viewing area clean. Its like your looking into a secret place that you should not see.

 

[thetrueclown]

Great idea. That looks freaking SWEET!!!

 

[SeanySean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13059609#post13059609 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by leoslizards
Nice job! What's up with the green wood though, not done yet? .

Still working on it, will complete the whole tank soon with pictures of course, 1" rhick is gonna weigh a lot, my front weighs in at around 40Kg and my marble is only 6mm thick! so an inch will be a massive increase, I was going to go with granite tiles, but the front is removable for access to fuge etc.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13064087#post13064087 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macchicks
I like the look of just the front viewing area clean. Its like your looking into a secret place that you should not see.

Exactly the look I am after... I am trying to get the tank looking as natural as possible, with only the front clean lets loads of stuff grow on the side, it also has the added advantage of keeping me hidden from the fishcals for that added voyeuristic touch, lol