Travis and Jessica's 400G Build
- Thread starter A_CoupleClowns
- Start date
A_CoupleClowns
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Good point, let the aquascaping begin! It's time to put the hammer down :hammer:
A_CoupleClowns
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Thanks! Pull up a chair it's just about to get good :spin3:
A_CoupleClowns
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Thanks!!!
The Dobes are so awesome, they just want to do anything you want to do. Great buddies. BTW don't talk about a third one or you will get Jessica going for another :lmao: !!
A_CoupleClowns
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Got all the rock carried into the house. The cardboard the big rocks are sitting on is exactly the same size as the tank dimensions. Also ran and grabbed some strong black (uv resistant) zip ties and a long masonry drill bit. Should get some progress made on the aquascape tomorrow. Also got the room all sanded out, yuck. Going to paint it tomorrow.
Looks like you are going to use the Ty-wraps to hold the rock together. A word of caution, make sure the ones you use do not come apart. Pull on them good to make sure they are holding. I use that brand a lot and have had MANY come apart. I plan on using fiberglass or acrylic rods for my rock work, similar to what Sanjay did on his 500.
daplatapus
New member
I used acrylic rod on mine too and it worked great. It takes a bit to get some of the rock to mate up nice and close but be patient and try every which way you can think of. The rod also can be made to bend with some heat. I used a plumbing torch on mine, just be careful not to heat it too much and make sure it's supported in the position you want it till it cools. Otherwise it may droop.
If you do bend the rod, you may have to ream the holes a bit to get the clearance you need to slide the rocks onto it.
I also found that even with all that, I could still see the rod in a few places. I really don't like the look of reef epoxy. So I used Fijicrete. I'm not sure if you can get that locally or not but check it out...
If you do bend the rod, you may have to ream the holes a bit to get the clearance you need to slide the rocks onto it.
I also found that even with all that, I could still see the rod in a few places. I really don't like the look of reef epoxy. So I used Fijicrete. I'm not sure if you can get that locally or not but check it out...
A_CoupleClowns
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I will try my best. Please remember I do not claim to be an aquascaping expert or anything of the sort though! Just a normal guy trying to make this happen :hammer:
Yes I always make sure they stay tightened when I tighten them down. I was going to use some 35lb zipties but went up and grabbed 2 packs of 75lb heavy duty straps, should be plenty strong for the job. I know what your talking about when you say "come apart" some of them never lock themselves correctly and wont stay tightened up, imo its just a plastic manufacturing defect in the square locking end, throw it away and grab another. I have seen some phenomenal tanks use the zip tie trick (RC member fudge to name one), I figure its a good way to actually lock the rock in place without it being able to swivel side to side at all. I didn't want to try and epoxy the rocks together to keep them in place because the reef epoxy has the holding power of a wet piece of masking tape :lmao:
BTW anyone doubting the holding power of a few zip ties has probably never seen the Ziptie Rally team in action. They are a local subaru rally team, that stomps around through the woods/ice with no fear. Holding the front bumper on with zipties doing 100+ mph through the woods hitting jumps :crazy1:... I would say zipties are fairly strong when used properly.
This is their old rally car from 2010.
The acrylic rods are great, a tried and true method. I went with zipties because they were easier to source and I have seen multiple people rave about using them for aquascaping. Plus I think with the zip ties I should be able to really lock the structures into place without relying on any type of cement/glue/epoxy.
Trust me, I used to race cars, so I know how strong zip ties and duct tape can be
Just wanted to give you a heads up on the failure of the plastic lock I have experienced using that brand of zip tie.A_CoupleClowns
New member
Trust me, I used to race cars, so I know how strong zip ties and duct tape can be
Cool! We do a little racing, but the racing we do isn't official timed competition so not much ziptie action there. I do still use them on the car from time to time though, can't beat zip ties for cleaning stuff up.
I appreciate it, and its good info for people reading the thread that may be thinking about using this method. FWIW I have experienced the locking end not working on almost every brand of all plastic ziptie I have used, I have gone through 1000's of them though so I figured it goes with the territory. Every so often you get one that doesn't work. I just opened one of the packs pictured and tested one, very strong couldn't break it apart applying quite a bit of force.
Just so I know we are on the same page and everyone else understands, you are talking about them never locking correctly right from the start. This is not a problem with the locking end failing over time, correct? Everyone reading along remember not to trust every zip tie, check to make sure they are locked and holding tight when you first tighten them down.
Correct, from the get go. You need to "test" each one to make sure it is holding. I haven't had them fall apart over time once they are locked.
A_CoupleClowns
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Only use black zip ties that are 100% plastic. The black ones are UV protected. The zipties with the metal in the lock are different, you do not want to use those, no metal allowed in the tank!
A_CoupleClowns
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The room is all painted up and ready for action. We will post some photos soon.
Now we need to get some electricity flowing out there. I have been contemplating taking the 60amp hot tub power supply we have located on the back of the house and running it over to the back of the garage (the hot tub power supply is unused that was from the previous owners). Go through the garage wall with it and do a 60 amp sub panel right there for the fish room. That would make it simple to run the GFI stuff from the sub panel to the fish room.
Working on the aquascape. Kind of planning a mountain sloping down taking 2/3's of the tank and an island made with that huge shelf piece in the other area. More on that soon.
Now we need to get some electricity flowing out there. I have been contemplating taking the 60amp hot tub power supply we have located on the back of the house and running it over to the back of the garage (the hot tub power supply is unused that was from the previous owners). Go through the garage wall with it and do a 60 amp sub panel right there for the fish room. That would make it simple to run the GFI stuff from the sub panel to the fish room.
Working on the aquascape. Kind of planning a mountain sloping down taking 2/3's of the tank and an island made with that huge shelf piece in the other area. More on that soon.
