73 gallon Vietnamese hillstream tank
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OP
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On today's episode of what can RR cause trouble with we have plumbing! As I've mentioned in previous threads the whole point of this tank is to condition the fish to a river current and new water type since they are coming from a pet store that essentially keeps them in a puddle like environment. I'm gonna accomplish this with the loop system of filtering and pumps.
Bellow is a pic of the tools you will need. I'm not including them in the cost of this build as they are common household tools.
You will need a sharpe or pen to mark for cuts, hacksaw for cutting the pvc and this is optional but a file to soften out the edges of the cut pvc.
Next up Is measuring for the cuts remember to take into account for the 3/4 of an inch that will slide into the pvc fittings.
Cut and dry fit them together after each cut to check positions are just right.
You can probably see where this Is going.
When the tank is in place I will plumb in the returns from the above tank sump they will come down above the pump and return the water facing towards the inflow sponges and pipes thusly creating a loop current rather then a tumble current. Total build time for this was about an hour with cleaning each cut. I will also spray on a coat of crylon fusion plastic spray to turn the pipes black. If you like the white leave it but my personal preference is a nice finished black pipe look.
Bellow is a pic of the tools you will need. I'm not including them in the cost of this build as they are common household tools.
You will need a sharpe or pen to mark for cuts, hacksaw for cutting the pvc and this is optional but a file to soften out the edges of the cut pvc.
Next up Is measuring for the cuts remember to take into account for the 3/4 of an inch that will slide into the pvc fittings.
Cut and dry fit them together after each cut to check positions are just right.
You can probably see where this Is going.
When the tank is in place I will plumb in the returns from the above tank sump they will come down above the pump and return the water facing towards the inflow sponges and pipes thusly creating a loop current rather then a tumble current. Total build time for this was about an hour with cleaning each cut. I will also spray on a coat of crylon fusion plastic spray to turn the pipes black. If you like the white leave it but my personal preference is a nice finished black pipe look.
Love the filter setup, All too often I see people with Hillstream loaches in a tank with nowhere enough water movement and wonder why they die or hang out on the filter outlet.
I once saw somebody put Hillstreams in with a Betta.
I once saw somebody put Hillstreams in with a Betta.
OP
OP
Agree on that. Really most loaches are from fast moving streams and we keep them in slow moving communities that just aren't right for them.
OP
OP
Thanks for the comment and glad it's fun to read. I strive to make all my builds fun and informative so hopefully it gives people ideas for there own diy builds. Gotta have fun with it or we would all just be weirdos keeping tiny animals in glass boxes.
OP
OP
Now I'm all for having a bare bones tank and it's certainly easy to simply press all the pvc together and presto filter and plumbing done but if you don't mind a fast trip to the store and potentially going brain dead from breathing in the fumes you to can have an industrial looking black finished plumbing so let me show you how.
First thing you will need is some krylon fusion this stuff is the bomb when it comes to coloring your pvc. It's pretty cheap at about 3$ from Walmart. As they proudly proclaim it bonds to plastic! What that means for us fish nerds is that it won't flake off in the water and poison our babies.
Next up is to find a piece of cardboard you don't mind defacing and lay out your pvc in a manner that allows you to hopefully reassemble it back into what it was before you started. Next shake up the bottle well and face that little white tab on the can towards the pipe. Reason I say that is I now have a black finger from not paying attention. Then spray away in an even fanning motion. Don't worry about it dripping down the side of the pipe as your next coat on the backside will cover it up. If your doing it in a warm room it takes about 15-20 minutes to dry 100% and then you can turn them over and do the other side. Now that we have had fun let's go over the boring safety stuff. At least make a small effort in finding your safety glasses that are dusty and in a long forgotten box at the back of your garage because lets face it safety is a pain. Second safety tip is that it's probably best to do this in a ventilated area or garage as this stuff smells a lot and as I alluded to earlier in this post unless you want to kill those last few brain cells we fish owners have then it's best not to breath in. Side note this is an excellent time to practice holding your breath because just like safely glasses who has time to fish the gas mask out.
First thing you will need is some krylon fusion this stuff is the bomb when it comes to coloring your pvc. It's pretty cheap at about 3$ from Walmart. As they proudly proclaim it bonds to plastic! What that means for us fish nerds is that it won't flake off in the water and poison our babies.
Next up is to find a piece of cardboard you don't mind defacing and lay out your pvc in a manner that allows you to hopefully reassemble it back into what it was before you started. Next shake up the bottle well and face that little white tab on the can towards the pipe. Reason I say that is I now have a black finger from not paying attention. Then spray away in an even fanning motion. Don't worry about it dripping down the side of the pipe as your next coat on the backside will cover it up. If your doing it in a warm room it takes about 15-20 minutes to dry 100% and then you can turn them over and do the other side. Now that we have had fun let's go over the boring safety stuff. At least make a small effort in finding your safety glasses that are dusty and in a long forgotten box at the back of your garage because lets face it safety is a pain. Second safety tip is that it's probably best to do this in a ventilated area or garage as this stuff smells a lot and as I alluded to earlier in this post unless you want to kill those last few brain cells we fish owners have then it's best not to breath in. Side note this is an excellent time to practice holding your breath because just like safely glasses who has time to fish the gas mask out.
OP
OP
Oh thanks Nick forgot to mention that step. If y'all want the paint to stick very well a light sanding will do the trick.
OP
OP
So let's try painting some happy little trees and a happy little mountain. On second thought I'll settle for a nicely finished solid color backing.
I basicaly like three colors for backings and pretty much every tank you see me paint will be one of these three, black, dark blue and light blue. Now why these colors? I like how they look and they tend to either bring out the natural colors of the fish or make it easier to do your job as a fish keeper. Black is a great color for a display tank especially one housing fish that are naturally in a darker climate as it calms them down and helps them intensify there colors naturaly. Dark blue is another good color for both bringing out the color of the fish and calming the fish but if you have a lot of very dark fish or black fish then dark blue helps you spot them a little better then the straight black background and it just looks sharp. Light blue is awesome for breeding a tank, hospital tanks and grow out tanks because it's easy to spot almost all fish against a light blue especially fry which can be tricky to spot in a standard aquarium however they are easy to spot against bright blue. Alright now that we have gone through why I use these colors let's see some pics explaining the process of painting your very own background.
First up is suplies your gonna need a small paint roller, masking tape, paint dish and 100% acrylic paint.
The paint is sold at pretty much any arts and crafts store or Walmart. It's cheap at about 2.50$ for a pretty big container.
Ok we all like to think we are an expert at painting and heck what better time to pretend your a famous artist then now right but unless you really are a famous artist your gonna need that masking tape.
Tape up the plastic rim and the edges so you don't accidentally paint over onto the sides or the rim. If you wanna play it fast and loose and not tape you can just razor off any paint you get onto the edges and a damp napkin will take it right off the plastic rim. That's one of the reasons using the acrylic paint is so great because it comes off super easy if you later want to change to another color or something else.
Apply it decently thick for the first coat and then let it sit overnight or about 8 hours. Your gonna want to do three or four coats to get it nice and thick and looking uniform.
Here's the video from my channel explaining all this if you don't want to read. No worries I won't judge you for not reading like an adult.
I basicaly like three colors for backings and pretty much every tank you see me paint will be one of these three, black, dark blue and light blue. Now why these colors? I like how they look and they tend to either bring out the natural colors of the fish or make it easier to do your job as a fish keeper. Black is a great color for a display tank especially one housing fish that are naturally in a darker climate as it calms them down and helps them intensify there colors naturaly. Dark blue is another good color for both bringing out the color of the fish and calming the fish but if you have a lot of very dark fish or black fish then dark blue helps you spot them a little better then the straight black background and it just looks sharp. Light blue is awesome for breeding a tank, hospital tanks and grow out tanks because it's easy to spot almost all fish against a light blue especially fry which can be tricky to spot in a standard aquarium however they are easy to spot against bright blue. Alright now that we have gone through why I use these colors let's see some pics explaining the process of painting your very own background.
First up is suplies your gonna need a small paint roller, masking tape, paint dish and 100% acrylic paint.
The paint is sold at pretty much any arts and crafts store or Walmart. It's cheap at about 2.50$ for a pretty big container.
Ok we all like to think we are an expert at painting and heck what better time to pretend your a famous artist then now right but unless you really are a famous artist your gonna need that masking tape.
Tape up the plastic rim and the edges so you don't accidentally paint over onto the sides or the rim. If you wanna play it fast and loose and not tape you can just razor off any paint you get onto the edges and a damp napkin will take it right off the plastic rim. That's one of the reasons using the acrylic paint is so great because it comes off super easy if you later want to change to another color or something else.
Apply it decently thick for the first coat and then let it sit overnight or about 8 hours. Your gonna want to do three or four coats to get it nice and thick and looking uniform.
Here's the video from my channel explaining all this if you don't want to read. No worries I won't judge you for not reading like an adult.
OP
OP
NewSo unfortunately the local fish store I planned on getting my white clouds from won't have another shipment in until later this spring. Since I'm not ready to drop 3.75$ each ordering them online I'll just have to put this build on hold for a bit. That being said I have a few other projects I'll be rolling out with what I hope passes as fun to read content and useful diy builds.
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