sianeds
Fish Addict
So...this morning I went to see my friend Pete who is a glazier. We have come to 2 conclusions.
1. The tank will be made from acrylic rather than glass
2.We will use the wood effect plastic you make upvc windows from, to build the majority of the framework.
Acrylic will be much more expensive I know but he can get it trade price for me and can work it so there is no great problem there.
He showed me the wood effect plastics he uses to build upvc doors and window frames. If I choose carefully it will look just as good as real wood and will only be used for framing the "legs" and egdes. The main pro's with using this are....1. It's super easy to work with as it can be silliconed together rather than using screws etc right by my acrylic...2.It is very light and still strong...3. it's waterproof so no chances of it ever rotting as we all know how destructive saltwater can be...4.It has a very convienient structure...It is made of 2 straight edges, but the inside is hollow so I can easily hide the wiring for the LEDs.
The base of the table will be made from a solid sheet of treated MDF which will have a layer of neoprene on top and rubber feet on each corner, in the middle of each side and 2 underneath for added strength.
The acrylic tank will sit directly on the neoprene. Once the tank is in place we will build the "legs" around it. This is for 2 reasons. 1. we don't want to scratch the acrylic putting it in and it would be a fiddly job anyway. 2. There will be a load of LEDs in each leg and I don't want to damage them putting the tank in place.
Once the legs are put on we will frame the entire tank in the same wood effect plastic. I am not going to use flourescent tubes along the edges. instead we are going to have rows of white and blue LEDs along the top and bottom egdes of the tanks framing. This will be lots easier to build and should be plenty bright enough without blinding me!!
Luckily the person who has the next unit to my glazier friend is and electrician. He has offered to help with all the electrical work as he has never done anything like this before and is really interested.
Anyway....now we have ordered the acrylic. It should arrive next week as I'm too tight to pay extra for a fast delivery!!
1. The tank will be made from acrylic rather than glass
2.We will use the wood effect plastic you make upvc windows from, to build the majority of the framework.
Acrylic will be much more expensive I know but he can get it trade price for me and can work it so there is no great problem there.
He showed me the wood effect plastics he uses to build upvc doors and window frames. If I choose carefully it will look just as good as real wood and will only be used for framing the "legs" and egdes. The main pro's with using this are....1. It's super easy to work with as it can be silliconed together rather than using screws etc right by my acrylic...2.It is very light and still strong...3. it's waterproof so no chances of it ever rotting as we all know how destructive saltwater can be...4.It has a very convienient structure...It is made of 2 straight edges, but the inside is hollow so I can easily hide the wiring for the LEDs.
The base of the table will be made from a solid sheet of treated MDF which will have a layer of neoprene on top and rubber feet on each corner, in the middle of each side and 2 underneath for added strength.
The acrylic tank will sit directly on the neoprene. Once the tank is in place we will build the "legs" around it. This is for 2 reasons. 1. we don't want to scratch the acrylic putting it in and it would be a fiddly job anyway. 2. There will be a load of LEDs in each leg and I don't want to damage them putting the tank in place.
Once the legs are put on we will frame the entire tank in the same wood effect plastic. I am not going to use flourescent tubes along the edges. instead we are going to have rows of white and blue LEDs along the top and bottom egdes of the tanks framing. This will be lots easier to build and should be plenty bright enough without blinding me!!
Luckily the person who has the next unit to my glazier friend is and electrician. He has offered to help with all the electrical work as he has never done anything like this before and is really interested.
Anyway....now we have ordered the acrylic. It should arrive next week as I'm too tight to pay extra for a fast delivery!!