5Ft, low tech,planted - African Biotope Project

Ok...
So its been a hot minute (closer to 11 years) since I've done this. The world has changed, many things have changed, but the time has come to revisit this old fixation..

I have managed to source a banged up, used and abused tank, being sold by a dude in the middle of nowhere which suits my purposes perfectly. Its a little smaller than I have had in the past (1500X 640X640) so quite deep but not as long. The frame is welded steel with the glass panels individually integrated into said frame. The look is different, but I kinda like it (a lot of my home decor is black) and it means I can replace panels if needed, quite easily.

So the first mission was getting this thing, then getting the pre-existing steel roof (on hinges) ground off.
That done it was mission "get it home"

Once home, several hundred sandpaper pads later, the rust was gone, the top coat of black paint was gone, the surprise undercoat of green paint was gone and we had bare steel with which to work. I taped off the edges just to ensure the orbital sander didn't scuff the glass (which is in decent knick considering)

Below is one of the sellers old images, you can kinda see the massive, steel roof.


Below are some pics of the process I briefly described above:





also had a van Gogh-esque background to scrape off...





bare steel frame starting to peek through

 

Some more clean up shots... Once the old stuff was gone, I applied some healthy doses of rust converter (for obvious reasons) but also to provide a decent base coat. Also enlisted the help of a few young folk and one older one, to get the thing done.

Original Condition


Ground to steel base layer


application of rust converter





and finally, after a few coats of Straight to steel, Matt Black paint.



I may have omitted a few steps, but for ease of reading this makes more sense. So it obviously took several hours for each layer to dry etc.
I then cleaned (scrubbed) all the glass with vinegar and a bit of bicarb and a paint scraper, turned out pretty good. Then proceeded to vacuum out all the dirty water and leftover gravel and whatever other siff stuff had fallen in. Result wasn't too bad I dont think..

Then came leak test time..
I always put about 5cm of water in first then stop to check even depth. A spirit level is great on the frame but it doesn't always show the level on the base and you cant use them so well under water so I measure the depth with a ruler in all 4 corners and adjust the feet accordingly. Bear in mind this is in a temporary location on my deck, it'll be moved inside soon.
so far so good.....

 

Very unique tank. Love all the DIYing that went on there. Its turned out really great ! Following along

 

Thanks bud appreciate that.
Eventually I’ll be making a base to cover the more ornate steel work at the bottom. Definitely not to my taste

 

Nice Tank Greg. I have kept and repaired many steel framed tanks. At least nowadays there are better products. A tip; to place a timber block under each steel foot.

 

Thanks for the tip, yes I intend to do that once I finally get it inside. Either wood or some high density foam/rubber. The plastic mats will also stay.

I agree, there are better products, but I wanted to so this on a budget so the less spent the better. This was the best deal available locally.