# 5G/1.5G Tank Combination



## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So I don't have pics yet and haven't started yet but I figured I would start this thread to at least get my entry into the DIY contest.

I have an old 5g bookshelf tank form petco a few years ago and a 1.5 gallon betta tank. The betta tank also just as old. I had the idea of taking the two tanks and combining them so that the 1.5 gallon will have a small waterfall that goes into the 5g tank. I will create a small pip from the middle of the 5 gal to the bottom of the 1.5g and attach a pump to make sure theres always enough water in the 1.5g to flow. I was wondering if anyone knows details of if this will work? I think it should work but I dont actually know and there will most certainly be a lot of experimenting but hopefully no disasters...

Additionally, in the 1.5G, i plan to add a platform on one side with a "pot" for a bamboo plant to get a zen garden-ish look. In the 5g, i plan to section off a corner and turn it into a snail-area, as I want a dwarf puffer for the main area. This area will have holes big enough for snails to crawl out but not for the puffer to enter so the puffer will have a slow supply of snails that wander out of the "refuge." There will also be added caves and a platform added to the 5g to make the space more interesting. Does anyone know if the snail area will need active circulation? The flow of water will be severely hampered by the wall of the refugium despite the holes i plan to drill, will i need a second pump to create movement?

I know this is a fuzzy description of my idea, I will try to post pictures by this weekend to try and clarify what it will look like.


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*cool*

sounds good...a lil pea puffer ...i have seen several of the waterfall aquarium setups...the first thing is the fall...you dont want splash so you have to have the top tank so close to the other tank that you may need to build a custon shelf...this setup works best if a single tank is baffled... oh and dont forget about evaporation...in a small heated uncoverd enviroment the water can go fast...let us know how it goes...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

OK so i got some pictures, 







This is what the two tanks will look like together, the 1.5g is taller so it will be flowing into the 5g







This is the area I will cut away and allow water to flow from the taller tank to the lower. I think I will also cut into the 5g tank so the space where the water will flow over will have a splash guard. I will be adding a small lip here to make sure the water all goes into the tank and not drip along the sides of the tanks.







This corner is where I will be adding a divider and dedicate the corner to snail development. The divider will have a lot of holes as well as vertical slots at the top and bottom to allow surface movement. Still not sure if I need a lot of additional water movement for snails besides the surface







This is the 1.5 close up, I want the pump to push water in right above the substrate and on the other side will be a plexiglass platform with sand or gravel with a plant. This should slow the current and push the water back toward the right side and upwards towards the waterfall area. I'm hoping that I will be able to have shrimp or a betta in here and the second platform will slow the current enough for a betta. Not sure how much current will be created to get the waterfall going.

Also contemplating cutting the LED fixture in the 1.5 tank and placing it elsewhere as a moon light,

Please let me know what you think of this project, the plexi and weld-on is coming in tomorrow hopefully so i can get to work next weekend cutting and welding.


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*cool*

as long as there isnt much of a drop off....or ther was something breaking the flow like a pitchers lip...thhis looks like it could work out rather well and the snail refugium is a nice idea...i wonder if i could apply it to shrimps instead...i dont see why not...with most DIY things there met be a couple of kinks to work out but you seem rather intelegent...let us know how it works i have a few acrylic betta mini tanks just sitting around that work for similarprojects....ADIOS...


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## Ryan1824 (Sep 23, 2010)

Why not just make the 1.5 Gal your snail tank? Snails could climb out the waterfall opening and drop into the main tank.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Because I want to keep betta or a shrimp, I care more for being able to see the betta/ shrimp, not so much about the snails. However, the snails i definitely need for the puffer.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So acrylic is probably the most frustrating material to cut. Spent 4 hrs on just the refugee wall and still not done sanding the edges smooth. For those who want to work with acrylic, go slow with the cutter, i use a dremel and i have several chips now that i cant get rid of even cutting at slow speed. >.<


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*acrylic*

on thinner pieces you can use a heavy duty saudering gun...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Well it took over 7 hrs of cutting and filing and sanding but I think its finally ready. Unfortunately, this was supposed to be the easy part... Now i need to cut the platform and weld it together with the refugium. I almost got so frustrated that i was gonna use a soldering iron but my plexi is 3/8th inch thick and it woulda melted all over the place.. Im hoping the moss in the refugium when i set it up will cover up most of the imperfections i missed.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

sopunds good so far... any further pix yet?


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So this is what the cut wall looks like:








It will look like this in the aquarium








Sanding these parts were the most frustrating









After cutting, especially after a few in, the plastic gets flimsy so vibration from the cutter leaves these, almost teeth-like, edges and I had to file and sand them down. Filing too roughly will cause the plexi to chip as seen in the 3rd pic, and sanding it down smooth required hours of sitting in one place and patiently running sandpaper between the teeth. Even at 150 grit, it was a looooong job. I was afraid to use anything rougher since then it would just be the same as filing and I will, if I have time, get 400 and 600 wet-dry to make it smoother. That part will be optional since you wont be able to tell too much after u fill it with water. The bottom area has longer vertical entries because the substrate will be ~2 inches and i wanted to leave some space so snails could exit from the bottom too. I was gonna drill some holes but I wont risk that now since i think the plexi is too brittle for proper drilling. Also seems unnecessary if there is an exit up top and bottom.

Next part will be gutting the 1.5g tank :-/ this part will be much more risky and complicated than the refugium wall. The tank walls are thin and if the cuts arent exact, it will not weld and leak.


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*nice*

wow .... you did a nice job there...i dont have the steady hand to pull of that craftmanship...


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I think this is a really neat idea I am looking forward to seeing the finished project.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Thx guys, 

Unfortunately my hands are not steady enough, theres a few parts that really annoy me everytime i look at it :-/ but at least it didnt shatter. Theres also more scratches on the surface of the than i would like but the blue plastic was really in the way of seeing what i was doing so i had to take it off.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So this project has hit a snag, while working on the 1.5 today, a miscalculation and lack of skill with a dremel has made the hole in the 1.5 far too large to fit over the 5g. So now I either have to,
a) sand the edges and weld on more acrylic to filli in the gaps, this would result in a strange random box structure in the 1.5g unit.
b) skip the 1.5g tank and place the waterfall into the 5g tank via a divider.

Option A would take far longer to do, but will maximize space in the 5g for the puffer. It would, however, have a strange box as mentioned before in the 1.5g that wouldnt really work with what i want for the 1.5g, i would have to totally change how I wanted the platform in the 1.5g.

Option B would be far quicker, to do. It would, however, reduce living space for the puffer to about 3 gallons. This options also affords a host of new options though. With the waterfall in the 5g, I can build a hood that will help with the evaporation. Moreover, a hood would allow me to place a light directly over the tank instead of having to use sunlight as originally planned. It would also be way more portable in the event that it needs to be moved. 

I can do either, but I was wondering what everyone else thought about this? I really cant decide on which one is better :-/


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I am thinking A in the long run maybe better for the planned puffer just because almost everything I have researched says 5 gallon is the minimum for the dwarf puffer.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Oh, this might make a difference, the filter on this tank will be the penguin 100, which does 100gph and thus will turn over the 5g 20 times in an hour of 18 times with the 1.5 g add-on.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

That should be enough filteration I would say toss a coin to decide. LOL Not very scientific but it would be a way to chose. LOL


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Well the other thing is option A would be better for the fish, but I would have to withdraw my entry into this competition for sure with it since measuring, and cutting the areas where i need to fill with acrylic will take at least 1 weekend. and the waterfall will be another weekend and the interior accents will be a 3rd weekend i think i only got 2 left... :-/


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Well if you did withdrawl from this months you could always enter again in the next one right? I personally would still go with option A just because I think it would be better for the fish even if you have lots of filteration.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

yea.. well back to the design board!


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Well you know the old saying practice makes perfect. LOL Good luck with it I am looking forward to the finished product.


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## ram50 (Sep 21, 2010)

Please keep with it!!! i really like this one too and would love to see it..


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So upon doing some further research, apparently Weld-on 3 that i bought need the edges of the acrylic to be EXACT or it wont bond well. So now all those lovely angles i approximated need to be hand sanded on 400 wet-dry until they fit exactly. the plus side is that this causes the bonds to be bubble free so the final product will look much neater.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I know its more work but keep with it because it will be awsome when your are done with it. ; )


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

OH def gonna finish this, ive invest too much time to abandon it halfway. Its just turning out to be more work than expected. I dont think i would have finished on time even without the bad cuts in the 1.5g. :-/ But since i know i wont finish on time, i might order more acrylic and try making some other things for the tank like a custom hood for this system... or creating a base so the tank can be carried without risk of it snapping in half.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So there's another lesson I learned today with working with acrylic, specifically Weld-On 3. THis is not just a glue, its a solvent that melts the acrylic so when u bond it, it seals the acrylic together. Thusly, if you apply too much like I did and it drips on parts of the acrylic you dont want it to drip at, and then you stick ur finger in it, it will make a copy of your fingerprint. Also, if you get it on your skin, it feels like icy hot, its cold, then its get warm, except after that it starts to burn a little. 

If anyone uses this for their projects in the future, be very careful during application. Also it dries super fast so you cant go slow either, you need to be quick and careful.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Sounds like it could be a bit painful.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Nah, its not so bad, just run it under water asap. This project has become indisputably mine now though since it has my thumb print on one of the pieces of acrylic :-D. Gonna try and get more done before posting pics.


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## zof (Apr 23, 2010)

Its not yours until blood is embedded in it


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Lol


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

zof said:


> Its not yours until blood is embedded in it


I think ill just stick with my fingerprint... And then write my name in sharpie somewhere...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Started welding this past weekend, I got the platform to weld with the refugium wall and sanded down the edges to be flush with the wall of the tank.








This is the wall and platform initally, the platform is all sanded down because i wanted to get my thumb print out of the bottom of the platform. I also sanded some additional areas to make it look semi-uniform. It should all be clear when the tank is filled though.








Quick rinse, this is what it looks like, around 3 inches off the bottom, going to fill it with sand later so there will be a area of soft sand for the puffer








The whole tank thus far.








Started sanding down the side, I painted it to make it look frosted when I painted the back of the tank. Turns out clear acrylic paint doesnt settle evenly and the frosty effect failed. I have no idea what this paint will do when submerged in water so im sanding it out since this side will be in the betta tank. This stuff is tough, took me 2 hrs of hard sanding alternating between 120 grit and 400 grit wer/dry to get around 33% of it out.


Will be working on more sanding of the side and shaving/sanding the edges of the cut 1.5g. Lots of sandpaper in this project :-?


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*wow*

that looks so sleek...i can already tell this is gonna be nice when all is done...i dont think anyone i know could have done a better job...and thanks for the heads up on the glue and paint...


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

looks realllllllly good ... this build is coming along great!


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Looking good. Its going to be awsome when its done.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

zof said:


> Its not yours until blood is embedded in it


HAHA now it really is mine! i cut myself while scoring a piece of acrylic and now there is a small blood blotch on one of acrylic pieces... debating if i should weld that in... :-D


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

LOL you could say its your artistic signature. ; )


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

hahaha itll look like one of those microscope slides...


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Lol


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

i actually cleaned it off but this gave me an idea... i might carve the name of this... tank, like give it a project name, and then bleed into the carving, wipe it off so it stains and then seal it by welding it to the tank, a little grusome but i think it would be an interesting way to sign the creation...


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*hmmm*

literaly being a part of the project...i wish i had heard your idea before i filled my acrylic 55 gallon hex 5 years ago...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

I think i am doing mine on the ourside of the tank, i think u could try that, although i would be a bit worried about the weld-on softening up the acrylic. You could probably do it at the top of the tank without any problems.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Quick update, no pics

Got the 1.5g cut. Was still having tons of problems getting the edges perfectly straight because i was working witha square in the middle of the wall and the sides and edges were really obstructing my cuts. The breakthrough to this was actually a massive screw-up, i broke the tank, literally, snapped the top portion off accidentally, but then i realized it was exactly what i needed.

Frustrating story short, I opened up the 1.5g and got the edges straightened out. Will be working on sanding and welding the bridge this weekend. The "mistake" also opened up a really cool idea, at least i think its a cool idea, but i wont share that just yet since im not 100% sure of how im gonna do it but it should be pretty awesome if it works.

Also, my 5g is painted in the back. what do yall think about painting the back of the 1.5g too? it is currently clear but i think it might look unbalanced if i keep it that way since the "half" of the tank has a black/grey/blue background.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I would paint it so it will match. ; ) I am like you I think it would look unbalanced if you leave it clear.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

im having all kinds of hell with my weld-on right now, its so hard to control and i got it all over my 1.5g so i literally need to sand down and entire side and polish it or there will be streaks of melted acrylic. Its kinda forced me to paint one side since it was so damaged by the bonding agent that if I were to polish it it would take me almsot a week of slowly sanding its to finer and finer grits. The final paper grit for polishing is 12000 and i need to move up to it from 400grit paper... so yea, def painting it...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

So that whole idea about bleeding into a piece of acrylic and sealing it doesnt really work very well. I tried to cut into a piece of acrylic to make the name of the project and knives cut too thin of lines for it to really show and using the dremel rotary tool to etch it was too thick and i do not want to use that much blood to do this project. One could use a etcher, but im not planning on getting any new tools except for a drill so no blood sig for this project...


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

LOL Well we know you have put your blood, sweat, and tears into this project even with out the signature. LOL


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Another update,

So this weld on stuff has got to be used with a syringe with a small enough gauge to control it. I discovered that most of my mistakes have been caused by my syringe needle being too wide and i couldnt retain the bonding agent in it so i spilled a lot.








Finally sanded and welded the first platform into the 1.5g tank. The platform slopes down as it gets to the other side because i need it to redirect the flow of the water from the main 5g tank underneath it. This will allow the force of the water to be mitigated so the water drifts upward and down the water fall instead of causing all the water in the tank to swirl like a toilet bowl. The betta will not enjoy that. I also measured it so that after adding substrate, the betta will not be able to get underneath it as the space between the platform and substrate will be too small allowing me to keep shrimp. They will serve as food for the betta if i go on vacation and maybe the flow of the waterfall with wash some of them down to the puffer to feed the puffer too. If im lucky, maybe the 








This is what happens when Weld-On goes wild. Those streaks are permanent, they dissolved parts of the acrylic, its almost impossible to sand it out, im gonna have to live with those streaks... forever... and ever...








Stencil of what im painting and second platform. Im gonna try and get a floating moss island with that second platform. Why? I have no idea.








Inside of the 1.5g








Also finally sanded off the paint on the side, it only took 4 hrs of my life and my entire right arm is numb. Had to use a knife to scrape off the majority of it and sand it down, scrape, sand, scrape, sand. Hole is going low and as far back as the tank will allow so the pump isnt sitting in the middle of the side of the tank.

Progress is still slow though, gonna go buy a drill or borrow a friends hopefully tomorrow, will also be installing the underground cave soon. You can see part of it in the last photo. Once the hole is drilled and cave installed, all i need to do install the lip of the waterfall an figure out the impact zone of the water.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

1st and foremost WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! nice job and as far as the floating moss island you asked "why" because its cool and will be very unique !!!!!!!!!!!! looking real good keep up the great work...


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Finally got my drill, first drill i have ever owned actually, but im missing the correct sized bit, the ones i got are too small. However, after some measuring, the pump can fit flush against the back side of the g so i can easily plant something in front and disguise it so thats good news. Just need to make sure i dont shatter the plexi when i drill :-/. However, i will be leaving the country tomorrow for a bit so there wont be another update till December.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

well have a safe and wonderful trip!!! as for drilling the plexi i would take a practice piece and drill that first .. the key is to have slightly firm pressure on it and let the drill do the work .. to hard you will break it to light and you will end up with a melted mess on your bit.... its not hard just takes a little getting used to for you to find the right feel


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Unfortunatly, the only spare pieces of plexi I have are all very small scraps, if i practice on them, its likely im going to drill into my own fingers :-/ I bought a bit-set so im going to start small and slowly expand it to the correct size, taht should give the plexi ample room to avoid catching and cracking.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

! each time you increase bit size the edges could grab on to the existing hole and it could tear versus cutting.... go with the size you need first and if you find its to small go up but do it slowly and start the drill away from the piece... (i found hout the hard way LOL)


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

I was told to go small and slowly increase so the drill sizes away at the sides and the pieces i don't want have ample room between the blades to bend as to avoid catching and tearing the acrylic?

I was also told to use a smaller bit first because it allows me to be more accurate and give me opportunity to adjust of i mess up the first drilling.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

I managed to drill the hole with no problems. It came out much smoother than i ahd anticipated making me think that this tank may not actually be true acrylic. I noticed that the bonds between the tank and my acrylic are not clear. They are strong, but the tank "acrylic" clouded, making me think that the tank may actually be a form of clear PVCish material. Eitehr way, weld-on works on it so i think im still good to go.

Also managed to attach the cave, used way more weld-on taht i should but that was ok since its gonna be covered by substrate anyway.

Lastly managed to paint the back of the 1.5g, but the coat wasnt thick enough and it looks kinda wierd. I wont sand it down though, it will be whatever it turns out to be since i really dont have the time to deal with it anymore. The weld-on spill allowed paint to adhere much mroe radily so the streaks are actually still visible since htey absorbed the paint so well and the rest of the sides did not, so the duel layered paint looks like more blue streaks with a blue/black background. Not the same effect as the main 5g area, but at least its a background


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

Finally got some more work done on this.









This is the lovely hole, had to drill it 3 time with increasing bit sizes before the pump fit in, was deathly afraid of making it too big because then that would mean the project would be effectively dead.









The pump fits perfectly snug, its tight enough to hold itself in place which, IMO means its not gonna fall out while its pumping water. Now that this is done









Since i knew there would be a future hood (next dyi project) to this creation as well as some other electronic fixtures, i added a cord organizer. It was simple, took about 15 minutes to sand down and 15 minutes to set.









Painted second coat to the background, it should be dark enough to be opaque but apparently the first layer was not ready, unsure of why since its been over a week, so the paint cracked in some places but I am not sanding it down to start over so this is whats its gonna look like... forever.

If i get the time tomorrow might sand down and attach the 1.5g, leaving me the remainder of this month to make the waterfall parts and substrate separator. Really hoping i get this done this month.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

This looks like quite the project.... you are gonna feel awsome when its done. I cant wait to see a video of it in action.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

OK so, clearly time is a terrible friend and not hanging out with me enough so I am adding to this project. I do not have time to do the long sanding sessions of getting the two edges to fit, but i have been having small amounts of time to work on the hood for this tank so I am adding a custom hood to this project


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

OK... maybe i'm a little nutz, but I cut my plexi with an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. It did a pretty good job if I took it slow.


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

I personally use a knife, well like 3 knives (exacto, boxcutter, folding tactical) to score it and then I snap it. 

IM assuming you scored the plexi and then snapped it and didnt cut it with the wheel cuz that would have taken you a really long time...

DEpending on the thickness of the plexi snapping it could have a lot of different outcomes. Thinner plexi snaps really easily and nicely and thicker plexi is just frustrating. You can snap plexi up to 3/8" and after that its recommended that its cut with a machine or saw of some kind. Even with thin plexi, sometimes im seeing that uneven pressure will cause the plexi to snap and break off unevenly.

Whats the thickness of your plexi? and how deep are you scoring it before snapping it?


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## Trofishlore (Dec 4, 2011)

*DIY Splash Guard for Lighting on 55 Gallon hoods*

*Hey there!
I'm a bit new to this so please help me if you can.
I was wondering if anyone new how to make any splash guards for lights.
my hood on my fifty five has two lamps that are 18" and pretty sure the hood for each lamp is around 22".
If anyone knows a way on how to make my own splash guard so water doesn't get into the fixtures then it would be great! 
Thanks!*


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