Thanks Ryan. I feel the finished tank is a lot less cumbersome than many of the plywood builds I see

😆 No degree required, just the ability to use tools. Most people who are capable with power tools, also have the ability to visualise the task at hand. You’ll be fine, and can I always ask for help

I’m very glad to hear you’ve got some value from the video. Thanks for your support. Are you thinking of building your own tank?

Thanks so much! It means a lot to me, to hear that. The KZbin game can be a bit frustrating sometimes, but it’s these comments that reward me. Cheers

Worth a go, if you’ve got the height above the display. It creates a very natural, highly oxygenated surge in the tank, which I don’t think wave makers can replicate

Thanks for your support of my channel!

Playing with fibreglass, ply and epoxy right now. Leak sorted!

@@australianaquarist good news! Yes!!

I’ve done a couple of window cuts through the rear ply, and removed the spray foam to get a visual on the rear face of the front ply. I found a spot , about 2/3 the way up where the darkened ply is more rounded, and tapers abruptly upwards, but gradually downwards. It is also directly next to the timber stud/post. I believe the penetration is occurring at the ply butt join, in front of the stud, and is like you said, soaking straight into the stud and adjacent ply. It’s clearly a very small leak, as over the last few days of having the area opened, the ply has dried and there is no excess water puddling. My plan is to drain the tank down to this point, cut the section of stud out to access the penetration from behind. I can’t access it from inside the tank, due to the epoxy glued rock and foam. Hopefully if I pinpoint the spot, I can pare away at the ply, expose the rear of the epoxy membrane, and apply thickened epoxy to the spot and ply end grain. What do you think?

@@australianaquarist...Humm basically it going to be a ch!t time. timber is a good medium to work with until its wet. The other problem you will have if you don't access it from the front is you will nearly always have a pathway through to the timber. I know it will suck but if you want a long-term solution here you will need to break through your rock and seal from the front maybe reenforce this join to the floor. I can't really remember what you did at this point in your build. I would suspect that there is a weakness in the system as your ply on both sides finishes and starts at the front. It would not take much movement to split the poly and epoxy. I feel for you I have done projects in the past with different types of systems both aquarium and work related and pinpoint leaks suck! feel free PM me (if that a thing on here) to discuss just don't really want to put my email or phone number out to the whole world :)

Also keep in mind, poly bonds to epoxy and not the other way around, and if you need to coat the poly again, you will need to scuff uo the poly and re activate. I would talk to boat coat about this if it comes to it.

I’ve found it now. Today I’m going to cut out some of the timber stud to access it, and pare away at the plywood so I can get to the epoxy coating from behind. Thanks for your thoughts. Stay tuned

Glad to hear you found it. ​hope you have no trouble replacing the timber. 👍

Cool Have you thought of sending some water away for icp testing. This would give you an idea of contaminants and also any trace element adjustments you may need to make

That’s the go! Onwards and upwards.

That’s a good idea. I think I’ve found the location about 2/3 the way up. I’ll need to brace the island internally and cut out a section of stud to get to it. The talc may come in handy then

I found the leak coming about 2/3 the way up , directly in front of the timber stud. I should be able to brace the curved plywood and then cut the section of stud out, to expose the area. A job to tackle this weekend!

@@australianaquarist sounds like a pain! At least you found the leak tho. Good luck

Sounds very intriguing! A shallow raceway? Keep in touch - when the time comes I’ll get you to send some images through

I’ve found the point of the leak now. It’s about 2/3 the way up the tank, and directly in front of one of the timber studs. But I should be able to tackle it this weekend I think

Hey Brandon, great to have you onboard! I really appreciate your support. I try to make the videos informative, but entertaining enough to keep the viewers engaged. KZbin is a bit of a juggling act, and am glad to hear your positive feedback.

Hey mate. I found the location this evening. It’s two thirds the way up the pine stud, on the vertical ply join. I’m going to have to install some temporary bracing, drain the tank down, and cut that section of the stud out, to gain access to the leak. Dry it out, pare away at the ply, fibreglass and epoxy the crap out of it, and install a bridging stud.

@@australianaquarist glad you found it happy days but a lot of muckin around by the sounds of it ..

Yes definitely. I’ve got plans to build another tank , probably a 3 m x 1.2m x 1m display, replicating a Breakwall. Maybe a Gold Coast seaway tank, and transfer my estuary fish across, install an incoming and outgoing tide system etc Then renovate the existing 12 ft shallow estuary into a freshwater lily and flooded grass tank for my Saratoga. Somewhere amongst all that I was going to do a tour. I just figured that people would prefer to see completed tanks, rather than a “ this is what I plan to do” video (does that make sense?)

I’m glad you concur with my investigation plan. I think the next step is to access the very top of the plywood, behind the rock overhang. Maybe carve out the foam alongside the post, as far down as a torch will illuminate. Nice idea about the livestream, though I’m not sure the space or my mindset woukd be conducive!

Hope so Mark. One step at a time. It’ll be OK.

The hebel won’t be in contact with the aquarium water, so I should be ok. Definitely aluminium would be a concern otherwise. Thanks for thinking of me

That’s the go. We’re starting a plywood revolution….

@@australianaquarist I’ve been planing on building an outdoor pond in “old style” plywood construction, but you’ve definitely opened my eyes to some new techniques! 🍻

@nicocrinkleburg It’s just that I couldn’t afford to buy glass tanks that size, but new I didn’t want big ugly wooden boxes in my home. Necessity becomes the mother of invention

@@australianaquarist I love that! A question I have (being an Aussie myself in BNE and knowing the price of plate glass) - have you calculated the safe load for balustrade glass @ 12mm thick? I’d be assuming from the volume/height of your builds it would be around the 4-5K litre mark @ 1m high? I’m going to be building around the 2500L mark so I’m definitely on “the safe side”, but still interested in your opinion. Really appreciate you sharing your knowledge, mate!

The Palau tank probably holds about 3000 litres on account of the volume of the dry island, whereas the turtle tank of the same dimensions holds closer to 4000 litres. I haven’t calculated safety factors. I’ve always gone by the old school rule of thumb for braced glass tanks. 10mm to 600mm high and 12 mm to around 750mm , though some tank manufacturers go to 900mm (fully glass braced), in 12mm. My experiences with the two tanks - both 12mm tempered, both two panes of 970mm high. The turtle tank uses 3 mm aluminium angle bracing and 3 mm flat bar cross braces. There is a slight ( mm’s) bow looking down the line and the cross braces are working. The Palau Reef uses 6mm aluminium bracing, and has no bowing and the cross braces look to be almost hanging

Thanks mate. As we say down here….. onwards and upwards!

Yep. Very educated, very in-debt, flower grower. I got out of vet, much quicker than it took to get in!

@@australianaquarist my lady in a vet been doing it 20 years she is sooo over it. waiting for the next update. hoping its a good one.

Yeah that’s certainly crossed my mind. Trouble is getting freshwater drainage away from the plants. Still, there’s many ways to tackle a problem. I’ll just have to find the one

Thanks mate. My fingers are crossed for an easy fix

Yeah it crossed my mind to just release a complete video on just the rock islands landscaping, and quietly fix the leak. But this is the lows of plywood aquarium construction, so figured I’d show it

It’s really hard to find out it’s locating at the moment. The leak has dramatically reduced since I swapped out the taller standpipes, but the moisture in the timber remains. It’s winter , so things drying out is sluggish

@@australianaquarist Winter wow, whats the average temperature where you live?

I’m drinking my morning coffee right now. Suns out , 9am, last month of winter, probably 19 Celsius. Overnight down to 7 Celsius

Summer average 30 Celsius day, 19 Celsius night, Winter day 20 Celsius, nights 7 Celsius

@@australianaquarist 19 degress C we would be lucky to get that in summer here in the UK. In fact its bloody raining!

If it’s a high leak, I could drain the tank down low and leave the fish in there. I’m not loving the idea of trying to dig out all that epoxy, spray foam and rock, which I’ve fixed around the waterline

@@australianaquarist I hope it's something easy 🤞🤞

Thanks Lorenzo!

Yeah, it’s better off being in there than the tank itself. Onwards and upwards!

It’s tough at the moment with winter not drying things out all that quickly. Still, it’ll be right, where there’s a will , there’s a way! Reggie is my 3.5 year old, Redtailed Black Cockatoo-a beautiful bird, destroyer of furniture and all things plastic, occasionally affectionate, but always an a-hole!

🤞

Thanks mate. Fingers crossed for me

Thanks MoldyBones! That’s a cool KZbin handle! Fingers crossed for me🤞

Very pleased to see you again! Thanks for the support

Absolutely any turtles kept indoors need close proximity to regularly rotated UV tubes. I do believe however, that longterm Australian turtles should be kept outdoors with access to sunlight. Thanks for your comment

@@australianaquarist oh yeah for sure. But maybe my comment was more intended for those in the United States. More than half our country gets heavy snow so I’m sure many keep indoors.

Ahhh I understand now!

Acrylic isn’t really a thing, in Australia. You can get it, as it’s used for security screens over bank counters etc, however it’s not a common construction material in Australia generally. It is also way more expensive than our already expensive glass!!

Absolutely! That video shows a very frustrating part of the build process, but I’m happy with the way it turned out.

Thanks James. But keep with me, because there’s a lot more to come

Wildly rich and famous!! Seriously, I’m very happy to have you on board and supporting my channel!

Things have changed with the communities reliance on social media. I see it in my teenagers. The best part of having a hobby, is just talking, gas bagging, learning and sharing with each other. But really. Not behind a flashy instagram post.

You are very welcome James! I’m pleased to have you along, and hope you get some inspiration and maybe some entertainment from my channel. Feel free to reach out with any questions you have along the way. Adam

I’m sorry to hear you say that?!?!