My 75 Gallon Stand

[extreme_tooth_decay]

what paint did you use?

 

 

Same paint I used on my last stand that worked well and held up over the years: Black Oil Based Rust-Oleum.

 

Went with Semi-Gloss this time. I think I used flat last time.

 

Black paint isn't especially easy to find, as they can't mix it for you. I've been happy with this one, though. It stinks the house up for a few days, but after smelling it for a while, I just sink into my happy place.

[L8 2 RISE]

Is it spray paint or paint paint? Great build by the way, I'm working on mine now.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

Is it spray paint or paint paint? Great build by the way, I'm working on mine now.

 

 

It is normal paint in a can. See image. I prefer a heavier coat than I get with spray paint, and I'm not very good at using spray paint.

 

I bought it at Lowe's. $9/quart. I ended up using about 1.5quarts, but I could have gotten away with 1. There is quite a bit to paint overall on the inside, floor, etc. I only did 1 coat on all the interior parts of the stand except the floor.

 

I used a good brush to apply it, and watched for drips for about an hour.

 

For the final coat on the front of the stand, I laid the stand on it's back so the front was horizontal, so the paint would not run.

 

This paint is for metal, and doesn't say anything about being useful for wood, but it seems great to me. I did some reading online, and found it is fine for wood. It is just oil based paint with some anti rust ingredients.

 

Edited August 27, 2010 by extreme_tooth_decay

[treesprite]

I wish I had thought about making my stand to have the tank recessed - nice look.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

Well this stand has worked out great. Still looks nice and shiny and dead level.

 

I noticed last night some of my fish had fry. I wasnt surprised because I had seen a female brooding eggs for a couple weeks. FW fish, but still cute and interesting. Here are the best pics I could get. The fry are super fast and skittish. These guys are about 1/2" long.

 

 

[Chad]

very cool. what substrate are you using?

African cichlids always interested me because there is ALWAYS movement in the tanks and they are pretty...

[extreme_tooth_decay]

very cool. what substrate are you using?

African cichlids always interested me because there is ALWAYS movement in the tanks and they are pretty...

 

I have always really liked African cichlids. I enjoy watching them chase each other around and play king of the mountain.

 

I am using a mix of grades of aragonite based crushed coral for ph buffering and ease of gravel-vac cleaning, which I very rarely do. Mostly smaller size crushed coral. Coarser than reef sand, finer than typical crushed coral.

 

I also mixed a small bag (10 pound I think) of puka shells in there.

 

I have 75 pounds of extra substrate, mixed in buckets, brand new I never used. If someone has good use for it, I'll give it to them.

 

Here is a pic of some of the stuff I used (I sold the blue sand to someone else). I got these combo packs at a great price when I was up at That Fish Place several months back. They were probably just trying to get rid of it. If you look back at the stand build pics, you can see I even used them while constructing the stand. Double duty!

 

Edited November 17, 2010 by extreme_tooth_decay