barebottoms are cool

[misplacedsooner]

okay andrew, here is that 20 i did in slate comp. i may do the back too.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/misplacedsooner/101_4075.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/misplacedsooner/101_4074.jpg
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w100/misplacedsooner/101_4073.jpg
im gonna do a test 55 next
mike

[EAST_TX_RN]

That is very interesting. Have you set it up yet with fish? I am assuming you have egg-crate underneath.

[misplacedsooner]

its full of water now but no fish yet, i keep looking at it and trying to figure out if i want to do the background the same and take that background off and do one in grey slate. no eggcrate, if i did that id get gunk under it and have to remove it periodiclly. i got the peices to fit the way i wanted then ran silicone around the edges and a squiggly line in the center...its permanant.

[biggin]

Looks like there is just enough room for stuff to get caught underneath it....

[misplacedsooner]

with the silicone around the edges im hoping not much that i wont be able to get with a vac at the edges. we will see as this is the experimental tank

[biggin]

I posted that just after you posted your post explaining that....

Makes sense now.

[xtc]

if you do the back- be careful!! The slate can act as insulation and adding water could cause the glass to fracture and the tank is ruined. I have the T-shirt!

Looks good. I have a couple pieces of slate in one of my crawfish tanks and it certainly collects junk under it. But I do like the look.

[misplacedsooner]

thanks for that thought chris, i hadnt considered that. t-shirt??
that is why i didnt want to do a 55 or bigger yet until i got it all figured out on what i could or couldnt do, but you are right, a bigger tank may stress more so ill be careful there

[xtc]

I did a 10g tank and siliconed the slate on the back- when I filled it up with water, it cracked. that's the "t-shirt" I have. Been there, done that, so to speak.

[misplacedsooner]

ill just avoid the back and or sides then to be safe.

[xtc]

do it- just fill it very slow, with middle of the road temperature. VERY slowly. Once the slate is the same temp as the glass and water- it should be just fine. OR find a way to put the slate in without gluing it. Then you can put the slate in after the water is in there. (I don't think) Mine wasn't glued, now that I think about it- it was wedged and was held in place pretty well.

[misplacedsooner]

with that 20 ill have to get 2 full 12x12 peices and then another to cut to shore up the top. i had to chip my corners to get a correct fit for the bottom because of exsisting silicone in the tank but it was easy to work with. a buddy did one in swirled black marble and it looked fantastic and real showy but not too natural which is the look im going for...plus i think the marble would be harder to work with than the slate.

[xtc]

watch your filter intake tube- mine wouldn't fit with the slate in place, I needed a small bare strip of glass to allow the down tube to fit.

[AndrewH]

As apposed to a bb take I love it!

What about mounting the back slate somewhat off the glass? I know it's require it to be removable for cleaning, but what about mounting the back slate say 1/2" or so off from the back glass. I wonder if that would allow the rock and glass to heat and cool separately?

[rolloffhill]

Eggcrate siliconed to the back and slate siliconed to that?

[AndrewH]

Hmmm... slate siliconed to the crate, but how are you gonna clean behind it if you silicone the crate to the glass? Maybe a silicone bean around the sides and bottom like he did for the low slate?

Darn good idea though.

[AndrewH]

What about filling the tank, then installing the back slate?

[rolloffhill]

Hmmm... slate siliconed to the crate, but how are you gonna clean behind it if you silicone the crate to the glass? Maybe a silicone bean around the sides and bottom like he did for the low slate?

Darn good idea though.

If you squared up the eggcrate, siliconed it to the slate first and then run a bead all the way around the eggcrate you shouldn't have to clean behind it. It should work as an insulator.

[AndrewH]

Ok, now I'm following the concept. Sound like it'd work :confuzeld: but I'm not 100% sure.

MikeC. you want to try that and let us know if it works? :D

[mongo]

I'm not sure what type of slate you guys are using, but what about using roofing slate. Its usualy only about an 1/8th of an inch thick and comes in pretty big pieces. I have only ever seen it colored gray, but that might be thin enough you could silicone it down and it would change temp almost as quick as the water. Also it woud be thin enough you could cover the entire back and still be able to run the fliter intakes. Also you could mix some sand into the silicone so that it might hide the cracks a little better usuing the gray slate.

[greeneyed]

What about maybe 4x4 tiles or 6x6 tiles? They wouldn't expand as much individually.

[xtc]

I used a flooring tile that was cut to fit. you guys are over thinkin this. As long as you fill the tank slowly/same temp, you shouldn't have any problems.

[fishyjoe24]

tile in a tank, what for?

[xtc]

Joey- you suck at follow along...so let me improve the thread with the picture I think of everytime I read the thread title. You're welcome

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/XTC1/From_Michael_Dweck_s_The_End.jpg

[dcacjc]

Much better than the picture in my head!!!

[misplacedsooner]

very nice..looks better than my tank for sure but would cost more to maintain.

[AndrewH]

:hehe: yup definitely would cost more!!!