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Guess who's back..... Henry goes steampunk...
- Thread starter zozo
- Start date
zozo
Member
And now i see what you mean.. 🙂 The var. Alba should be the white one and indeed has less broad leaves.
I didn't know that, never personaly seen it available in the shop.. What i have must be some accidental spinn off from both i guess, it should be Red.
I didn't know that, never personaly seen it available in the shop.. What i have must be some accidental spinn off from both i guess, it should be Red.
Edvet
Member
Hi all,
That is interesting. I've got three different ones in the garden (they aren't really pond plants, they like a damp summer, and a drier winter), but I've never seen a good white one before. They are hardy here, but I assume they wouldn't go very well some where with a colder winter. Remind me in the spring and I'll send you a red one (they are very easy to propagate).
For me the red (type) grows really well, but the pink ones are more likely to decline over time, if you don't give them a bit of TLC.
cheers Darrel
That is interesting. I've got three different ones in the garden (they aren't really pond plants, they like a damp summer, and a drier winter), but I've never seen a good white one before. They are hardy here, but I assume they wouldn't go very well some where with a colder winter. Remind me in the spring and I'll send you a red one (they are very easy to propagate).
For me the red (type) grows really well, but the pink ones are more likely to decline over time, if you don't give them a bit of TLC.
It was Schizostylis coccinea until fairly recently (a lot of African Irids were re-classified, Acidanthera bicolor is know Gladiolus murielae, and various Anomatheca spp. are now Freesia spp.)
cheers Darrel
zozo
Member
Thanks a lot for the offer.. 🙂 I already got red ones in the garden.. They indeed propagete very well, last year i collected seeds and all germinated very easy.
I havent looked or didn't notice the last 2 weeks, good chance i got some reds flowering in the garden right now.
But let me know if you want that white one, i can split the one that is flowering right now, i see it has a lot of small runners at the base. I can send them asap before the frost or next spring. No idea what's best option..
I thought it changed to Hesperantha, or is this also an old name changed again? The common name in our language always was Bog Gladiolus.
zozo
Member
Sunday was kitting day.. 
Darn it is and stays a tricky job to pull off realy nicely if it's not a daily practice. So after 36 hours excitement and doubts, today the mayden voyage..
And i'll be damned, it's water tight.. 😎
Tried to keep the seems at the glass edges as minimal as possible, at least i made a wild guess about what is minimal? and went with 3 mm 🙂 Looking closely it has some minor imperfections.. The glascutter failed and made a panel almost 1mm to long. It shows in one corner, this one.. When it's freshly kitted whit all fresh kit bulging out of the outsode seems, it is hard to spot these imperfections. Now when its dry, the kit cut off, it shows that i failed to devide this over both corners. But that is peanuts, once the tank is decorated there are other things to look at..
Lets just say, imperfections is part of the kitchen table DIY process and only attributes to the Vintage style. Nice excuse isn't it.
For the bottom panel i didn't pay much attention to kitting eastetics, it's going to be covered with black substrate anyway..
Now it's time for the finishing touch on the outside edge and making the light setup.. 🙂
Even tho it is less than 20 cm water height, over the lengt of 123 cm the 4mm glas panel bulges out 10 mm total in the middle, 5 mm per panel.. Not possible to show this on the picture. But for real this looks kinda drastic. Tho if i check my 90cm tank with 6mm glas panels, this also bulges out over 5 mm and the 60cm 4mm glas tank does the same. So this is pretty normal.. It's the lenght of the glas showing it much more obvious. The glas can take it and still has even more flexibility.. But have to admit it looks eerie..
So i decided to glue in a 10cm or 15 cm wide glas strip halfway between the 2 long panels as a bridge, for extra strenght. I'll give it a try not to make this strip straight, but give it a slight twist or kinda S curve but much less. And place it exactly on the waterlevel height 15mm from the top, so the strip is in the water. And decorate this strip afterwords with some small rocks, small pieces of moss overgrown wood and plants. Thinking of UG, HC or MC and some hydrocotyl trailing over the sides outside the tank. Than it will look like a curved green land bridge deviding the tank in 2, viewed from the top.
Now off to the finishing though.. And than the scaping and planting part.
Darn it is and stays a tricky job to pull off realy nicely if it's not a daily practice. So after 36 hours excitement and doubts, today the mayden voyage..And i'll be damned, it's water tight.. 😎
Tried to keep the seems at the glass edges as minimal as possible, at least i made a wild guess about what is minimal? and went with 3 mm 🙂 Looking closely it has some minor imperfections.. The glascutter failed and made a panel almost 1mm to long. It shows in one corner, this one.. When it's freshly kitted whit all fresh kit bulging out of the outsode seems, it is hard to spot these imperfections. Now when its dry, the kit cut off, it shows that i failed to devide this over both corners. But that is peanuts, once the tank is decorated there are other things to look at..
Lets just say, imperfections is part of the kitchen table DIY process and only attributes to the Vintage style. Nice excuse isn't it.
For the bottom panel i didn't pay much attention to kitting eastetics, it's going to be covered with black substrate anyway..
Now it's time for the finishing touch on the outside edge and making the light setup.. 🙂
Even tho it is less than 20 cm water height, over the lengt of 123 cm the 4mm glas panel bulges out 10 mm total in the middle, 5 mm per panel.. Not possible to show this on the picture. But for real this looks kinda drastic. Tho if i check my 90cm tank with 6mm glas panels, this also bulges out over 5 mm and the 60cm 4mm glas tank does the same. So this is pretty normal.. It's the lenght of the glas showing it much more obvious. The glas can take it and still has even more flexibility.. But have to admit it looks eerie..
So i decided to glue in a 10cm or 15 cm wide glas strip halfway between the 2 long panels as a bridge, for extra strenght. I'll give it a try not to make this strip straight, but give it a slight twist or kinda S curve but much less. And place it exactly on the waterlevel height 15mm from the top, so the strip is in the water. And decorate this strip afterwords with some small rocks, small pieces of moss overgrown wood and plants. Thinking of UG, HC or MC and some hydrocotyl trailing over the sides outside the tank. Than it will look like a curved green land bridge deviding the tank in 2, viewed from the top.
Now off to the finishing though.. And than the scaping and planting part.
Edvet
Member
You could do a removable wooden one, same wood with cuts on the under/glas-side, you can fix the light on it and still remove it to facilitate maintenance, or to fit large woodpieces
zozo
Member
That could be a good idea, didn't think of that. Tho i have no idea if this would strain the glas when it's pushed outwards. A glas strip is kitted inside and gets pulled, kit is flexible, this feels kinda much safer. Using a decorative piece of driftwood and saw slids in it, than the bulging glass is pushed outwards against this wood. I would might need to put some padding in.. The other challange i'm facing is, it's 2 slids. 31,5 cm apart both corresponding in perfect vertical 90° angle as well horizontaly it needs to be lined up. If it is a wonky irregular shaped natural shaped piece of DW. I guess to pull this off i need more equipment than a pocket calculator, a kitchen table and a hand saw.
The idea is nice, have to sleep that one over a few nights. Thanks.. 🙂
Edvet
Member
20 cm waterlevel and 4 mm should be realy safe though.
OllieNZ
Member
Good looking build 
I'd love a vintage wrought iron framed tank.
I'd love a vintage wrought iron framed tank.
zozo
Member
Yes it is, glaas is is still darn flexible.. As said it just looks eerie seeing a 10mm bulging out if you look over the tank.. Noticed the flexibility during the cleaning after the kitting. And thought, if it is setup and filled, the cleaning lady of the house needs to be realy gentle on the rubbing part. I kinda feel safer with glueing the bridge in.
Another thing that comes to mind with using a piece of wood for that, is soaking and capilairy suction.. Than this piece of wood shouldn't tought the water.. If it does it will soak and likely drip water over the edge outside the tank... Same as wow grandma always kept plants alive during teh holidays when away from home. With a bucket of water and a wool string to the plant pot.. I remeber i even had this problem once with Algae growing in the top corners inside the tank. It grow all teh way to the top edge and capilairy suction of the algae mass puled water out of the tank if i filled it to high up. I thought for weeks i had a leaking kit seam. But it was darn algae.. After rubbing the corner with a toothbrush problem was solved.
Edvet
Member
I don't know how technical you are: http://www.confederationconstruction.be/Portals/27/Userfiles/File/glasenwaterdruk.pdf 😎😛
zozo
Member
Thank you.. 🙂Good looking build
Yes this also is something still ghosting through my brains. I would like to make one from brass and use rivets a la Captain Nemo style.. I while ago i played with the fantasie to build a tank like this into the wall from kitchen to living room. Than from the kitchen side a glass panel, but at the living room side 2 old brass vintage Portholes from an old boat.
But after seeing the prices of old brass vintage portholes.. I did put the project on a long term hold.. But a brass rimmed tank with rivets and portholes at the back, would be completely out of this world.. And more something for a marine setup i guess. It was just a fantasy.. But doable.. 🙄
OllieNZ
Member
I love some of these
zozo
Member
Thaks nise article.. 🙂
Well for the rest i'm as technical as about the tools a have available.Give me a workshop and i build you a pink submarine if you like..
Here i have my (also financial) limits, also my inventive alternative inspirations to stil make it work. I left school as a certified Toolmaker.. Worked some years building Technical installations (measuring and control engineering) for laboratories and factories.. But due to family relations/bussines i went working as a simple plumber after that.. So toolmaker never realy got a proffesion it stayed more like a hobby inventing all kinds of silly things for home and garden use, just something handy in the pocket.
zozo
Member
I love some of these
Now that's craftmanship to the max.. Long gone and extinct. Priceless..
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
zozo
Member
There is already kit in that corner, did cut diagonaly off.. But it's transparent and still shows.. Not a big deal. you realy have to push your nose in to see it. And it gets 2 small HOB filters, left and right.. So i'll hang the HOB in that corner. 🙂
AverageWhiteBloke
Member
No bother mate, for 1mm maybe sanding is an option? I was looking at a you tube video about taking chips out and somebody did it with emery cloth on a wooden block and polish but if you can live with it cool.
