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kai1836

Do you think I should/could sell these for profit on eBay or somewhere else?  

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  1. 1. Do you think I should/could sell these for profit on eBay or somewhere else?

    • Yes
      11
    • No
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  Cavity,

  Is that gumball fish tank yours? I am really liking it. I think when I get the time after Christmas I'm going to try to make one out of a beaver capsule machine.

It sure is.  I have been getting several comments about it via my PM's and obviously your post above.  I have been having so much fun with my vending venture over the past year or so.  This is just one example.  I'm glad you like it.

I while back we got rid of a large fish tank but, wound up with a GREAT DANE!!!!  :o:-X:-\  I wanted another tank and thought the GB idea would be perfect.  Mulled it over for a while and came up with a solution(Cavity retrofit we'll call it) to make it work perfectly at a minimal cost.  Less than $8 ;D. Not much time involved either.  I put it all together and ta-da!  gumball fishtank. 

Most machine globes make a 2 gallon tank, big enough for several small freshwater fish.  I suppose a NW 80 would yield 2x that or more.  I bought solid colored Chinese checkers marbles on eBay for the bottom(instead of gravel) to look like real GB's. ;D  SUPER easy to clean compared to the gravel.  Added a plastic plant, ornament, and a fish named Dorothy(my 4 year old little girl came up with the name from the show "Elmo", he has a Goldfish with that name).  Also installed a small L.E.D. light on the bottom of the lid to stay on temporarily for 5 mins. or indefinitely until I turn it off.  It makes it look really cool at night!

You can still put a quarter in, turn the handle and the coin mech still functions as normal, depositing the money into the base(daughter does not like this idea, she doesn't want poor little Dorothy falling out the shoot onto the floor ;) )  - she's so cute.

Long story short, I tried to sell them on eBay, only sold 1.  I probably gave up way too soon, I think I might try again though.  I saved one for the house and gave the rest to family members.  Ours is mounted on a good looking chrome stand with a square base.  Looks dynamite up close and in person.

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I split these posts out of KickStart's thread for obvious reasons. I also thought they deserved a thread of their own.

Cavity, your avatar has also caught the eye of Mrs Caserri! She now wants one too. She has 2 tanks now, I think that's enough.  ;)

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You need to ask The Mage, he's the magician. :-X:rolleyes:

I need to start a pole here.  Don't know how to incorporate it at the top of the thread though. ??

Question.......Do you think I should/could sell these for profit on eBay or somewhere else?

I'll let the cat out of the bag(or...uuhhhmm....fish out of the GB machine :D) when I get some feedback, promise! 

It's an easy, quick, precise, cheap retrofit/fix.

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, here we go.  This is a looong one. 

First things first, I'll try to go step by step so even the new "green m&m vendors" will be able to follow along...  for everyone else, sorry. 

This fish tank really is much, Much, MUCH easier to make than it reads!!

*Total cost @ $9.00 plus a donor machine.*

1.  Remove the lock and lid from the top of the globe. 

2.  Remove clear plastic(square only) globe from hopper.  This will require you to unscrew 4 small Philips head screws from the inside bottom corners of the globe.

3.  Lift up and remove hopper from metal center rod and body of machine.  Hopper will have either a Candy/GB/or Capsule wheel and brush(spring) housing attached to it, usually with 2 screws.  Remove the screws from the hopper, wheel, and brush housing and put the housing, wheel and screws in your spare parts bin.  You won't need these for your new, in-house, Sea World attraction.  You still need the hopper though.

4.  Remove body(plastic/metal) with coin mech, chute cover and chute shield, then loosen nut at bottom of base and unscrew and remove center rod.  Put rod in spare parts bin.

5.  Go to your nearest H.D. or Lowes....

6.  In the paint/tape/glue isle you will see a bunch of glue, epoxy, sealant etc...  Lift arm(right or left, doesn't really matter, whichever you are more comfortable with), reach out, and grab the stuff that says Clear "Aquarium Sealant".  ONLY purchase Aquarium Safe sealant or you will kill Shamu before you wake up in the morning. 

NOTE:  Now..... if you want to make sure this crazy contraption doesn't leak all over your new hardwood floor/carpet(no, it didn't leak on mine, but would hate for it to happen to you.  I would feel guilty), I would repeat step # 6.  At $3.50 a tube, you can probably afford the added peace of mind. 

So, now we are up to @ $7.  Not bad so far, right?

7.  Find the isle with the sheets of Plexiglas.  Ask an associate to cut a piece of the 8"x8"(or similar) to the dimensions of your clear plastic globe's bottom.  Something like 5 1/8" x 5 1/8" or so.  You will need to measure it precisely before you go.  This will add @ another $2 to your bill and will complete your purchase.  Check out at register and go home.  Or, spend rest of afternoon looking at cool guy stuff.

$9+tax.  Not too shabby, huh?

8.  Back at home, put Plexiglas on a table.  Put the globe(right side up) on top of the Plexiglas, and with a fine tipped Sharpie marker, mark where 4 holes are in globe onto Plexiglas.  Also, lightly trace the open circle of the globe onto the Plexiglas. 

9.  Go into garage and drill holes where those 4 Sharpie marks on the Plexiglas are(hole size will be determined by the size of your screw's diameter).  If in doubt, make hole a little smaller than the screw!

*Here comes the messy part!  

Think this part through before you actually do it.  A test run without the sealant would be prudent to make sure all the holes/parts/screws fit together properly.  You only get one chance! 

10.  Cut off a big portion from the tip of the sealant.  NOTE:  This sh!t stinks to high heaven!!!!(vinegar, yuk!)  You will need to do this outside or in a well ventilated area, I'm not kidding! 

<Remember, I warned you.>

11.  Squeeze the sealant onto the INSIDE bottom portion of the globe.  Put it on THICK, even in and around 4 holes.  Remember, you need to make this waterproof, right?  Then, apply sealant liberally to the Plexiglas, but only where they will have contact with eachother(not in the round area you marked earlier).

12.  Put the Plexiglas inside the globe and press down HARD, creating an airtight seal.  There should be NO air bubbles between the globe and Plexiglas.  Screw the 4 screws through the Plexiglas, globe and into hopper. And yes, the screws should be long enough to have several threads go into the hopper(you did a test run without the goop to make sure, right?).

13.  Now, take the remaining tube and a half and apply it as evenly as possible to the Plexiglas bottom of your new Gumball Machine Fish-Tank.  It should cover @ an 1/8"- 1/4" or so of the bottom to help create a waterproof seal.  *Cover entire bottom, screws included(especially the screws!).*  If you look closely at my pic., you can see that it's opaque under the marbles from all the sealant.

14.  Put this stinky bad boy outside or in the garage for a few days so the sealant can set.  When it's ready(the smell will be all gone), put it in the sink for a test run.  Fill with water and leave overnight.  If you sealed it properly, when you wake, the sink should be bone dry.  -If not, you suck at following directions.  Start all over again or give up.

15.  Place the globe/hopper contraption on top of the base(with coin mech, and chute cover), fill with Chinese checker's marbles, a plastic plant, H2O and a couple of your favorite freshwater fishies. 

And remember, don't bump into this thing too hard, no more center rod!

16.  Purchase one of those small key-chain type L.E.D. lights and attach with some double-sided sticky stuff to the underside of lid for added nighttime whale watching.  Place lid(w/ lock) on top.  Or, rig up a light in the body, under the Plexiglas so that it lights the marbles from below.  It looks really good.

Congratulations, you did it!

If you have Q's, let me know, I'll be glad to help you.

-Steve

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This is very kewl.  I have been having an idea to modify an old ashland that has a broken globe and turn it into a lamp.  I figure with the broken globe, I can just find a nice lampshade or make one myself.  If I do it, I would plan to make it so that you have to turn the crank to turn the lamp on and off.

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