Hey Everyone,
I've always wanted to get a larger aquarium, but I could never justify the price. More importantly, I could never find a stand that matched my tastes. A few weeks ago, I picked up this plain-Jane 55g tank for $55:
I really would like to start a community tank with a family of loaches (smaller ones, maybe Yo-Yos), a school of 5-7 small fish (some colorful tetras or rasboras), and then a couple of "showcase" fish (something that looks nice, like rainbow fish or gourami). I have a few plants in my current tank, and would really like to have this new one full of plants. Right now, my ideal setup is something like this:
Fluval 306 canister filter (I have another one, and have had good luck with Fluval in the past)
200W Eheim heater
Glass Versa Tops
One or two large round airstones
Finnex Fugeray Planted+ 48" LED Light (anyone had any experience with this light?)
I also want the loaches to have a large play area, so there will likely be some black sand, and in the planted areas I will mix sand and black Eco-Complete substrate. And of course I'll have some driftwood (with plants attached) and a lava rock cave for the loaches to hide in. So that leaves pretty much everything, except the stand.........
Also, over the last couple of years I've picked up woodworking as another hobby. I really enjoy building my own furniture, and I've already built a stand for a 20g tank I had, a desk, some bookcases, and a few other odds and ends. This, however, will be the first piece of furniture I've built that needs to be able to hold a ton of weight. I've decided that I want to build a tank stand that can hold up to a 75g tank (in case I want to upgrade
, and won't look like an aquarium stand if I ever want to use it as a regular piece of furniture. So I threw my engineering brain in action, and put together this frame:
The frame is made mostly of red oak, with a little poplar in areas that will be covered up. I chose red oak because it is strong as nails, relatively cheap, and it will match some of the other furniture I built for my office. The two outer 'holes' will be cabinets to house my air pump, canister filter, and other large items. The center section will be two or three drawers. The exterior will be made from quartersawn red oak framing walnut inlays. I've done some quick calculations, and this should be more than strong enough to hold the tank. This thing is going to be built entirely from hardwood, so it should stand the test of time. I'm waiting on the wood to be delivered from the lumberyard, but once it gets here I'll make sure to post updates. Please let me know what you think!
I've always wanted to get a larger aquarium, but I could never justify the price. More importantly, I could never find a stand that matched my tastes. A few weeks ago, I picked up this plain-Jane 55g tank for $55:
I really would like to start a community tank with a family of loaches (smaller ones, maybe Yo-Yos), a school of 5-7 small fish (some colorful tetras or rasboras), and then a couple of "showcase" fish (something that looks nice, like rainbow fish or gourami). I have a few plants in my current tank, and would really like to have this new one full of plants. Right now, my ideal setup is something like this:
Fluval 306 canister filter (I have another one, and have had good luck with Fluval in the past)
200W Eheim heater
Glass Versa Tops
One or two large round airstones
Finnex Fugeray Planted+ 48" LED Light (anyone had any experience with this light?)
I also want the loaches to have a large play area, so there will likely be some black sand, and in the planted areas I will mix sand and black Eco-Complete substrate. And of course I'll have some driftwood (with plants attached) and a lava rock cave for the loaches to hide in. So that leaves pretty much everything, except the stand.........
Also, over the last couple of years I've picked up woodworking as another hobby. I really enjoy building my own furniture, and I've already built a stand for a 20g tank I had, a desk, some bookcases, and a few other odds and ends. This, however, will be the first piece of furniture I've built that needs to be able to hold a ton of weight. I've decided that I want to build a tank stand that can hold up to a 75g tank (in case I want to upgrade
The frame is made mostly of red oak, with a little poplar in areas that will be covered up. I chose red oak because it is strong as nails, relatively cheap, and it will match some of the other furniture I built for my office. The two outer 'holes' will be cabinets to house my air pump, canister filter, and other large items. The center section will be two or three drawers. The exterior will be made from quartersawn red oak framing walnut inlays. I've done some quick calculations, and this should be more than strong enough to hold the tank. This thing is going to be built entirely from hardwood, so it should stand the test of time. I'm waiting on the wood to be delivered from the lumberyard, but once it gets here I'll make sure to post updates. Please let me know what you think!
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