teacherthomas

Well I decided to get rid of my smaller tank (actually not get rid of, but rather convert it to a turtle tank for my daughter as her turtle is growing fast and will need more room soon).

I went to the local shops about getting a stand and tank I wanted, but the cost was too high and the stick on wood coating just didn't appeal to me. So I made my own.

The pictures of the stand in progress are attached. And I will completely update when I can.




Missing is the door and the paint of course. I will be painting it with the base coat tomorrow and hanging the door after that. The stand is 61cm X 41cm by 84cm high. The tank will be the 61 X 41 x 45cm high.

Have the soil read and waiting (ADA) the filter Eheim 2215 from big tank being moved over and a new Eheim 2217 added to large tank. Co2 5 lbs ready and wood / stones being bought. I will put date pictures when I can. Just doing wood working in a small apartment in Taiwan with a 2 feet wide balcony takes a lot of time and makes a lot of mess.

For this size tank, how much light do you recommend. 4 tubes of 18 watt should be enough or up it to 6 tubes of 18?

Thomas

PS wood is 3/4" (18mm) MDF boards.

I have tested it with my wight 76KG but not sure how much weight I should test it with. 10mm glass 61cm by 41 cm by 45cm high, with stand height of substrate, drift wood, water and plants.
I am still planning on adding a back support brace the width and lengh of the stand and two side braces at the bottom, all of which aren't usually on the stands my by my LFS, and the wood is no where near as thick.

teacherthomas

Well the first coat (of two) of a grey colored oil based paint is down. Once that is dried it will be lightly sanded and then repainted. The sanded again and then a coat of spray paint to finish it off.
Haven't fully decided on the final color yet though. Been looking at the grey as I was painting it and like that, then again, I say a blue grey color of spray paint, similiar to a few ADA stands I have seen and I like that as well. Of course there is the standard black that will go with any room and disapear into the background once the tank is set up.

teacherthomas

The stand atleast!

Doors hung, stand finished now just need a final color.


Not sure if I will drill holes in the sides for tubes or not. I left a part opened in the middle back so the tubes and co2 can fit up that way even when it is against a wall. will save extra holes.


Can always add them later if necessary.


Tank should be 29 gallons or 110 litres, and 110 litres = 110 KG of water, plus substrate, rocks, drift wood and the weight of the tank itself. I have tested it with my wife and I sitting on the stand = 130KG approx with no problems at all. So the little more when considering substrate, plants and rocks and wood I will test for later)

There is a cross brace along the back top inside of the stand and a down brace along the back straight town to the base of the tank on the inside forming a sort of T for added security. But you can't see that in any of the pictures due to the angle.

How much would a 10mm glass tank 61 by 40 by 45 cm weigh? Always curious. what if it was 8mm glass?

(My tank maker said that they will do it in 8mm if they use glass rods at the corners for support. If not then they will need to do it in 10mm glass. Does that make sense?)
would like to have it in 8mm as the glass is less green colored and the weight would be less. But since it is a ADA style stand and the width and lenght of the stand is the exact width and lenght of the tank, it might be better to be be 10mm, that way just incase earthquakes in Taiwan the higher weight might hold it in place better. hahaha

I was told "thicker glass means higher contortion when you look at your tank from an angle. For 12mm, even a 10 deg offset will have a bad bad contortion." True?

They saying that they will guarenttee it will not leak in a few years if 8mm if no braces and no rods and the responsibility is all on me if something goes wrong (which is usually the case here anyway), but if 10mm no

What do most people do to test the stand supporting the with pile 300 plus pounds of bricks on it?

teacherthomas

I am not really worried about the stand and the weight as I think it was built well, as I will explain below, but rather worried about the tank itself before it is built.

8mm glass usually has less distortion and not as green of a color, but one shop says it is ok, the other shop says it isn't.
One says it will need glass rods to support the corners the other says it won't.
One says that it will probably leak in a few years if I use 8mm glass, and the other say 10mm glass will make the tank too heavy and is pointless and 8mm is structurally strong enough to support all the outward force put on it by the water. As the weight of the tank is being supported by the stand and not by the tank itself (Unless it is only being braced at the corners and not on a flat surface - someting not being done!)

These are pictures of the back support which are under the top inside back of the stand.

There is a inner support which goes from top to bottom of the stand to further brace the weight from the top (middle board from above picture)

The front of the stand is supported by two layers of 18mm MDF, so 1 1/2 inches wide screwed together joining the sides, top, and front with 2 inch screws

The back braces, screwed to the sides will hold the sides together so now worries about the stand bending to one side or the other. And since the back braces are at the top and the bottom, each more than 1/3 of the total height of the stand it is well braced. (The opening is to allow heat to escape from the stand, make it a little lighter and give a place to grab when moving the stand) Plus I can use it to route the cords, filter pipes and CO2 if I don't wnat to drill holes in the sides.


Do you think this is not enough?

I have looked at the stands in the shops, and they have no inside back braces, the back is usually just 3 mm thick cheap plywood where mine is a solid back. They usually have an inner back support 1" by the lenght of the inside of the stand to support the whole weight. There is no braces at the bottom of the stand and the wood they use is a lot thinner.

The only place I think might ever have a problem would be the bottom of the stand where the sides join to it, but that would only be a problem if someone was standing on the inside of the stand and trying to lift up the top of the stand while still standing on it. (Unrealistic but it might happen) I will put two 2" by 2" boards to support that joint on each side.

Melbourne

The stand looks good - I think it has ample support for the weight of the tank you are putting on it. It can hold double the weight you currently have without any issues. As for the custom tank, the last one I had built trimless (eg non-euro braced). I did in 3/8" glass in low iron 12g tank. But that was overkill - there is a web page you can search for on google that will tell you the safety factor of your tank given the dimensions and thickness of glass. Search for DIY aquarium tank. I think it was on about.com. On the tank surface, just buy the ADA aquamat or a similar material. I made the first one from a type of foam board but for the price the ADA aquamat is even better. This will give you a good base for your trimless tank.

teacherthomas

Melbourne - Thanks for the advice. I have not seen any ADA mats in Taiwan, and actually have not seen anyone use them.
How thick are they? I have found the foam that is used under floating wood floors but it is usually only 2mm thick. I have enough left over that I can double it over to make 4mm thick and trim the edges. Will that work?

One more question: Anyone who has used black silicon on the tank, how do you like it? The tank maker suggested it as the tank will be 10cm thick so you will see 10mm of the glass joint at the front around the tank where the sides join to the front. With the black silicon you will just see the black, liek a boarder. Does it make the tank look more confined? I figure with a 10mm greenish white of the glass and clear silicon will make just as much of a framed boarder. Any opinions?

teacherthomas

Need suggestions. Please excuse the mess of the room as I am in the process of renovating.

If the stand is grey and the design i have shown



should I go with clear silicon (actuall a blueish green color becuase of the color of the glass at edges) or the black silicon.

I am trying to picture both in my mind and I can't. The LFS says black is better as it will not get dirty looking like the clear and will not be as distracting as the bluish green color which happens when 10mm glass is joined together with silicon.

But does it make the tank feel more "framed" in?

I was wondering as 10mm glass with both clear and black you will see the joining of the glass and with that size and Black ADA soil on the bottom and sides you will see water, black soild, bluish white rim, etc. If it was black would that be better?

EDIT: after checking the site www.elosusa.com and seeing Elo tanks in Black silicon:

I realized how much the black "frame" or confines the tank and makes it look strange on a light colored stand. Guess ADA style is the way to go all clear.

I really want the stand in 8mm glass clear silicon, so I might just talk to the better tank making shops and see what they say.

By the way - I take no offense to any suggestions or comments people say, that is why I ask, to make sure I am think of everything and not missing something. You all have more experience with me, and often get me to think of something new.

Filter for the tank will be Eheim 2215
Intake

and Outflow will be glass ADA knockoffs called FLO Pipes. Look rather cool and the price is 45 USD per set.


CO2 will be using an external CO2 reactor from a company called ISTA "MIX MAX PRO" it is good, quiet and effective.

or this CO2 diffuser

as I have an extra one lying around and it should be perfect for a 61 cm tank

Soil is similar to ADA but by another company. (I am doing NEW a product test for the company before it is marketed)

Planting and scape will just be a lot of plants and water changes for the first month to have the tank stabilize then figure out what I do with it.

Lighting is hard as the stand is 85 cm high, the tank is 45 cm high (130 cm) and the light I want suspended above the tank. But even if it is 20 cm above the tank that will be 150 cm high. When I am stilling down in my office (where the tank is) the lights will be shining in my eyes! So I need a very flat fixture with good reflectors and T5 bulbs and some type of piece (like a car visor) in front of it that will prevent the light from shining in my eyes.
Like this but not MH??

though might go with this JBJ—61cmX 20cmX 5.5cm 24W*4 = 96watts
Hopefully I can suspend it from the ceiling of bars



just need to see how it does with heat dispersion as there is no good light if the fixture can't get rid of the heat and not raise the tank temperature. One of the cheaper lights I use on my 90cm tank, I can't touch the light after on for more than 2 hours and the fixture is too hot!!
Since it is a 29 gallon tank I will shoot for about 90 watts of light in the fixture to give me room. Though I have been following a post about light and T5s and M shaped reflectors which stated if the reflectors are correct and the fixture is flat the light will have a more confined beam and reflect down into the tank better so that the watts per gallon rules do not apply and you can use less wattage of light.

I am staying away form MH as the temperature: I don't what to use a chiller and the fact that MH light the tank well but also "light the room and the neighbors’ house". There light is not very confined and shoots everywhere! That would definitely be in my eyes!

Haeun

No idea why this got 1 star, but this is very interesting! I can't wait to see this come together.

teacherthomas

No idea either. There has been delays in the tank, finding a good tank maker who can do it the way I want. But that shoudl be taken care of this week, then everything will be setup in the new month! Good way to celebrate Canada day, with a new tank!!

tfmcder

Looking good so far. Looking forward to seeing the completed product. I like those FLO pipes, ADA look without ADA price...let us know how the quality is. As always, best of luck with finishing the rest up.