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bpimm · 06-16-2006, 10:45 PM

I've been thinking for a while about building a Nano and I have been enjoying reading the tank journals people have been writing about their projects, so today I decided to start the Nano project and see if I can pull off keeping a journal on the project.

I have a 1 Gal hex that has been sitting around several years; it belonged to my grandmother before she died so I would like to turn it into something nice.

I found that the black trim just slips off so I decided to do a rimless open top tank.

My plan is to have some kind of circulation pump to stir the water, and I don’t really want it in the tank, so I think I will mount it under the tank, plumb it through the bottom and hide it in a base that the tank sits on.

I had an idea to make the base out of a piece of a log for the look of driftwood; fortunately I had some scrap rafter tails from the house I’m building that should work.

I trued up one end of the log, and then cut a 4” section off of the end to make the base out of.

ThenI cut off a 4" peice to make the baseout of.

I then marked the outline of the tank on the end of the log and remarked it ½” inside the first mark for a line to hollow out the log, leaving enough material to cut a notch to sit the tank in.

I used a large drill bit to remove most of the material then cleaned up the edges with a chisel and gouge. At this point I decided to go ahead and cut out the entire center and not have a bottom in the base.

The log had a split in it so I had to epoxy it together. So that’s it for tonight until the glue cures.

06-16-2006, 10:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
bpimm Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Washougal, Washington Posts: 610 iTrader Ratings: 38 iTrader Positive Rating: 100% Plant Points: 28118	aquascaping a 1 Gal Hex? I've been thinking for a while about building a Nano and I have been enjoying reading the tank journals people have been writing about their projects, so today I decided to start the Nano project and see if I can pull off keeping a journal on the project. I have a 1 Gal hex that has been sitting around several years; it belonged to my grandmother before she died so I would like to turn it into something nice. I found that the black trim just slips off so I decided to do a rimless open top tank. My plan is to have some kind of circulation pump to stir the water, and I don’t really want it in the tank, so I think I will mount it under the tank, plumb it through the bottom and hide it in a base that the tank sits on. I had an idea to make the base out of a piece of a log for the look of driftwood; fortunately I had some scrap rafter tails from the house I’m building that should work. I trued up one end of the log, and then cut a 4” section off of the end to make the base out of. ThenI cut off a 4" peice to make the baseout of. I then marked the outline of the tank on the end of the log and remarked it ½” inside the first mark for a line to hollow out the log, leaving enough material to cut a notch to sit the tank in. I used a large drill bit to remove most of the material then cleaned up the edges with a chisel and gouge. At this point I decided to go ahead and cut out the entire center and not have a bottom in the base. The log had a split in it so I had to epoxy it together. So that’s it for tonight until the glue cures.