DIY 50g Stand and DIY Tank

update!

FINAL CHOICE: IDEA 5

Wood after 3 layers of paint


After a while i asked myself "where will the filter tubing go through?
So i drilled some holes with a 32mm spade bit. After 5-10 tries on a scrap wood i got the hang of it. Keeping the wood very steady and taking my time was the key to a perfect round hole;D


Angle profiles on the base! (the one on the back still needs to be glued on the glass)


Attaching the wood on the glass


I did the left side and rear a few hours later as i was out of clamps


Thats it for now!

Todo:
-Cut angle profiles for the corners (15mm black)
-Glue remaining profiles
-Remove excess silicone from all profiles
-Clean the inside of the tank
-Remove the scratches on the glass (there are MANY of them)
-Build canopy

Deadline:
15th of august i am going on vacation for a week. Its kind of hard to have young fish and go on vacation as they require a lot of care. I also find it a bit too extreme to ask someone to come twice per day to take care of them. For that reason i want everything to be finished before i leave.

In the meantime i bought a plastic container ~55litres (and an Eheim 2213 Classic filter) in which i started a fishless cycle with ammonia. I used a few squezings from my Juwel Record 60 filter and Sera Nitrivec (not that great of a product imho but i figured it might help in this little time frame) to get the cycle going faster. Once the 55gallon tank is complete i will transfer the filter there

 

today's update!

All corner profiles installed!



Here is a picture to give you a rough idea of how the canopy will look like


The canopy will hold 3 bulbs so i thought it was necessary to have some ventilation slots for cooling. After searching a while in the local DIY shop i found some nice wooden vents. I will make the vents open like doors for tank access
Also the canopy will have profiles on the side (matching the stand) and will be painted white

More updates soon!

 

it has been a while since i posted an update but i have been busy

Anyway here is what i have done on the tank

- shaving off some wood from the canopy to lower the vent for a nicer effect. The cut is not that clean as you can see but it was hard to do with that tool and i was starting to lose my patience lol


- vent in


- wood filler!


- 1st layer of paint
http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww42/Giannis86/IMG_1024copy.jpg[/IMG

- 2nd layer
[IMG]http://i704.photobucket.com/albums/ww42/Giannis86/IMG_1071copy.jpg

- Removed the glass brace to clean that ugly green


- Brace reinstalled and sealed properly from all sides to avoid the same problem in the future


- Tank sitting on top of DIY stand! Im happy with my choice of design



- removing scratches. unfortunately my battery run out so i only had 5min in this step..tomorrow i will continue with this


Things to do:
Add fans on canopy
Add lights on canopy
Install hinges on canopy and tank
Apply water resistant on the inside of the canopy
Remove scratches
more that i cant think of

 

Yesterday i spent some time thinking about the lighting.

This is what i came up with:

4 TL5 bulbs in total

(from back to front)
1x Philips TL5 39W 830
1x Philips TL5 24W 865
1x Philips TL5 24W 830
1x Philips TL5 39W 865
The 2 middle bulbs are shorter due to the fans that i will be putting in the canopy

All connected to 2 Philips Ballasts capable of 2x24W or 2x39W
Both ballasts will be on a timer and programmed seperately.

When i got this aquarium it had a Grasslin Talento 472 Timer with it. After a lot of struggle and reading the online manual i managed to program it properly as my needs required.

However i have a problem..
Due to my lack of knowledge in wiring i cannot understand how to wire this thing.

Click here for the manual

As you can see from the diagrams, there are two channels. I would like to connect two lighting bulbs to the unit (each bulb to a separate channel)

Attached you will find a picture of one side of the timer (channel two is on the opposite side)
The wires were like this when i got the timer (connected to one lighting bulb). I am not sure if it was done efficiently but the bulb did work.

Could someone please help me figure this out? Maybe by means of a simple picture

Thank you

 

i havent updated for a while but i have been very busy!

Here are pics to keep you busy for a few minutes ^^

As you see above, i tried to buff the scratches with toothpaste.
Result: lots of time wasted!

I then did some good research and found that some fellow aquarist had some good luck with cerium oxide. This compound is often used for mirror polishing and for stone polishing by jewelers.



Because i was polishing the scratches with a battery powered drill, i found myself having to wait for the battery to reload very often. So i kept myself busy with the canopy and the electrics

Canopy

Pre assembly


Thats 2x Scythe S-Flex F fans which i had lying in my basement, which will be wired to a AC/DC converter with adjustable output voltages.

Bulbs:
1x Philips TL5 Master HO 840 39W
1x Philips TL5 Master HO 860 39W
1x Philips TL5 Master HO 840 24W
1x Philips TL5 Master HO 860 24W
Total of about 126W of lighting.
All bulbs will be wired to Phillips E-ballasts

Ballasts mounted in stand, along with a fan to blow air across them


Wiring in the closet!


Ballasts connected to mains via a timer


Talento 472 Timer


Painting the inside of the canopy!


Wiring diagram for the TL Bulbs


tl bulbs installed - no cable management yet!


Closeup op connections & heat-shrinks


Pads to reduce fan vibration


DIY el cheapo fan holders - OPEN


DIY el cheapo fan holders - CLOSED


Cable management done! Bulbs & fans installed! (Note 1 fan exhaust and 1 intake!)


Closeup
Only Stainless steel screws were used!
Green/Yellow wires for grounding the reflector that i will use


Stupid that i didnt think of it before...Will need to do some patching here


Canopy on aquarium - Semi open
Used some scrap wood sticks to hold it open. I will make a similar mechanism for it soon.

 

Speaking of tubing...how do you plan on feeding the fish? Removing the entire top section of the hood?

 

I will build something similar like this


Those are some scrap wood sticks. I will get some longer ones and install some hinges on them (canopy side). That way i can fold them and close the canopy. And unfold them to hold the canopy open;D
Might sound cheap but it definitely works

 

Awsome looking tank so far! Cant wait to see this bad boy up and running

 

everything looks great.. Are you planning on adding corals down the road? I definitely hope so..

 

WOW.looks like all your hard work has paid off..Great job..looking forward to seeing it filled with life...