DIY 50g Stand and DIY Tank

actually no..its going to be freshwater

I plan on building my own reef from scratch when i move to my own house (now in my own appartment) for space reasons. That might take a couple of years but i will be doing my planning until then (will be going for a 450g ;D )

thanx for the kind words everyone
In the meantime i just test drived the lighting and it works great! i will post some pictures later!
I also ordered some Dennerle reflectors which should arrive end of this week or beginning next w2eek at the latest

 

Here is an update

I installed the lighting outside of the aquarium and took some pictures

Connections on the ballast


Lighting. I made the photo much darker than it was so that you can see the bulbs and the light easier


After this i will focus on removing those scratches from the glass and get this thing filled with fish

 

Almost seems like a waste to have Freshwater in a tank that awesome, it's just begging for corals!

All joking aside, the entire setup looks great man!

 

Great looking build so far! Just curious, but why did you decide to go with 2 white and 2 yellow bulbs in the canopy?

~Will.

 

The brighter ones show the colors of the fish a bit better
The other lamps have more red spectrum which can help in plant growth


update:
today i got 4 T5 Dennerle reflectors
The wiring in the closet is done
Filing the holes on the top of the canopy
Re-painting top of the canopy

i will post some pictures tomorrow

@ reefjack
hehe i know what you mean. Honestly i would do a SW tank if i wasn't so attached to my black moor fry. They are truly remarkable and fun to watch;D;D

 

Very nice detailed DIY build. I'm sure that will make a great planted tank. Keep on posting pics. K+

 

its been a while after my last update but here it is!

I moved the aquarium and stand from the basement to my house (3rd floor)
OMG the stand was heavy!

The surface of my diy stand wasnt what i would call straight
Thats when i figured that Styrofoam is your best friend!
My problem: styrofoam would stand out and make the whole look ugly
So i came up with this:

Thy Styrofoam dressinator!



Turned around


Aquarium on top


Closeup


DIY Styrofoam Test Kit holder!


Inside of the Stand (still need to put the pumps, CO2 etc in it. Note the plastic holder for the test kit charts)
Funny enough, the 2 big bottles fit on the side so i said to myself wth! another space saver!


More updates very soon!

 

Very nice work. I love DIYing keep up the good work and keep the updates coming.

 

Update!

After realizing that styrofoam by itself would compress and cause problems with the bottom of the tank, i redesigned my "dressinator ;D"
I bought 12mm thick hardwood and placed it on top of the styrofoam. Then i covered them with the black cloth.

I also wired the lights and all electrics in the closet and aquarium

I also did a leak testing and so far everything seem to be fine

Black background on the back of the aquarium!


Quick testing of the lights



Reflectors
I would gladly recommend those to anyone. They seem to be doing an amazing job



The black background didnt look that good while i was looking through the aquarium. After careful and LONG thinking i decided on the type and color of an internal background

BTN Slimline


Cut into size and glued


More updates soon!
I took some pictures with a nice large piece of driftwood inside so that i can brainstorm on how i will decorate it (during the weekend)

 

we have progress

DIY water jets!


DIY Jet system - Pump A
the lovely thing about this is that it is fully adjustable. The jets can be rotated, raised, etc...Very easy to adjust surface agitation and water movement in the tank


Outlet pump B (CO2) - eheim spray bar pointed downwards


Picture of the piece of wood!


Making the partitions. Dont mind the glasses! I was thirsty
luckily i was home alone so no1 else got to see that i was using the miss's glasses for my own purposes


Sand and dennerle deponitmix


Finished partitions (ignore the sand on the glass)
Added Dennerle Crystal Diamond Black gravel on top of the deponitmix


by the way i will put some stones between the sand/gravel border so that it doesnt get mixed up easily
Tomorrow its planting time!