DIY - Projects & Ideas

by **The King Crabb** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:44 pm

Steve C wrote:King..I love the tank man, what's your stocking plan for it? And new pics??

I'm going to be putting it in my bedroom and have 20-30 Saulosi in there, species only tank

Haven't had a chance to work on it, sorry! I know it's been a week but it's been one heck of one and now it's Halloween, I should have time to get materials tomorrow and hopefully make some more progress!

by **jchild40** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:06 pm

by **bac3492** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:19 am

After having read through this post, i have taken some interest in trying to build something of this stature. Maybe a foot longer, similar height and width.... i am interested to know if there is a support bracket in the center of the tank much like a standard 55 gallon tank??? If not... is it 3/8 glass? Im interested in what keeps this thing together.

by **The King Crabb** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 6:04 pm

No support brace! Not sure what thickness the glass is... I haven't measured it but I can when I get home, I'd assume it's somewhere around 1/2" - much thicker than a standard 55G.

by **zharnotczar** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 7:49 pm

Wow, you got a deal on that tank. I'm trying to build my tank that's either 3 or 4 feet long and the total cost of my glass is looking to be much more than that.

by **bac3492** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:54 am

zharnotczar wrote:Wow, you got a deal on that tank. I'm trying to build my tank that's either 3 or 4 feet long and the total cost of my glass is looking to be much more than that.

Look for recycled glass. It will be significantly cheaper... avoid tempered as well

by **zharnotczar** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:57 pm

bac3492 wrote:
zharnotczar wrote:Wow, you got a deal on that tank. I'm trying to build my tank that's either 3 or 4 feet long and the total cost of my glass is looking to be much more than that.

Look for recycled glass. It will be significantly cheaper... avoid tempered as well

I don't know where to get recycled glass around here. Any tips on finding that? I just don't think I trust the glass quality of recycled stuff I could find... Also, tempered glass is obvious to avoid.

by **The King Crabb** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:24 pm

zharnotczar wrote:I don't know where to get recycled glass around here. Any tips on finding that? I just don't think I trust the glass quality of recycled stuff I could find... Also, tempered glass is obvious to avoid.

You could try buying a used tank and cut the glass? I'm sure you could find a used 55G for around $50.

UPDATES! Finally got around to it (last night, but it was too late for pictures), made some serious progress and feeling good about myself so far!

First thing I did was put on the backing, since I think everything looks better once you put a big chunk of something on there!

I also got the front leg support on there, should have done this earlier since it was so easy.

Then I reinforced some of the rings on there, I went with 4" wood screws.

Now for the shelf! I'm really liking the direction I went with on this and it looks like it should turn out pretty legit!

This is roughly what the shelf will look like (but with spaces on there), I just laid them all hodge-podge so I could see what it would roughly look like and decided to share it with you!

And here is where I left off, with the exact middle of the upper shelf (haven't started the lower one yet) glued on. I'm going to be gluing each slat on with about 1/16" space in between each one (I have a guide, no worries). I wanted the let the center one to sit overnight since that will be the one that all the other pieces are modeled off!

by **bac3492** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 7:14 pm

zharnotczar wrote:
bac3492 wrote:
zharnotczar wrote:Wow, you got a deal on that tank. I'm trying to build my tank that's either 3 or 4 feet long and the total cost of my glass is looking to be much more than that.

Look for recycled glass. It will be significantly cheaper... avoid tempered as well
I don't know where to get recycled glass around here. Any tips on finding that? I just don't think I trust the glass quality of recycled stuff I could find... Also, tempered glass is obvious to avoid.

Construction sites, craigslist or any kind of swapper sites or magazines are a good place to check. Most glass you can clean up with a razor blade.

King Crabb... Everything is looking good. I look forward to seeing the end result :thumb:

by **quentin8** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:16 pm

looking good :thumb:

by **Steve C** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:00 am

Comin' along very nicely :thumb:

by **Aulonocara_Freak** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:16 am

NICE!

by **CITADELGRAD87** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 5:43 pm

Looking great, King. What did you decide on for that panel, it almost looks like finished finish grady ply in the first photo, but I think I see a tongue and groove edge in another photo.

Looks great either way, but I know you were considering unconventional material.

by **The King Crabb** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:11 pm

I feel really dumb saying this, but I have no idea what it's called. I completely forgot to check what it was, although I can tell you it's some sort of thin plywood, about 1/16". It was only 11" and almost the exact height I needed, I just had the guy cut a foot off the end and it fits within 1/16"; not bad for $11!

by **cantrell00** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:29 pm

The King Crabb wrote:I feel really dumb saying this, but I have no idea what it's called. I completely forgot to check what it was, although I can tell you it's some sort of thin plywood, about 1/16". It was only 11" and almost the exact height I needed, I just had the guy cut a foot off the end and it fits within 1/16"; not bad for $11!

The plywood is Luan.

Told you the tank had a ideal foot print!

Looks great..

One thing I have learned about woodworking, especially building structural pieces like this. You cannot go wrong with sheet rock screws! Just an fyi if you ever build another one. Get a good combo countersinking bit too (if you don't already have one)

DIY - Projects & Ideas • 7' Tank Build

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