Afer only jumping into the cichid hobby in August, I have upgraded my 55G to a 125G! Many of you have helped me through my first steps (a special thanks to sub-mariner, razorbackfan, and zimmy) so I figured I'd share my build journey to my second aquarium!
Here she is in all her empty glory... The day she came home!
The first thing I did was fill her up to verify no leaks...no leaks!
This was the last time she would see water for going on two weeks now.
The first thing I noticed was that the stand, while made for a 125G tank, was made out of particle board. I was feeling a bit uneasy with that and decided to reinforce it. Note, I am not handy in the slightest so this was going to be a bit of a challenge
Taking it over with a friend who is into wood working, he suggests I build I-beams for under the cabinet. The first problem though is that the cabinet bottom did not touch the floor. This would in turn transfer all the weight onto even more particle board! Instead, I built the bottom out with strips of 3.5x18" 2x4 and 3/8 plywood. This brings the wood perfectly flush with the bottom trim of the stand and the carpet.
Next, I constructed the I-beams out of 2x4. Six I total. Painted them with some rust oleum and out them in place.
As you may have seen from the first picture, one door had ripped off of its hinge. Using some toothpicks, I was able to resurface the stripped screw holes and secure the door back in place. Likewise, the cabinet magnets were all rusted and didn't really keep the doors closed. A quick trip to home depot solved this problem. I replaced the double magnets and all of them plates on the doors. Now they secure shut without a problem!
I knew I wanted a black background and decided to give painting it a go. Again, using rust oleum, I rolled on some semi-gloss paint! This was the first coat...
Six coats later, the back is mostly solid black. There are MANY spots that simply will not adhere paint. I've even tried it with a brush and with heavy applications. Therefore, today I went out and got some black foam board that I will cut into 2x36" pieces to slide in the back. This will cause any uncovered "specks" to be hidden.
I will measure and cut the board tomorrow. The next challenge is finding something to act as clips. What I would like to do is "install" 8 "clips" so I can slide the foam board in and out as I please. Almost like making a track. Since I do not have HOB filters, I cannot rely on them to hold the board up. Also, the board is a bit curved due to its packaging. I would be using the clips to keep the bend out of it as well. Any ideas for creating or buying these clips is welcome! I frigid I could affix theti the b,ack plastic trim running along the top and bottom of the tank.
As far as hardware goes, I will be running an FX5 with a Hydor ETH300 inline heater. I already have them in house, Long with tubing reducer to get the pair to work nicely together. Along with those are two Koralia 4 power heads.
I picked up two bags of Leslie's PFS for the substrate and am itching to get it in the tank and filling it up!
The next project after the foam board is a custom spray bar. Black PVC will be arriving Tuesday so I can make a custom spray bar for the FX5.
This has been quite the ride so far! Never knew how much DIY work it would entail, it I'm sure it will be worth it in the end! More pics and progress to come!
Thanks for reading!
Here she is in all her empty glory... The day she came home!
The first thing I did was fill her up to verify no leaks...no leaks!
This was the last time she would see water for going on two weeks now.
The first thing I noticed was that the stand, while made for a 125G tank, was made out of particle board. I was feeling a bit uneasy with that and decided to reinforce it. Note, I am not handy in the slightest so this was going to be a bit of a challenge
Taking it over with a friend who is into wood working, he suggests I build I-beams for under the cabinet. The first problem though is that the cabinet bottom did not touch the floor. This would in turn transfer all the weight onto even more particle board! Instead, I built the bottom out with strips of 3.5x18" 2x4 and 3/8 plywood. This brings the wood perfectly flush with the bottom trim of the stand and the carpet.
Next, I constructed the I-beams out of 2x4. Six I total. Painted them with some rust oleum and out them in place.
As you may have seen from the first picture, one door had ripped off of its hinge. Using some toothpicks, I was able to resurface the stripped screw holes and secure the door back in place. Likewise, the cabinet magnets were all rusted and didn't really keep the doors closed. A quick trip to home depot solved this problem. I replaced the double magnets and all of them plates on the doors. Now they secure shut without a problem!
I knew I wanted a black background and decided to give painting it a go. Again, using rust oleum, I rolled on some semi-gloss paint! This was the first coat...
Six coats later, the back is mostly solid black. There are MANY spots that simply will not adhere paint. I've even tried it with a brush and with heavy applications. Therefore, today I went out and got some black foam board that I will cut into 2x36" pieces to slide in the back. This will cause any uncovered "specks" to be hidden.
I will measure and cut the board tomorrow. The next challenge is finding something to act as clips. What I would like to do is "install" 8 "clips" so I can slide the foam board in and out as I please. Almost like making a track. Since I do not have HOB filters, I cannot rely on them to hold the board up. Also, the board is a bit curved due to its packaging. I would be using the clips to keep the bend out of it as well. Any ideas for creating or buying these clips is welcome! I frigid I could affix theti the b,ack plastic trim running along the top and bottom of the tank.
As far as hardware goes, I will be running an FX5 with a Hydor ETH300 inline heater. I already have them in house, Long with tubing reducer to get the pair to work nicely together. Along with those are two Koralia 4 power heads.
I picked up two bags of Leslie's PFS for the substrate and am itching to get it in the tank and filling it up!
The next project after the foam board is a custom spray bar. Black PVC will be arriving Tuesday so I can make a custom spray bar for the FX5.
This has been quite the ride so far! Never knew how much DIY work it would entail, it I'm sure it will be worth it in the end! More pics and progress to come!
Thanks for reading!