ravensfan73
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So I was at The Fish Store the other day and noticed they had a huge overflowing aquarium. It overflowed on the sides and went down the glass into a chamber to get pumped back up to the tank. If you don't know what these are heres a link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZL72WknKjQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZL72WknKjQ</a>
Anyways I was struck by how awesome these were and went home and looked them up only to find that they cost an insane amount of money. So I decided to build one on my own, granted not as big. This is the first build of any kind I've done so there has been a good amount of trial and error. I decided to buy a 5 gallon tank with bowed edges, as water will push away from sharp edges and it does not create the intended effect. Next I wanted to build the lower chamber with a bulk head built into the bottom leading to a pump to pump the water back in. I was thinking about doing a mini sump from the overflowing water, but the tank Im buying already comes with a mini filter so I decided against this. This left me just a tube and a water pump sticking out in the open as well as a bulkhead coming out the bottom. This led me to decide to build a mini stand underneath the tank to house the equipment. Its all elementary and was build the cheapest way possible so bear with me.
My work station:
[IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/fc75sk.jpg alt="" />
Cleary Im a professional. Atleast I wore safety goggles.
I began by picking up a large piece of polycarbonate from home depot as well as a cheap jigsaw. I measured out the base portion of the tank to be a slight bit larger than the frame of the actual tank. I cut out the pieces and taped them together.
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I then used GE Silicone I to glue it all together, let it dry overnight and water tested it.
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Oops. That didn't hold. I later reapplied the silicone and deemed it watertight.
Next was the bulkhead. I used a small drill bit, all I had, to make a small hole in the Polycarbonate and slowly but surely expanded it by rubbing the edges. Eventually the hole was big enough and I attached the improvised bulkhead
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I found a 2x4 laying around the house and cut it up to make the stand
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Test fit was pretty good.
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Then I found some random Eucaboard lying around my house, looks like this, and used it to wrap around the stand to give it a more finished look.
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Finally I painted the outside of the base of the tank shiny black. Probably needs a few more coats.
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Still need to decide what color to paint the mini stand. Im thinking either shiny silver or black again. So thats as far as Ive gone so far. Waiting on things to dry. Any thoughts, tips, ideas would be appreciated. Again this is my first build at all so it might be lacking some important things that have slipped my mind. I need to figure out center bracing for the tank. Maybe a piece of 2x4 underneath. however if the actual tank edges sit on the 2x4's do I need center bracing? Again any thoughts or tips are appreciated. You can tell me Im an idiot for doing this, I won't cry haha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZL72WknKjQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZL72WknKjQ</a>
Anyways I was struck by how awesome these were and went home and looked them up only to find that they cost an insane amount of money. So I decided to build one on my own, granted not as big. This is the first build of any kind I've done so there has been a good amount of trial and error. I decided to buy a 5 gallon tank with bowed edges, as water will push away from sharp edges and it does not create the intended effect. Next I wanted to build the lower chamber with a bulk head built into the bottom leading to a pump to pump the water back in. I was thinking about doing a mini sump from the overflowing water, but the tank Im buying already comes with a mini filter so I decided against this. This left me just a tube and a water pump sticking out in the open as well as a bulkhead coming out the bottom. This led me to decide to build a mini stand underneath the tank to house the equipment. Its all elementary and was build the cheapest way possible so bear with me.
My work station:
[IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/fc75sk.jpg alt="" />
Cleary Im a professional. Atleast I wore safety goggles.
I began by picking up a large piece of polycarbonate from home depot as well as a cheap jigsaw. I measured out the base portion of the tank to be a slight bit larger than the frame of the actual tank. I cut out the pieces and taped them together.
I then used GE Silicone I to glue it all together, let it dry overnight and water tested it.
Oops. That didn't hold. I later reapplied the silicone and deemed it watertight.
Next was the bulkhead. I used a small drill bit, all I had, to make a small hole in the Polycarbonate and slowly but surely expanded it by rubbing the edges. Eventually the hole was big enough and I attached the improvised bulkhead
I found a 2x4 laying around the house and cut it up to make the stand
Test fit was pretty good.
Then I found some random Eucaboard lying around my house, looks like this, and used it to wrap around the stand to give it a more finished look.
Finally I painted the outside of the base of the tank shiny black. Probably needs a few more coats.
Still need to decide what color to paint the mini stand. Im thinking either shiny silver or black again. So thats as far as Ive gone so far. Waiting on things to dry. Any thoughts, tips, ideas would be appreciated. Again this is my first build at all so it might be lacking some important things that have slipped my mind. I need to figure out center bracing for the tank. Maybe a piece of 2x4 underneath. however if the actual tank edges sit on the 2x4's do I need center bracing? Again any thoughts or tips are appreciated. You can tell me Im an idiot for doing this, I won't cry haha
