Tweet
The aquarium by glasscages.com, 48"x16"x17", sold as a 65 gallon, but holds about 60 gallons - 1/2" glass, has an "unusual design"...
It may be hard to tell from the images, but the front, back, and side panels of glass sit outside the bottom panel. Typically, they sit on top of the bottom glass (no issues so far).
The stand skeleton is made with 2x4s and 1/2" birch plywood (tank surface). The overall measurements are: 48" long x 24" wide x 30" tall. This will allow for an aquarium upgrade later if we want without having to build a new stand.
another view
We (my wife and I) added some 1/8" plywood for the outer skin. We removed the "door openings" with a jigsaw, so the front skin is one piece.
Created the doors with an extra sheet of 1/2" birch plywood (started as 24"x48" sheet x2, one for the top and one for the doors). Finished stand:
I used a Minwax brand stain
Tank sitting on 1/2" styrofoam and on the stand. The entire setup is sitting on a piece of carpet on the wood floors which allows me to slide the tank across the floor if I need to move it (it works pretty well):
Substrate: Turface Pro MVP field conditioner. I rinsed the substrate 5+ times to get all of the small particles and dust out (I had minimal "cloudy water" once filled). I filled a bucket about 1/4" full of the turface, rinsed - drained x5, then added to the aquarium. 50# bag was ~$17 and I used the entire bag for this setup. This product is listed as "red" but looks more brown once wet (at least it does to me - what do you think?).
Initial fill (little cloudiness):
Temporarily added the lights and then plants:
Then I started building the DIY suspended lighting supports. 3/4" conduit with fittings and eye bolts.
It may be hard to tell from the images, but the front, back, and side panels of glass sit outside the bottom panel. Typically, they sit on top of the bottom glass (no issues so far).
The stand skeleton is made with 2x4s and 1/2" birch plywood (tank surface). The overall measurements are: 48" long x 24" wide x 30" tall. This will allow for an aquarium upgrade later if we want without having to build a new stand.
another view
We (my wife and I) added some 1/8" plywood for the outer skin. We removed the "door openings" with a jigsaw, so the front skin is one piece.
Created the doors with an extra sheet of 1/2" birch plywood (started as 24"x48" sheet x2, one for the top and one for the doors). Finished stand:
I used a Minwax brand stain
Tank sitting on 1/2" styrofoam and on the stand. The entire setup is sitting on a piece of carpet on the wood floors which allows me to slide the tank across the floor if I need to move it (it works pretty well):
Substrate: Turface Pro MVP field conditioner. I rinsed the substrate 5+ times to get all of the small particles and dust out (I had minimal "cloudy water" once filled). I filled a bucket about 1/4" full of the turface, rinsed - drained x5, then added to the aquarium. 50# bag was ~$17 and I used the entire bag for this setup. This product is listed as "red" but looks more brown once wet (at least it does to me - what do you think?).
Initial fill (little cloudiness):
Temporarily added the lights and then plants:
Then I started building the DIY suspended lighting supports. 3/4" conduit with fittings and eye bolts.
Comment