c31979839
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2015
- Location
- Hamilton, Ontario
So i just thought I'd create a small build thread for the tank I bought from a member here.
(http://thefragtank.ca/community/threads/30g-cube.20425/)
This is a 30G 'cube' and would make for a nice centerpiece on my main floor (all of my other tanks are in my fishroom in the basement)
After getting the tank, I proceeded to clean it with a diluted vinegar/water mix and inspect the silicone for wear and tear. Once I was happy with how the new tank looked, I started figuring out how I was going to make the stand.
I've made previous stands before (one for my 125G FW, and one for my 90G SW), so I knew the general design principals I wanted to follow. Fortunately, I had some lumber left over from a recent basement reno I've been working on, so the majority of the construction materials was just sitting outside my house.
I measured up the tank footprint and drew up a plan of what materials I would need to cut. After gathering the materials and cutting, I screwed everything together and made sure everything was level and square.
I used 2x2's for the top and bottom 'plates' and 2x4s for the load bearing studs. I put in two extra 2x4's about 2/3's of the way up the stand to help to stabilize the stand. This also acted as a shelf.
Once the basic frame of the stand was complete, I laid out my skinning in AutoCAD so that I could go to HD and have them cut all my 1/4" plywood. I've had problems in the past with the employees there only allowing 1 or 2 cuts, but this time (maybe because I gave them really good instructions), they cut every piece I needed. This was nice because I didn't need to pull out my tablesaw (woohoo!). I ended up just using nails to put the plywood around the stand, and made sure there was a 1/4" lip around the top so that the bottom of the tank would have a nice spot to sit in.
Once the stand was done (besides adding trim), I finalized the location on my main floor, and put the tank onto its spot. I have 2 x 35G brute bins in my basement for saltwater water changes (35G of RO/DI, 35G of mixed saltwater), so I brought up 30G of RO/DI water in 5G buckets. (Who needs a gym membership, right? lol).
I didn't have any extra canister filters, or HOB filters, so I went out and got a Penguin 200 "bio-wheel" HOB filter and started circulating the water. Since I have about 230G of an established freshwater system in my basement, I grabbed some cycled filter media and threw it into my HOB filter. I added a heater (the size of which was overkill for my setup, but I had it laying around), and got my tank up to around 78 degrees F.
Since I knew I was going to put in a Blood Parrot Cichlid, I looked into the best substrate and decorations. A fine grain sand was suggested because the cichlid likes digging, and some hiding spots were recommended to keep the stress level of the fish down. I went to BigAls and grabbed some black fine grain sand, and a centerpiece for the fish to swim around and hide in. I grabbed some larger rubble from one of my existing tanks and added everything to the water.
As of right now, I'm letting the tank stabilize. Since I used existing filter media and rocks from an established tank, I shouldn't have to worry too much about a new cycle, but i'm keeping an eye on the parameters before adding any livestock.
Hopefully I'll be able to get a new friend swimming around soon, but in the mean time, the tank is still pretty nice to look at.
-Chris
(http://thefragtank.ca/community/threads/30g-cube.20425/)
This is a 30G 'cube' and would make for a nice centerpiece on my main floor (all of my other tanks are in my fishroom in the basement)
After getting the tank, I proceeded to clean it with a diluted vinegar/water mix and inspect the silicone for wear and tear. Once I was happy with how the new tank looked, I started figuring out how I was going to make the stand.
I've made previous stands before (one for my 125G FW, and one for my 90G SW), so I knew the general design principals I wanted to follow. Fortunately, I had some lumber left over from a recent basement reno I've been working on, so the majority of the construction materials was just sitting outside my house.
I measured up the tank footprint and drew up a plan of what materials I would need to cut. After gathering the materials and cutting, I screwed everything together and made sure everything was level and square.
I used 2x2's for the top and bottom 'plates' and 2x4s for the load bearing studs. I put in two extra 2x4's about 2/3's of the way up the stand to help to stabilize the stand. This also acted as a shelf.
Once the basic frame of the stand was complete, I laid out my skinning in AutoCAD so that I could go to HD and have them cut all my 1/4" plywood. I've had problems in the past with the employees there only allowing 1 or 2 cuts, but this time (maybe because I gave them really good instructions), they cut every piece I needed. This was nice because I didn't need to pull out my tablesaw (woohoo!). I ended up just using nails to put the plywood around the stand, and made sure there was a 1/4" lip around the top so that the bottom of the tank would have a nice spot to sit in.
Once the stand was done (besides adding trim), I finalized the location on my main floor, and put the tank onto its spot. I have 2 x 35G brute bins in my basement for saltwater water changes (35G of RO/DI, 35G of mixed saltwater), so I brought up 30G of RO/DI water in 5G buckets. (Who needs a gym membership, right? lol).
I didn't have any extra canister filters, or HOB filters, so I went out and got a Penguin 200 "bio-wheel" HOB filter and started circulating the water. Since I have about 230G of an established freshwater system in my basement, I grabbed some cycled filter media and threw it into my HOB filter. I added a heater (the size of which was overkill for my setup, but I had it laying around), and got my tank up to around 78 degrees F.
Since I knew I was going to put in a Blood Parrot Cichlid, I looked into the best substrate and decorations. A fine grain sand was suggested because the cichlid likes digging, and some hiding spots were recommended to keep the stress level of the fish down. I went to BigAls and grabbed some black fine grain sand, and a centerpiece for the fish to swim around and hide in. I grabbed some larger rubble from one of my existing tanks and added everything to the water.
As of right now, I'm letting the tank stabilize. Since I used existing filter media and rocks from an established tank, I shouldn't have to worry too much about a new cycle, but i'm keeping an eye on the parameters before adding any livestock.
Hopefully I'll be able to get a new friend swimming around soon, but in the mean time, the tank is still pretty nice to look at.
-Chris