Can I get some opinions?

[tbielobockie]

I just set up my first aquarium. It's a 75 gal freshwater, but I used a reed ready tank because I like the clean look of the tank without all of the filtering stuff visable.


I also hated all of the stands being offered for sale. To me glass and water goes better with a metal than wood. So I made my own stand. All of the seams are welded and ground flush so the stand looks like it's made out of one big piece of metal. The finished result to me is a whole lot better than anything off the shelf.

Can you take a look at it and let me know what you think?

Here are the pics:

http://www.irondonut.com/personal/fishtank.html

 

[Guest]

Looks good to me! The stand certainly looks sturdy enough, but you will need to watch for rust. You will get water on it during maintenance, so make sure you look for corrosion on a regular basis.

Rocky tank with chiclids, should be good to go.

 

[tbielobockie]

Yeah I was worried about that too. I clear coated it like 10 times. If I were going to run salt I would have made it out of stainless and clear coated it too.

 

[Thaiboxer]

Very nice! I especially like Sponge Bob - he looks very happy in there!

 

[Somethingfishy]

Very nice looking tank and well done on the stand.

 

[Chrismac]

Looks nice,
Is there any filteration in there at all?
Do you have any air stones?



Your Cichlids need O2 pumped into the water for them to survive.
if there is a lack in Oxygen you will notice you fish gasping at the surface of the tank.
Mind you it does look really nice.
Chris.


Edit
Opps sorry I didn't see the Hiden filter in the Back corner. LoL
Chris

 

[tbielobockie]

The little waterfall thingy in the back of the reef tank and the wet/dry seem to put a lot of air in the water. I was thinking of adding a little bubbler or something too.

After making that stand and setting up the tank. I need a break from projects. I bet the stand was a solid 40-50 hours of labor. Shimming the tank level, filling, unfilling, filling, unfilling. It was ton of work but I'm really happy with the result.

 

[Guest]

It was ton of work but I'm really happy with the result.

You should be, it certainly holds the tank up, looks good, and is very unique! I've never seen anything like it.

You can put a bubler in if you want, but a wet-dry will give your fish all the oxygen they need.

 

[Grant R]

Looks pretty sorted to me, like the stand.
LOL @ the little ornament with the evil looking grin and the fish net !

 

[fishfreek]

Yes a wet/dry will put more than enough oxygen in the water.

Welcome and thanks for sharing your tank.

 

[Guest]

LOL @ the little ornament with the evil looking grin and the fish net !

What?!?!?!?! Sponge Bob Square Pants hasn't made it across the pond?!


http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/spongebob/main.jhtml

He's all the rage, a kids cartoon that adults can like too!

 

[max]

great tank and stand. Do other people have DIY stands to show off? or DIY tanks? There must be a better way to add a tank to a living room. I have to share the space and I could use some design suggestions.
-feeder fish
ps I have a woodshop.
20g goldfish, planted
10g fresh, planted
5g fresh, planted

 

[tbielobockie]

I'm a big fan of metal and I've been wanting to learn how to weld this was my first large project.

I'll make another one if anyone wants one. It was a lot of work but really nice completed.

I'm really liking the cichlids. They have a lot more personality than goldfish.

Thank you for the nice comments.

It was ton of work but I'm really happy with the result.

You should be, it certainly holds the tank up, looks good, and is very unique! I've never seen anything like it.

You can put a bubler in if you want, but a wet-dry will give your fish all the oxygen they need.

 

[tbielobockie]

If you want a metal one I'd be up for making another. It was a fun project! I'm getting the itch to make something else. And apparently I'm not allowed to replace everything in the house with my garage made metal creations.

great tank and stand. Do other people have DIY stands to show off? or DIY tanks? There must be a better way to add a tank to a living room. I have to share the space and I could use some design suggestions.
-feeder fish
ps I have a woodshop.
20g goldfish, planted
10g fresh, planted
5g fresh, planted

 

[totalbeginner]

looking very closely, can i see that you have decorated the metal with your angle grinder, picture doesn't show this up very well but i can imagine what it looks like. i like that knid of finish.

 

[tbielobockie]

I welded the seams then took a 4.5" angle grinder with (I think a 50 grit) grinding stone and took the welds flush with the structure of the stand. Once the welds were reasonably close to flush I replaced the stone on the angle grinder with a sanding disk with 36 grid alum ox pads. And I worked it flush. Finally I went over the entire surface with the 36 grit sanding pad and gave it kindof a random orbital pattern.

Here are some more detailed pics if you are interested.

looking very closely, can i see that you have decorated the metal with your angle grinder, picture doesn't show this up very well but i can imagine what it looks like. i like that knid of finish.

 

[tbielobockie]

I can't seem to attach the detailed pictures. I will put them on my web site with links later today.

 

[tyler]

you could probably park a truck on that stand...