Echistas
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I'm working on a new project. part of this project is a custom made mid-century style stand for a 12 gallon long tank. My goal is to have absolutely everything hidden in the storage shelf of the stand, and that means a lot of DIY. My wife is an architect and designed the stand
The Stand:
stand Pictures, stand Images, stand Photos, stand Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
I want to see nothing but the stand, the tank, the light, and two hoses. The stand will have a 32 inch by 5 inch by 8 inch space for me to fit a filter, auto-doser, auto top off, co2 diffuser, and electronics. It needs to be safe, effective, and reliable. While the stand is under construction, I decided to work on the first part of my build -- The filter.
It needed to fit inside a limited space, and be absolutely 100% leak proof. It also needed to have enough space for a reasonable amount of media, and built in such a way that I could easily take it apart for maintenance. I scoured the web for ideas, but doesn't seem like anyone was able to get a truly leak-proof custom canister without using those hard to maintain pvc pipes. Here's what I came up with.
DIY Canister1 Pictures, DIY Canister1 Images, DIY Canister1 Photos, DIY Canister1 Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
diy canister2 Pictures, diy canister2 Images, diy canister2 Photos, diy canister2 Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
Pretty self explanatory from the pictures, but here was the basic build process:
3 Nalgene Twist Jars from Amazon
a lot of silicone
4 nylon hex bolts with nut
drill
2 1/2" elbow barbs with lock nuts
Step 1: Silicone the caps to the bottom of the jars
Step 2: let it dry for at least 3 days
Step 3: drill holes for screws, and lock them in. this is to prevent any issues while tightening or unscrewing
Step 4: let dry again (you'll notice a bunch of silicon ooze through the holes you just drilled. Its a lot of silicone, and won't dry completely until all your holes are made
Step 5: Drill a bunch of holes
Step 6: attach elbows
DONE
total cost: 20 bucks.
The Stand:
stand Pictures, stand Images, stand Photos, stand Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
I want to see nothing but the stand, the tank, the light, and two hoses. The stand will have a 32 inch by 5 inch by 8 inch space for me to fit a filter, auto-doser, auto top off, co2 diffuser, and electronics. It needs to be safe, effective, and reliable. While the stand is under construction, I decided to work on the first part of my build -- The filter.
It needed to fit inside a limited space, and be absolutely 100% leak proof. It also needed to have enough space for a reasonable amount of media, and built in such a way that I could easily take it apart for maintenance. I scoured the web for ideas, but doesn't seem like anyone was able to get a truly leak-proof custom canister without using those hard to maintain pvc pipes. Here's what I came up with.
DIY Canister1 Pictures, DIY Canister1 Images, DIY Canister1 Photos, DIY Canister1 Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
diy canister2 Pictures, diy canister2 Images, diy canister2 Photos, diy canister2 Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
Pretty self explanatory from the pictures, but here was the basic build process:
3 Nalgene Twist Jars from Amazon
a lot of silicone
4 nylon hex bolts with nut
drill
2 1/2" elbow barbs with lock nuts
Step 1: Silicone the caps to the bottom of the jars
Step 2: let it dry for at least 3 days
Step 3: drill holes for screws, and lock them in. this is to prevent any issues while tightening or unscrewing
Step 4: let dry again (you'll notice a bunch of silicon ooze through the holes you just drilled. Its a lot of silicone, and won't dry completely until all your holes are made
Step 5: Drill a bunch of holes
Step 6: attach elbows
DONE
total cost: 20 bucks.