DIY 50G Tank Restoration & DIY Stand

[Giannis86]

The styrofoam will compress and eventually be touching the glass. Not a good idea IMO....Better to replace the piece of wood on top of the stand with one that is flat, or a piece of slate....etc..

hmm
i read a bit on this on the web after your post

Doesnt seem like a good idea after all..
HOWEVER, my stand is not flat in the middle and something MUST be done..
Replacing the top is not an option

How about this:
Redo the styrofoam base but differently
Stand-->Styrofoam-->wooden plate-->Tank
If i get this right, the styrofoam would compress to level out stand imperfections. The Wood would prevent anything from touching the bottom of the tank, hence reducing risks.

How does that sound? Please let me know about any flaws in the design
The good thing is that using this method i can cover the wood and styrofoam as above with the black cloth. Replacing the panel on the stand would mean: New profiles, more wood, more sanding, more filling, more painting etc etc..Now i love DIY but id rather work it out in another way if i can

 

[match55]

this is crazy!!!! good job!!!!

 

[Giannis86]

Update!

After realizing that styrofoam by itself would compress and cause problems with the bottom of the tank, i redesigned my "dressinator "
I bought 12mm thick hardwood and placed it on top of the styrofoam. Then i covered them with the black cloth.

I also wired the lights and all electrics in the closet and aquarium

I also did a leak testing and so far everything seem to be fine

Black background on the back of the aquarium!

Quick testing of the lights

Reflectors
I would gladly recommend those to anyone. They seem to be doing an amazing job

The black background didnt look that good while i was looking through the aquarium. After careful and LONG thinking i decided on the type and color of an internal background

BTN Slimline

Cut into size and glued

More updates soon!
I took some pictures with a nice large piece of driftwood inside so that i can brainstorm on how i will decorate it (during the weekend)

 

[Giannis86]

we have progress

DIY water jets!

DIY Jet system - Pump A
the lovely thing about this is that it is fully adjustable. The jets can be rotated, raised, etc...Very easy to adjust surface agitation and water movement in the tank

Outlet pump B (CO2) - eheim spray bar pointed downwards

Picture of the piece of wood!

Making the partitions. Dont mind the glasses! I was thirsty
luckily i was home alone so no1 else got to see that i was using the miss's glasses for my own purposes

Sand and dennerle deponitmix

Finished partitions (ignore the sand on the glass)
Added Dennerle Crystal Diamond Black gravel on top of the deponitmix

by the way i will put some stones between the sand/gravel border so that it doesnt get mixed up easily
Tomorrow its planting time!

 

[underdog5004]

Man, that tank is looking SICK!! I really like the water system! I just got a 55, and I might buy some extended tubing and do something similar.

 

[Giannis86]

Man, that tank is looking SICK!! I really like the water system! I just got a 55, and I might buy some extended tubing and do something similar.

thanks!

here is some info that you might find helpful

-first of all if you make similar jets, know that water will go out at much higher pressure. At first i had one jet but it could shoot water across the whole room. Thats why i made a second one and combined them. by the way, the pressure will also depend on how flat you decide to make those jets

-i used eheim plastic tube (same material as those spray bars)
put it in some boiling water and it will get as soft as an ice cream

 

[Giannis86]

Yet another update but one that is worth the wait;D

150euros and a couple of hours of planting =



by the way this is my first shot at a planted tank so be easy on me

Front view

Left view

Right view

Left partition

Right partition

Jets in action

By the way the water still needs to clean up and i still need to make a lot of adjustments to the system
I will also add stone (probably with riccia) on the sand/gravel border

i hope you like it

 

[FishEggs]

well done

 

[blue71]

Your tank is awesome! I want to build something like that! How much did the whole filter system run you?