FaulkFish
04-06-2007, 10:29 AM
What started with a gift for my 2 year old son from his great-grandmother of a 10 gallon starter kit has turned into something a bit bigger. It started by deciding that we needed a new bookcase to put the tank on to properly support it so I decided I would build one. (Woodworking is my hobby, or as my wife calls it, tool collecting :) ) So as the construction of the bookcase progressed, we figured that since we were going to all the trouble of creating a bookcase just for the tank, maybe we should get a bigger one. We finally settled on the 29 gallon tank.
A word of advice - When building a piece of furniture for a specific purpose (aquarium), it's a good idea to know how much space the aquarium needs. Oops! I didn't realize the space needed at the back of the tank for the filter and the bookcase was almost completed at this point. So this led us to getting a canister filter (Rena Filstar XP2) which is probably overkill for this size tank but I got a good deal on it.
So the the bookcase is now finished and the tank is filled and decorated. We are already really excited about the tank and we are checking it out all the time and we don't even have fish in it yet. A $50 gift has now turned into several hundreds of dollars spent on our part but I think it will be worth it. We haven't decided yet what kind of fish but we'll figure that out soon.
Now for the pics....
The finished bookcase and tank.
15451
15452
I put a hinged top on the book case for easier access.
15453
The filter behind the door.
15454
15455
I will post new pictures as we start stocking the tank.
Thanks.
A word of advice - When building a piece of furniture for a specific purpose (aquarium), it's a good idea to know how much space the aquarium needs. Oops! I didn't realize the space needed at the back of the tank for the filter and the bookcase was almost completed at this point. So this led us to getting a canister filter (Rena Filstar XP2) which is probably overkill for this size tank but I got a good deal on it.
So the the bookcase is now finished and the tank is filled and decorated. We are already really excited about the tank and we are checking it out all the time and we don't even have fish in it yet. A $50 gift has now turned into several hundreds of dollars spent on our part but I think it will be worth it. We haven't decided yet what kind of fish but we'll figure that out soon.
Now for the pics....
The finished bookcase and tank.
15451
15452
I put a hinged top on the book case for easier access.
15453
The filter behind the door.
15454
15455
I will post new pictures as we start stocking the tank.
Thanks.