DIY Hood, lights and cabinet... and im new at this

Hey everybody, how you all doing?

Firstly, i posted this in the newbie forum but i think it might belong here.....

Right, i'm pretty much brand new to fish keeping (my step dad had a tank when i was about 6, and i've won a few goldfish at the fair) but i'm gonna do it, and i'm gonna try and do it right!

Originally i wanted to build everything myself because of the space restriction where i live, and because i love building things, but the glass for my 22g cube (18")came to more than getting one built by a local company (£55 for glass compared to £45 built) anyways im rambling....

The things i wanted to ask are:
I'm building my own cabinet- theres a pic of the frame below- i think it will be plenty sturdy enough as it took my weight easily but i always like a 2nd opinion, so can anyone offer an opinion?

what benefit does a spraybar bring to an aquarium?

I'm going to build my own hood and i want to use LED lighting. I'm not looking to grow any plants so do you think 4 of these http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.js...&isSearch=true (2 white 2 blue) will be sufficient?

Epoxy putty (like milliputt) is it safe to use for aquarium ornaments? if not can anyone suggest a good media? i'm real good at fabricating displays and dioramas (i used to work for gamesworkshop at their flagship store) so i want to make all my own stuff.

Finally....

Guppies look sooooooo sweet (i love the look of bettas too) what would be good to go with them in my set up, if at all?


I've been browsing here and the MFK forums for a week or so now, and i've already leared so much from you guys, so i wanna say thanks in advance... THANKS!!!



The frame for the cabinet, which i hope will be strong enough



basic idea of what im going for.



I did a bunch more work today, i'll post some pics in a lil bit

coach_z said:

that looks like a pretty strong stand. it looks like you have 3x3 on the bottom and 2x4 on top? is it upsidedown?

sounds like you have a nice project going.....keep us posted!

Click to expand...

Its the right way up, its 2x1 on top 1.5x1.5 on the bottom.

Well today i went and got all the wood for the exterior of the cabinet and for the frame of the hood.

i looked at a cpouple of stains for the red-faced-ply i got. it was dirt cheap and looks real good now (futher below) in the end i went for a darked stain than either of these.



the eterior wood stained and varnished, and yes- i did my washing today


im even making all the handles myself. all the wood from the pic above will be trimmed in the same pine as the handles are made from. I want the handles for the two doors to line up and look like one when the doors are closed- i'll cut this in the middle to make them.



i did a bit of assembly after i took these, but now its to dark for my camera (its my phone too!) to get good shots, so i'll do 'em tomorrow.