I made the newbie mistake of overstocking my tank and kept putting off getting a larger one because I knew we were getting into a house with a cement foundation (vs. the previous 3rd floor apartment living). Buying a house is spendy, so I've been watching craigslist for deals while I save up for my ultimate tank (ya know 200 gallons, starfire glass, 3wpg and non-DIY co2 
).
The other day I found a watertight 75 gallon acrylic tank for $50. Tank only and scratched to hell, but solid. I used my handy drill and buffed out a lot of the external scratches on the viewing panels (and I plan on buffing it some more), and the inside ones don't show when it's full of water, so that was a total steal. Then I needed to track down a stand for cheap but couldn't find anything cheaper than $170 and then it was all that nasty paperboard stuff that I wouldn't trust to hold up my 46. I googled some stand instructions, found one I felt comfortable building (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1169964&perpage=25&pagenumber=1), went to Home Depot and found out I could get all the wood and screws for $30!!! The rest of my equipment (other than the length of my light) was overkill and already up to snuff.
This stand was super easy to build...I do handy stuff around the house, but I haven't actually built something from scratch since shop class in middle school and I had no issues making it square and perfect. The only changes I made were to add a strut to the bottom to stabilize a plywood floor I also added in order to hold my stuff off the carpet. I had the guys at Home Depot cut everything to specs for me so all I had to do was buy some heavy duty long wood screws and assemble the pieces (except for cutting out the little corner rectangles on my bottom piece of plywood and a hole in the back for my cords). I also put a couple screws in the back piece of plywood to hang my surge suppressor from because drip loops are important. It's very sturdy, not a creak or groan while I was filling the tank (and I was watching closely). My plans at this point are to get some kind of nice veneer to enclose the front and sides, put in a couple of shelves, and to put a couple of doors on front, all of which will cost another $30ish. So...$50 + $30 (and 3 hours of labor) stand + another $30 later for cosmetic purposes = some very happy fish and a very happy me :headbang2:
Here's some pictures:
Tank before buffing (Tank was just as cloudy after buffing due to internal scratching from a brillo-pad (I didn't so it!), so I didn't bother with an after pic)
Stand is ferret approved
Stand and tank are level
Water's cloudy from substrate/filling, but tank is clearing up nicely and fish LOVE it!
). The other day I found a watertight 75 gallon acrylic tank for $50. Tank only and scratched to hell, but solid. I used my handy drill and buffed out a lot of the external scratches on the viewing panels (and I plan on buffing it some more), and the inside ones don't show when it's full of water, so that was a total steal. Then I needed to track down a stand for cheap but couldn't find anything cheaper than $170 and then it was all that nasty paperboard stuff that I wouldn't trust to hold up my 46. I googled some stand instructions, found one I felt comfortable building (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1169964&perpage=25&pagenumber=1), went to Home Depot and found out I could get all the wood and screws for $30!!! The rest of my equipment (other than the length of my light) was overkill and already up to snuff.
This stand was super easy to build...I do handy stuff around the house, but I haven't actually built something from scratch since shop class in middle school and I had no issues making it square and perfect. The only changes I made were to add a strut to the bottom to stabilize a plywood floor I also added in order to hold my stuff off the carpet. I had the guys at Home Depot cut everything to specs for me so all I had to do was buy some heavy duty long wood screws and assemble the pieces (except for cutting out the little corner rectangles on my bottom piece of plywood and a hole in the back for my cords). I also put a couple screws in the back piece of plywood to hang my surge suppressor from because drip loops are important. It's very sturdy, not a creak or groan while I was filling the tank (and I was watching closely). My plans at this point are to get some kind of nice veneer to enclose the front and sides, put in a couple of shelves, and to put a couple of doors on front, all of which will cost another $30ish. So...$50 + $30 (and 3 hours of labor) stand + another $30 later for cosmetic purposes = some very happy fish and a very happy me :headbang2:
Here's some pictures:
Tank before buffing (Tank was just as cloudy after buffing due to internal scratching from a brillo-pad (I didn't so it!), so I didn't bother with an after pic)
Stand is ferret approved
Stand and tank are level
Water's cloudy from substrate/filling, but tank is clearing up nicely and fish LOVE it!
.