Galen's 20 Long tank
- Thread starter galen
- Start date
i started work on the stand. went to home depot and bought the following:
3 packets of angle brackets- $10
1 box of wood screws- $5
5 wood pieces used for construction (used for walls- forget the trade name) - $10
simple stand- 31" long, 12" wide and about 30" high. will be two tiered so i can put a smaller aquarium on the bottom.
so far very good. no fancy power saw- i did it all by hand using an old saw i inherited. it worked awesome. my hands got some blisters and callouses, but nothing major. the pics show the equipment used. an older drill (not really needed as i could screw the wood screws in by hand, but its nice), the screwdrivers, and various others bits, not forgeting the almighty pencil and tape mesure.
i plan on putting it together using angle brackets to secure all connections and when it is assembled, using wood putty to fill the gaps between the wood blocks. then, after the putty has set, i will varnish it using either cherry, mahoghany, or a walnut color.
these pics were taken last nite:
3 packets of angle brackets- $10
1 box of wood screws- $5
5 wood pieces used for construction (used for walls- forget the trade name) - $10
simple stand- 31" long, 12" wide and about 30" high. will be two tiered so i can put a smaller aquarium on the bottom.
so far very good. no fancy power saw- i did it all by hand using an old saw i inherited. it worked awesome. my hands got some blisters and callouses, but nothing major. the pics show the equipment used. an older drill (not really needed as i could screw the wood screws in by hand, but its nice), the screwdrivers, and various others bits, not forgeting the almighty pencil and tape mesure.
i plan on putting it together using angle brackets to secure all connections and when it is assembled, using wood putty to fill the gaps between the wood blocks. then, after the putty has set, i will varnish it using either cherry, mahoghany, or a walnut color.
these pics were taken last nite:
me too i absolutly love my festivum
your stand is looking good!
i just realized that you have posted in my thread a bit lol... thank you
well i have not had much free time to work on the stand, as i am now working 2 jobs over 50 hours a week. one is stocking at petsmart and that really takes alot of strength, given what i lift every day. one day i did a tally and found that working the early morning truck unloading 4 pallets of cat litter, ranging in size from 15-50 pounds, i lifted over 5000 pounds over roughly a 3 hour period. wow!
anyway, between naps and the other job, i am learning to budget my time bettwer so as to complete work on the current aquarium project.
the stand is now put together. i decided to varnish it a cherry color, although they had many others at BORG (aka, Home Depot) that really caught my eye as well. perhaps another time for another tank!
i sawed all the wood and first assembled the bottom and top pieces. using wood screws and angle brackets made these two components very sturdy. next, i cut the legs and tried my best to sand them down to hopefully make sure that the cracks between the joints were not too large. overall it turned out very well and i am quite proud of myself.
tonight, i applied the minwax wood putty. using a scraper, i filled in the crevices as best as i could using the putty. it was easy and went on quite nice.
after i varnish the stand, i will cut and apply a piece of wood to form the bottom of the tank, where i will put a satellite 10 gallon tank and fish supplies. i would like to get a canister, but i am torn between the marineland c-160 and the HOT manum pro system. both are about the same price and look really awesome. the cheaper alternative is through a price match at petsmart, buy a big ole emperor filter. any of the three would be good and would no doubt take care of the tank.
HOT magnum: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17290/si1382181/cl0/marinelandhotmagnumprosystem
C-160:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Marineland-Aqua...ryZ46310QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
truly, this is a tough decision. i like both and know they come from an longstanding, reputable American company, which is a BIG plus! just, which one is best is the question.
anyway, on to more tangible matters.
tonight's tally is the following:
money total:
before tonight's post: 25 dollars roughly
now,
1 jar of wood putty- $6
1 jar of varnish- $6
4 angle brackets- $3
total: 40 dollars. worth every penny! i am happy to build it and found it to be actually quite enjoyable. varnish has not been applied yet, as the putty must dry and fill in. i hope to varnish the stand on wedensday. monday and tuesday are both 10 hour days at both jobs, so it is sorta hard to put in the time then. wednesday and thursday will bring changes though and new pics of the completed stand!
anyway, between naps and the other job, i am learning to budget my time bettwer so as to complete work on the current aquarium project.
the stand is now put together. i decided to varnish it a cherry color, although they had many others at BORG (aka, Home Depot) that really caught my eye as well. perhaps another time for another tank!
i sawed all the wood and first assembled the bottom and top pieces. using wood screws and angle brackets made these two components very sturdy. next, i cut the legs and tried my best to sand them down to hopefully make sure that the cracks between the joints were not too large. overall it turned out very well and i am quite proud of myself.
tonight, i applied the minwax wood putty. using a scraper, i filled in the crevices as best as i could using the putty. it was easy and went on quite nice.
after i varnish the stand, i will cut and apply a piece of wood to form the bottom of the tank, where i will put a satellite 10 gallon tank and fish supplies. i would like to get a canister, but i am torn between the marineland c-160 and the HOT manum pro system. both are about the same price and look really awesome. the cheaper alternative is through a price match at petsmart, buy a big ole emperor filter. any of the three would be good and would no doubt take care of the tank.
HOT magnum: http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17290/si1382181/cl0/marinelandhotmagnumprosystem
C-160:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Marineland-Aqua...ryZ46310QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
truly, this is a tough decision. i like both and know they come from an longstanding, reputable American company, which is a BIG plus! just, which one is best is the question.
anyway, on to more tangible matters.
tonight's tally is the following:
money total:
before tonight's post: 25 dollars roughly
now,
1 jar of wood putty- $6
1 jar of varnish- $6
4 angle brackets- $3
total: 40 dollars. worth every penny! i am happy to build it and found it to be actually quite enjoyable. varnish has not been applied yet, as the putty must dry and fill in. i hope to varnish the stand on wedensday. monday and tuesday are both 10 hour days at both jobs, so it is sorta hard to put in the time then. wednesday and thursday will bring changes though and new pics of the completed stand!
well, the stand is now complete!:dance:
lol, it some time, but it was well worth it!
i sanded down the wood putty fillings this morning and then used a power sander (made by Chicago- bought new for 15 dollars at a warehouse in an old army barracks) to level the wood out and polish the roughness of the exteriro before applying varnish. i then varnished it a cherry finish with 2 coats. i then sanded the dry drip spots down and touched it up some tonight. overall, it looks quite nice. i am well pleased with myself on this one.
attached is pics of it after the sanding then varnished tonite.
a few updates:
i have not replaced the air pump as of yet. the old one, a tetratec ap80 i recall, i managed to figure out had a blockage problem in the airline thus making it quite noisy. airline is fixed but the pump is still quite noisy- i have to shut it off at nite so i can sleep. so, now i am looking at a single repalcement air pump to power the 20 long and the 10 gallon tank.
millennium filter is very good, but undersized for my tank. so, i bought 2 new cascade filters off petsolutions.com good filters and easily customizable.
all fish are in good health. the festivum is showing some good color around the gills- he has metallic blue streaks around the gills and fins on his side ( not up on fish anatomy so im not sure the technical but correct term).
the silver dollar is growing good too. he is filling in very well and surprisingly, has not eaten the plants in the tank. he has not touched them once! i guess that results from being a fed rich in herbivorous material twice a day.
the hoplo cat is growing slowly but does a sterling job of keeping the bottom of the tank clean and free of excess food and such.
lol, it some time, but it was well worth it!
i sanded down the wood putty fillings this morning and then used a power sander (made by Chicago- bought new for 15 dollars at a warehouse in an old army barracks) to level the wood out and polish the roughness of the exteriro before applying varnish. i then varnished it a cherry finish with 2 coats. i then sanded the dry drip spots down and touched it up some tonight. overall, it looks quite nice. i am well pleased with myself on this one.
attached is pics of it after the sanding then varnished tonite.
a few updates:
i have not replaced the air pump as of yet. the old one, a tetratec ap80 i recall, i managed to figure out had a blockage problem in the airline thus making it quite noisy. airline is fixed but the pump is still quite noisy- i have to shut it off at nite so i can sleep. so, now i am looking at a single repalcement air pump to power the 20 long and the 10 gallon tank.
millennium filter is very good, but undersized for my tank. so, i bought 2 new cascade filters off petsolutions.com good filters and easily customizable.
all fish are in good health. the festivum is showing some good color around the gills- he has metallic blue streaks around the gills and fins on his side ( not up on fish anatomy so im not sure the technical but correct term).
the silver dollar is growing good too. he is filling in very well and surprisingly, has not eaten the plants in the tank. he has not touched them once! i guess that results from being a fed rich in herbivorous material twice a day.
the hoplo cat is growing slowly but does a sterling job of keeping the bottom of the tank clean and free of excess food and such.
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end of the line and end of this thread.
i was changing my pants 2 nites ago and lost my balance- i fell on the glass hood. the hood shattered, breaking into shards. my palm then hit the black tank rim causing a pressure point. 5-6 cracks formed from the top of the tank to the bottom. fortuantley, the lights were off or i could have been in danger.
incredibly, the tank leaked very little. i managed to get most of the water out. all fish were fine- all plants are ok. i took the fish, all of them to the lfs. plants are in a bucket at the moment.
i thank God after all this. it could have been much, much worse but there was no water damage and the lights were off. in that way, there is a silver lining.
on a side note, when i took the festivum to the store, i talked to the manager there and she knew her fish. i said that the festivum is full grown- she said no, not even close. she said they get much much bigger, a little bigger than a koi angel, so like 6" circular. so it is good i took that guy back- he was just being stunted. i hope he gets a fine owner who gives him a big 75 gallon tank to rule.
as for the stand, i plan on putting planking on the top and bottom, varnishing it and then using it as a sstand for 2 10 gallon tanks. then, ill put like a vase or a decorative piece or sculpture on it.
so, this not an end but a new beginning. im just glad i got good info on the festivum- i want only the best for that fish and i could not give him what he needed. i hope someone else will. thanks for reading all!
i was changing my pants 2 nites ago and lost my balance- i fell on the glass hood. the hood shattered, breaking into shards. my palm then hit the black tank rim causing a pressure point. 5-6 cracks formed from the top of the tank to the bottom. fortuantley, the lights were off or i could have been in danger.
incredibly, the tank leaked very little. i managed to get most of the water out. all fish were fine- all plants are ok. i took the fish, all of them to the lfs. plants are in a bucket at the moment.
i thank God after all this. it could have been much, much worse but there was no water damage and the lights were off. in that way, there is a silver lining.
on a side note, when i took the festivum to the store, i talked to the manager there and she knew her fish. i said that the festivum is full grown- she said no, not even close. she said they get much much bigger, a little bigger than a koi angel, so like 6" circular. so it is good i took that guy back- he was just being stunted. i hope he gets a fine owner who gives him a big 75 gallon tank to rule.
as for the stand, i plan on putting planking on the top and bottom, varnishing it and then using it as a sstand for 2 10 gallon tanks. then, ill put like a vase or a decorative piece or sculpture on it.
so, this not an end but a new beginning. im just glad i got good info on the festivum- i want only the best for that fish and i could not give him what he needed. i hope someone else will. thanks for reading all!
Wow, what a ride you've had with this tank! I just bought my 20g long; that's how I found this thread today. Now I know NOT to use sand, and NOT to change my clothes anywhere near my tank!
Here's to new beginnings, for both you and the festivum. Hope your dual 10g rig works out great for you!
Here's to new beginnings, for both you and the festivum. Hope your dual 10g rig works out great for you!
HOLY SMOKES! i know im a little late to this thread...
But i have to say..... Be more carefull when changing your cloths
And, yes i know i cant spell
Good luck in the future!
