45 cube build thread

[billg71]

My hobbies include woodworking and auto audio and I visit internet forums(fora?) on those subjects. It's quite common to see "build threads" posted when a member starts a project, documenting the progress up to the(hopefully) ultimate result.

Haven't seen that here so I'm gonna jump in and post one.

I'm doing a 45 cube(24x24x18H) planted setup. Looked around, couldn't find a retail stand that suited me(black fake Oak or stained Knotty Pine with chintzy doors seemed to be the prevailing choices) so I decided to build my own, after all it's just a 24" wide base cabinet that has to hold 450 pounds, right?

Did a quick design in AutoCad so I knew what I needed for raw materials. Oak fits my decor as long as it isn't hideously stained so I hied myself down to the local lumber yard for a sheet of cabinet-grade 3/4" red oak ply, sprayed it with a couple coats of waterbased clear finish and cut it into pieces. Another few hours routing dadoes and trimming pieces to fit and here I am:

Front:


Back:


Doors need to be cut for hinges and I have to decide whether I'll do pulls, knobs or an integrated pull at the top. It'll be a typical Euro-style front, flat doors with concealed hinges:



Planning on mounting it on casters so I can move it for rear access. Finished height will be around 36-37". I'm going to do a base skirt in quartersawn white oak and a similar trim around the top. If I do an integrated pull on the doors it'll be the same for contrast.

The shelf is for filtration and storage, hanging on shelf pins so I can set the height. The lower section will have a pull-out shelf on drawer slides for a 5-gallon quarantine tank. Both will be 18" deep, the rest of the 24" will be used in the back with a small shelf for a fluidized-bed filter and a UV sterilizer if needed.

More to come as I progress, hope you'll join in.

Let's see yours!

Best,
Bill

[Carl]

Thanks for the "Build" post; we have not had one in a while.

Here is one found on our home page:
How to Build a 55 Gallon Aquarium Stand

Please keep us updated here too, as we have over 200 readers only per day who may not interact, but hopefully find the information they need here.

Carl

[parker002]

That's a nice-looking cabinet.

[billg71]

Thanks guys! That's a great link, Carl, don't know how I missed it...

I'm starting to re-think the height. Right now, with the casters, it's at about 37" tall which puts the bottom of the tank slightly above eye level as I sit in the recliner. Top of the tank will be about 56-57 inches, a bit tall for reaching over. I may cut it down a few inches before all's said and done, I definitely don't want to be looking up into the lighting while viewing.

Didn't get a chance to work on it last couple of days, real work interfered. I should be able to get the top and bottom trim done today and make a final decision on the height.

More to come...

Best,
Bill

[Carl]

One thought; make sure the casters can lock so that the aquarium cannot move other than when you want it to.

Be excuse me if you already thought of this, but being originally from So. Calif. I had to deal with making aquariums earthquake safe.

Carl

[billg71]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice, guys! Still working on the stand but I also picked up my substrate and talked to another LFS about plants, the freshwater manager there is a big planted-tank fan and keeps nicer stock than the right-down-the-road shop so I'll probably get plants from him. He's a proponent of dry-starting plants, so maybe I can get some help with that as well.

Decided on a substrate: a bag of SeaChem Onyx mixed with a bag of SeaChem Flourite Black Sand to a depth of an inch or so and I have 3 bags of EcoComplete to top off with and slope. I probably won't use all the sand but I may have to pick up another bag of Eco to get the slope, the tank is 24" deep. Anybody see any problems or have suggestions?

Big box from Carl came in yesterday(absolutely great packaging, BTW, thanks for the time and effort) so I'm set for test kits and filtration(filtration is another subject, if anything I'm overfiltered). I got two of the 13W T2 fixtures from him and ordered 4 of the GE 46703 - F24W/T5/865/ECO tubes from Amazon at $6.79/each to replace the tubes in my Craigslist fixtures. I've been looking at local stores for tubes and they're all $25+ for 6500K tubes, did some research and found these. Other than the spike in the yellow-green , their spectrum looks pretty much like most of the high-dollar tubes sold for aquarium use. Makes you wonder how much common stuff is being sold and rebadged as the latest and greatest aquarium specialty gear? Time will tell, if my plants die from lack of light I'll know....

Work on the stand continues: Casters arrived Wednesday, a day early but I'd already decided it need some radical height reduction so I chopped 8" off it for a finished height of around 30":



I figured I'd need some reinforcement on the bottom for the casters so I cut some triangles out of a piece of red oak, lopped off the corners and epoxied them in place:



Screwed on the casters and used the trimmings from the triangles as supports for the base trim:



Set the cube on top, rolled it into the media room and flopped into the La-Z -Boy, the height is perfect! Back out to the shop, leave for a few minutes and found out Miss Clementine likes it too, guess I already have a catfish :



Thursday night I cut and glued the quartersawn white oak trim for the top and base, today I got the top trim scraped and planed and a coat of rubbed oil-varnish finish on it:



I'm working on the lake up in Blue Ridge, GA and was up there today, decided to take a walk and picked up some driftwood for the tank. A couple of the pieces are 'way too large but really nice pieces, I think I'll try to swap them off at the LFS for plants. I do a lot of work on the lake, maybe I can partially finance my new-old hobby?

I'm hoping this weekend I can finish up the construction phase and at least get substrate in the tank and the electricals set up. Then I can go looking for plants and start thinking about building a hood.

Best,
Bill

P.S. Carl, we're not big on earthquakes here in GA so my casters go where the Force takes them. No way to get to them to lock them anyway.

[parker002]

Man your woodwork is superb.

And your setup sounds really awesome.

[billg71]

Thanks for the compliment Parker, I've been woodbutchering on and off for almost as long as I can remember. Used to do it all out in the yard under the shade tree until I gave myself a mild heatstroke a couple of summers ago and decided I really needed to figure out a way to work inside without spreading sawdust all over the house. So I have a real(if small) shop now with a dust collector and a couple of vacs that keep the mess to manageable proportions. Since construction slowed down I now have time to put it to use!

Got a long afternoon in yesterday, trimmed out the base and got the pulls made and glued onto the doors. Here's what it looks like:





I thought it needed some space at the top between the pulls and the top band but I think it's too much now. And I don't like the way the grain in the doors runs. So I'm going to make two more pulls and shift the doors up another inch-and-a-half which will also give me the chance to rearrange the grain on the doors like this:



Took it easy today so no finished stand but got the shop neatened up and some lumber rearranged, after work tomorrow I'll mod the doors, mount them and cut shims to level the cabinet. Gonna take some major shimming, I honestly don't think there's a 2'x2' flat spot anywhere in my basement floor! Where I want the tank to sit it's about 3/8" low on one corner, shims will have to be measured and installed between the casters and the base and just hope I never decide to move it!

Next update will have some glass, gravel and plants in it I promise!

Best to all,
Bill

[Carl]

As Parker noted: GREAT WORK!

I also like your "Catfish" ;D

This thread would make a great blog post too on our home page, if this is OK?

Carl

[billg71]

Jun 3, 2012 17:32:06 GMT -5 Carl said:

As Parker noted: GREAT WORK!

I also like your "Catfish" ;D

This thread would make a great blog post too on our home page, if this is OK?

Carl

Thanks, Carl. Blog post is fine with me, how do I do it?

Best,
Bill

[kagome]

So Bill, when you get done with this I have some cabinets that need your attention. Just kidding. But in all seriousness this is a beautiful cabinet, I never would have thought about adding the casters but that's a great idea so you can access things if you need to. I really like the light stain that lets the grain of the wood show through. Your kittyfish is also very handsome.

[Carl]

So Bill, when you get done with this I have some cabinets that need your attention. Just kidding. But in all seriousness this is a beautiful cabinet, I never would have thought about adding the casters but that's a great idea so you can access things if you need to.

We used casters at the Bahooka Restaurant for several aquariums in their banquet room so that they could re-arrange for specific dining arrangements.
We did use locking casters

Thanks, Carl. Blog post is fine with me, how do I do it?

Best,
Bill

I can send you an invite to write a post on Everything Aquatic or we could add this on your behalf when time allows.

Regards;
Carl

[billg71]

Wow, I really fell out on this! Apologies for not keeping current but there's been work and the holidays and family and all the other stuff that gets in the way of what you really want to do....

Anyway, in spite of it all, I've managed to finish the stand and hood(which inspired a whole remodeling project) and get the tank started. Dry-started the plants end of November, filled it and added stem plants the end of December, it's cycled now and I plan to add fish this weekend. I don't have a graduate degree in water chemistry but I feel like I could be close...

Anyway, I'll post more updates but here's a teaser taken this morning:



It's been a crap-ton of work with a lot more to go but well worth it! It's so comforting just to look over at it and relax, much better than the TV. I'd never have gotten this far without the info I've picked here on the forum and from Carl's articles.

More to come!

Thanks and my best to all of you and yours,

Bill

[babygeige]

Looks great so far! I really like the tall centerpiece wood.
What kind of fish are you planning on adding?

[billg71]

Thanks, babygeige, I think it'll really start to look good once the background grows in.

For fish nothing special, a big shoal of cardinals, maybe some black neons, a few oto's and cory's. Not sure about specimen fish, I was thinking of picking up half a dozen or so juvie angels and trading them off when they get too large for the tank and maybe keep a pair if one forms.

Nothing set in stone, I'm open to suggestions... I'm going to stock a dozen cards and the cats this weekend and watch the tank for a week or two and see how it looks, maybe add some more cards and ........

Best,
Bill

[Carl]

WOW, Looks Great!

As babygeige noted, I too like the centerpiece of wood.

I will look even better with the fish you are planning.

Please keep us posted.

Carl

[parker002]

WOW

[goldenpuon]

Wow! Super superb work! I haven't worked with wood much, but I ust say it doesn't look easy. Great job on the cabinet. I also love the tank setup. The plants are very healthy looking and your setup is great. The lighting really brings out the colors in the aquarium! Well done!

Renee

[billg71]

Thanks, all! Still looking for Cardinals but the tank is happily inhabited by three Yoyo loaches, 6-7 Otos, a pair each of C.aneus and C. Julii, three Black Neons(started with 6 ) and last week I answered an ad on the local aquarium society board and came home with a baker's dozen dime-size Phillipine Blue Angels.

Here's a pic:



More photos here: Photobucket

Kitties give it "Two Paws Up!"



Now if I could just find time to FINISH! the remodeling project.

But I just want to sit around and watch the fish......

Best,
Bill

[Carl]

Very nice Bill!

I am especially partial to your new Angels, as these have always been a favorite fish of mine. I really like their personality and beautiful shape.

Carl