Fashooga
- #1
Warning this is a long post. But it’s about my build.
So about two months ago my wife walked by the 55 gallon tank that is sitting at the hallway at our house. She looked into it and said that the seals look crummy. I told her that we could try to reseal it but she wasn’t interested in doing that. She said instead...
Why don’t we get a bigger tank?
Yeah I’ll admit I don’t listen well...I doubled back, you serious?
We talked about the size of the tank and we figured a 120 gallon tank would be nice. However as a back up we thought a 125g would be better as it’s two feet longer.
So off to PetSmart and they were doing a deal. 125g with stand for like $530 which was $200 cheaper. I told my wife and we decided to get some cash to pay for it.
There were three of them and by the time I came back a few days later they sold two of the three. The third one was a sign that said “Broken do not sell”. Obviously I’m a little bummed. Missed opportunity. But I asked the manager and asked what was wrong. He said that the stand was broken and that they can sell for liability reasons.
I asked what about the tank? Can’t I just buy that?
The manager said he would sell it to me for $200 so I said yeah I’ll take it. Five minutes later he said he would sell it cause they didn’t want to assume liability if it broke at home. I said that doesn’t make sense. His response was that since they are a pair they didn’t want me to put it on a coffee table or some stand that wasn’t rated.
I explained to him hey...I’m assuming the risk here. Not PetSmart. I’m building the stand. The minute I buy this and it’s in my van it’s my responsibility. He agreed and I bought it.
Time to build the frame. Sketched this out for the wife on the plan of the build.
Mock up...
Time to screw things together. This framing project started on 7/3/19. Bought wood, screws and more wood.
The build wasn’t too bad. Though the stand didn’t feel level on the garage door because the floor is slanted down. I just kept building it up.
I’m gonna admit...I added one too many 2x4 to the frame. I do know that it will probably hold a 500g tank if I ever decide to upgrade.
Water test day. It was weird to look...the water level was not leveled at all. Being a first timer at this I’ll admit I got concerned about it. But all four corners are touching.
I ended up wrapping this frame with birch wood. Sanded down and used finishing nails to hold them in.
I came up with a problem with the gap between the top. When I did a mock up of the countertop with the frame there was a good 3/4” gap. I figured the counter top would cover it but my father in law said that the build looks great but not to get lazy at this point.
So I cut a small piece and glued it onto the top of the wrap.
Two weeks into the project it was paint and stain day.
The plan with this was to put the two canister filters in the ends and leave the middle open for the wife’s stuff. The design of the frame was strictly designed around the FX6. We wallpapered the middle to give it some posh look.
The project is about done, about 90% done. My wife had told me that it was time to get this done and gave me a date of 8/4/19 to move everything inside. So everything was moved in.
Start temporary housing.
Drain 55g.
Move frame, secure counter top.
Add tank, level, aquascape.
Add fish to the tank. Added new fish as well. This is what it looks like today.
Now you might notice there isn’t any doors. The plan is to do farm cabinet doors. I just needed to get this inside. I’ll add little side shelves when I’m done with other things.
Yes this post is long. I’m sorry. The thing is that I’ve never done wood working. All this was new to me. Yeah I’ve might have gone one or four pieces of wood too much but this was just being inexperienced.
I used a table saw. I do wish I had a mider saw though. That would have made things easier when the table saw wasn’t going to cut it. I also used a jig saw, sander and lots of screws. An impact drill is a must.
I’ll admit this project was fun to do. My wife enjoyed helping me. She stained and did the paint. Anybody can do this. Just be patient and take your time.
So about two months ago my wife walked by the 55 gallon tank that is sitting at the hallway at our house. She looked into it and said that the seals look crummy. I told her that we could try to reseal it but she wasn’t interested in doing that. She said instead...
Why don’t we get a bigger tank?
Yeah I’ll admit I don’t listen well...I doubled back, you serious?
We talked about the size of the tank and we figured a 120 gallon tank would be nice. However as a back up we thought a 125g would be better as it’s two feet longer.
So off to PetSmart and they were doing a deal. 125g with stand for like $530 which was $200 cheaper. I told my wife and we decided to get some cash to pay for it.
There were three of them and by the time I came back a few days later they sold two of the three. The third one was a sign that said “Broken do not sell”. Obviously I’m a little bummed. Missed opportunity. But I asked the manager and asked what was wrong. He said that the stand was broken and that they can sell for liability reasons.
I asked what about the tank? Can’t I just buy that?
The manager said he would sell it to me for $200 so I said yeah I’ll take it. Five minutes later he said he would sell it cause they didn’t want to assume liability if it broke at home. I said that doesn’t make sense. His response was that since they are a pair they didn’t want me to put it on a coffee table or some stand that wasn’t rated.
I explained to him hey...I’m assuming the risk here. Not PetSmart. I’m building the stand. The minute I buy this and it’s in my van it’s my responsibility. He agreed and I bought it.
Time to build the frame. Sketched this out for the wife on the plan of the build.
Mock up...
Time to screw things together. This framing project started on 7/3/19. Bought wood, screws and more wood.
The build wasn’t too bad. Though the stand didn’t feel level on the garage door because the floor is slanted down. I just kept building it up.
I’m gonna admit...I added one too many 2x4 to the frame. I do know that it will probably hold a 500g tank if I ever decide to upgrade.
Water test day. It was weird to look...the water level was not leveled at all. Being a first timer at this I’ll admit I got concerned about it. But all four corners are touching.
I ended up wrapping this frame with birch wood. Sanded down and used finishing nails to hold them in.
I came up with a problem with the gap between the top. When I did a mock up of the countertop with the frame there was a good 3/4” gap. I figured the counter top would cover it but my father in law said that the build looks great but not to get lazy at this point.
So I cut a small piece and glued it onto the top of the wrap.
Two weeks into the project it was paint and stain day.
The plan with this was to put the two canister filters in the ends and leave the middle open for the wife’s stuff. The design of the frame was strictly designed around the FX6. We wallpapered the middle to give it some posh look.
The project is about done, about 90% done. My wife had told me that it was time to get this done and gave me a date of 8/4/19 to move everything inside. So everything was moved in.
Start temporary housing.
Drain 55g.
Move frame, secure counter top.
Add tank, level, aquascape.
Add fish to the tank. Added new fish as well. This is what it looks like today.
Now you might notice there isn’t any doors. The plan is to do farm cabinet doors. I just needed to get this inside. I’ll add little side shelves when I’m done with other things.
Yes this post is long. I’m sorry. The thing is that I’ve never done wood working. All this was new to me. Yeah I’ve might have gone one or four pieces of wood too much but this was just being inexperienced.
I used a table saw. I do wish I had a mider saw though. That would have made things easier when the table saw wasn’t going to cut it. I also used a jig saw, sander and lots of screws. An impact drill is a must.
I’ll admit this project was fun to do. My wife enjoyed helping me. She stained and did the paint. Anybody can do this. Just be patient and take your time.