180 Gallon Build - Helpful Thoughts Needed!

Jeremybdman

Feeder Fish
May 8, 2014
3
0
0
Boise, ID
Hello everyone. First post, first time stepping into this world of beautiful fish!

My wife grew up with father who was passionate about fish. So he taught her everything she knows. The woman can tell you anything about any fish at any time. I have been so intrigued lately I have jumped on board with her. Well just recently her father passed away. The final thing he spoke of doing, with a so much passion, was to breed Angelfish. In fact, my wife and I just recently married. Her father, who was terminally ill with thyroid cancer, sat down with me, and read over my vows. He couldn't talk much, but he smiled at me, and put the vows into a book called "Raising and Breeding Angelfish." It was something he had a lot of passion to do, but couldn't do it. So when we returned home, we bought a tall 45 gallon and a mated pair of Angels to get this dream of his started.

Well to our surprise, he had left my wife a large 180 gallon Sea Clear Acrylic Show tank, brand new in the box. This sparked that look. That look you know when someone loves something so much that their eyes convey every bit of emotion. I know how deep her memory of raising fish goes. Her father and her worked countless days and nights raising fish together when she was younger. I've heard hundreds of amazing stories about the bond they had created due to care and love of fish. So I'm pretty onboard with making our own memories with this endeavor. The man left her everything she could ever need to put together a solid tank, lights, filters, the works. The thing we're lacking is a stand.

We don't own any gear for building a stand, or I would give it my all to build this for my beautiful wife. We also really don't know anyone who is very handy with this sort of project, as I've looked desperately. So after seeing so many amazing builds, and true heart put into these amazing projects I've seen, I thought I would reach out here for some help with this.

My wife and I just recently got married, which drained our savings, but then her father passed, and we're now helping the family with funeral costs. So we're spread pretty thin. I need to find a cost effective solution so I can get this stand built for her. My wife is passionate about fish, and their care. I know this would be a wonderful thing for her to have to ease her sadness. I'd be happy to work with someone on this, or accept any suggestions or thoughts.

I thank you for taking the time to read our story. God bless!
 

drummerboy1248

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2013
84
0
0
Texas, USA
A good resource would be if you have some friends in construction. They generally have the tools and knowledge to build a stand. They also have access to scrap lumber that would probably leave you only needing to buy the longer 2x4's. You can keep it cheap by just building the business end of the stand first and adding the fluff later. You can set up the tank on the bare bones as paneling, doors, shelves can be added later as the funds are available without any major upset to the tank.

Another option would be a cinder block stand. You can use some fabric to hide it similar to a curtain look. That would be relatively cheap, I would think.
 

coolkeith

Candiru
MFK Member
Nov 1, 2005
403
10
48
52
Detroit
Cinder block aquarium stands are cheap and easy to build. You can paint or tile the blocks anyway you like, or just throw a bed sheet over it or not do anything.
 

Jeremybdman

Feeder Fish
May 8, 2014
3
0
0
Boise, ID
Hey guys, sorry I didn't reply sooner. I went with both Drummer and Keith's advice. This is what my wife and I were able to achieve tonight with the Cinder Block setup. I hope it's not too crazy.

OurStand.jpg

OurStand.jpg
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
2,571
203
Southern NH USA
A black background and some driftwood and you're all set.

Being a father of 3, I find this story of your wife and her dad really touching.
 

S4Detroit

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2015
99
22
8
Detroit,Mi
The set up looks good. A black back ground would help the look a lot. Since the tank can be seen from the back I wouldn't add a plastic or painted back ground I would use window tint. The window tint will look black from the front but would still be able to see threw from the back. Look into 20% tint or even 5%. Keep us updated and sorry for your lose.
 
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