6 x 2 x 2 180 GALLON TANK FOR MIXED CICHLIDS

[rusland005]

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my new tank build thread.

First off, I have two tanks running right now, a 5ft 100gal mixed Cichlid tank and a 4ft mixed Malawi tank - the African Cichlids being a new venture for me.

After 3-4 months of the Malawi tank i realised i enjoyed them that much that it was time for an upgrade!

So, I am waiting on the delivery of a new 6x2x2, 180 gallon tank (due shortly)

I was wanting more for my money this time instead of the common 18mm laminated chipboard tank stands that come with most new tanks so here we are ...


Materials for the frame work were mostly 2x4's - with the exception of 4x4's that were used for verticals at each of the four corners of the stand. Counter sunk 4inch screws were used with a strong wood glue applied at each joint or section that was going to be screwed together as well.


This was the result of around 5 hours cutting, gluing and screwing!

 

[rusland005]

Here are some more from the side and the front

 

[rusland005]

These are the last pictures of the frame before the face went on it.










Because of the cut / style of the wood that was being used for the top of the stand (what the tank base was going to sit on) . . . 6"x2" framing was fitted on the top of the frame across the tank stand horizontally, intended to give extra support for the base of the tank to rest on ....

All will become clear soon!

 

[timelessr1]

Stand looks nice...just one question...why arent you supporting these areas? there should be some support under these areas, and not rely on the screws for the support

 

[rusland005]

I see what you mean. The two 'blocks' you have circled obviously don't continue from the under side of the wood to the base of the stand, but directly behind these, to the inside of the stand, there is a support going from right to left and they secure onto the brown 4x4 verticals. The Blocks have been glued onto the face of the 4x4's then screwed into them, then the wood the blocks are supporting has been glued and then screwed from the top downwards into the blocks, also this piece of 2x4 being secured by the block you highlighted has had the other side in contact with the frame also glued THEN screwed from the outside frame (through the 2x4's running length wise) inwards into this piece.... hope that makes sense. It seems completely solid.

The glue I used said that when the glue dried it was stronger than the wood itself so that should give it more than just the screws holding it there too.


And thanks for the feedback!

 

[rusland005]

timelessr1 - you can see a bit better in this picture. That is the other support running behind i was describing. There is this as well as the screws and glue from the sides and the top going in to give support to that area.

 

[rusland005]

You can see in this set of pictures why the extra support in the middle of the frame was needed now.

Due to the gaps on the top piece of wood (it was the same as the front of the tank) i wasn't confident without having them.

Some extra framing was done in the sections of the top piece to reduce the span of the gaps in between each cross support, so every 4 inches there would be support now instead of every 12 inches. This was done both on the top and underside of this piece.


There is still a sheet of 3mm ply to fit on top of this for the tank to sit on. The ply will be cut to fit under the tank and not be seen

 

[rusland005]

Sorry about the poor quality of some of these pictures.


The doors are the same on each side and stay closed with a magnet catch. For opening, there is a small gap under each door that i can fit my fingers under.

I had to remember to leave enough room to lift a FX5 in and out of the doors when it came to maintaince.


Door openings are 16 and a half inches wide and the FX5's are about 14inches wide and it's smallest dimension.


I was going to sheet the inside of the cabinet but the filters will just sit on the carpet inside.

 

[HokieFish]

looks really nice. Great job.

 

[barracuda123]

beautiful work