A new tank build

[Rivermud]

I'd say you are quite safe with the build. Seeing as you are only measuring the pane length where it's framed in and not the overall length. Even an all glass aquarium with these measurements would be fine. I only did the calculations for the panes.. not the reverse calc or the weight..

Also, the tank is roughly 165 gallons. A=pi*r^2 to get the volume multiply your answer by the height. So, (A=pi*24^2)20 which equals 36205.71428571425 cubic inches. A cubic inch of water is equal to 0.00432900433 gallons so the tank would have 156.734694 if it were a true cylinder. This will actually have more because of the octagonal shape. I guestimate 10 to 15 extra gallons of water.

 

[Bassinkorea]

The tank on the stand looks awesome bud, I am looking forward to seeing this build completed as much as my own build

 

[jao209]

is it staying in the garage?

 

[tthanatoss]

Just want to take a sec and thank everyone for all the great comments and interest in my project. It's very fulfilling to have others take an interest in what I'm doing. Living in a small city there is not alot of DIY aquariums that I know of and this site is pretty much my only reference and inspiration.

 

[tthanatoss]

Fired up the old radial arm saw this morning to cut the molding for the inserts and doors for the stand. Cut down two 2x4's to 3/4x3/4 and got to work installing molding around the inserts. Now that that's done I'm going to have to figure out how to make the cabinet doors. I want them recessed so when they are closed they look like the other panels but I want them to swing outwards and I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

 

[tthanatoss]

forgot the pics....

 

[zpc1891]

Awesome tank, cant wait to see it all finished

 

[fish_master2000]

why dont you make them fit in there by friction, then when you need under punch on the door to open then take the panel out. like those tiles used in ceilings

 

[The1and only]

If you do not want to use cabinet hinges. Why not use magnets to hold it in place and hide a pull handle in the trim at the top. use a router to make a whole like in an old school car door and you can get your fingers in to pull off the panel.

 

[tthanatoss]

At Home Depot today I found the hinges I need to make the cabinet doors work in the stand so I know how to go about accomplishing that little feat now.

Today I worked on the light canopy. I wanted it to match the look of the rest of the build but not have the bulkiness and weight of 2x4's so what I did was rip 2x4's into 1x4's on the radial arm saw and make myself a box. I made it large enough that I can install two ballasts and have four 48" bulbs. Not sure if I'll need that much light but it'll give me more options down the road. I have one light fixture for now and I will have the room to add a second in the future.

The canopy is still a long ways from being complete but I took a ridiculous amount of pics.