6 Foot Fish Tank Cabinet [Archive]

JDub

25th January 2005, 03:59 PM

Hi all,

this is my first time posting a pic on here of anything I have built so be gentle;)

I built a replacement stand for my 6 foot fish tank (approx 800L system).

I used 75mm gal screws throughout, all countersunk.
Timber is 90 x 40 pine.
Stand is 950mm high, 620mm wide and 1850mm long.

Doors are made using biscuit joints and backed with pine.

Removable side panel for easy access.

Doors Closed:

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/cabinetjan05.jpg

Removable side panels:

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/cabinetsideremovedjan05.jpg

All Doors open:

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/cabinetbraces1jan05.jpg

I have pics of the construction if you want to see them.

Any comments/suggestions appreciated.

Oh and a pic of the tank for good measure ;) (on old stand, not that you can see it)

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/TankFull.jpg

Ive painted the inside with bathroom and kitchen paint and need to stain the outside.....

HappyHammer

25th January 2005, 04:12 PM

Lucas

25th January 2005, 04:44 PM

Really nice stand JDub
why the removable sides ?
i should get off my lazy ass (as if) and build a new one for my tank

hood would finish it nicely i'm thinking
but wheres nemo

beejay1

25th January 2005, 06:38 PM

lovely job young man welldone, one observation, the second from right door panel has the ply grain running across, not up and down like the others. when/if you stain that will be more pronounced.

Just love the tank set up its fantastic.
beejay1

Gumby

25th January 2005, 06:53 PM

Very nice cabinet, now all you have to do is find a six foot fish :D

JDub

25th January 2005, 07:03 PM

Nice cabinet.

How do you deal with salt build up on your tank and cabinet? Will the paint protect the timber?

Are you making a hood as well? What type of filter do you have, biological or Eheim ?

HH.
Salt should be fine If I protect it properly, ie no metal in sight. The paint/ stain/ estapol should do the job.

For more details on the actual tank see here

http://www.masa.asn.au/rtaw/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=journal&Number=117283&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all

lovely job young man welldone, one observation, the second from right door panel has the ply grain running across, not up and down like the others. when/if you stain that will be more pronounced.

Yer I know, two doors runs across and two up and down. Didnt realise until I had finished.

I plan to stain with a very dark chocolate stain so hopefully you wont be able to tell. If you can REALLY notice it I will just replace the doors.....

Anyone know much about fungishield?? (feast watson) I'll do a search on it anyway.

Really nice stand JDub
why the removable sides ?

Removable sides are handy for accessing sumps, calcium reactors, protein skimmers etc etc. Its pretty high tech under there.

but wheres nemo

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/clowns.jpg

JDub

16th March 2005, 12:47 PM

Finished my lil project including the hood for the tank:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/hoodcomplete1feb05.jpg

All stained, estapoled and in place:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/newcabinetfeb05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/newcabinetfrontfeb05.jpg

Kris.Parker1

16th March 2005, 02:33 PM

Mate, bloody good design and fabrication work. Hope to see more of your projects in the near future, Just one thing, perhaps you could make some grooves and recess the ply in the back of your doors to make it a flush finish.

Termite

16th March 2005, 03:02 PM

I'll have the big one on the left with sweet and sour sauce and a serving of fried rice please. :D

Harry72

17th March 2005, 12:42 AM

Nice work JDub

Al B

17th March 2005, 11:17 AM

dan_tom

18th March 2005, 12:42 PM

Fantastic! Love it. The hardest thing I reckon is keeping the coral alive. My Dad has mastered the art and now has some anenomes breeding in his. His tank set up doesn't look anywhere near as fantastic though - you can see the protein skimmers and all that jazz hanging off it. Might have to show him your set up!!

Cheers
Dan

JDub

31st May 2005, 01:06 PM

After months of procrastinating I finally got around to the final touch on the cabinet. I needed a door to hide the filtration system out the side of the tank and stand.

I had to fix a batten to the wall and hinge a door off that, it was fiddly but got it done eventually. SWMBO is happier now it looks neat ;)

Side panel closed:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/sidedoormay05.jpg

Side panel open:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/sidedooropenmay05.jpg

JDub

31st May 2005, 01:10 PM

JDub
You did a great job with the cabinet, Fish tank looks spectacular also, very nice setup. How do you find getting access to your tank when cleaning or rearranging things in your tank? Is there anything that you would change if you had to build again?Hey Al,

sorry I didnt see this last time:o

I actually built the stand and hood because my old ones were an absolute PITA for access etc.

My entire set up is designed around easier access etc... hence the extra height in the stand and removable side panels etc. I find it pretty good and wouldnt changed too much about it. I have more detailed pics of lighting systems, in and out of tank filtration, inhabitants etc if you interested ;)

Cheers
Joel

HappyHammer

31st May 2005, 03:26 PM

JDub,

I'd be interested in more detail about the electrics and the filtration system it looks like a bio filter, are those tubes on the right skimmers of some description?

HH.

JDub

17th August 2005, 09:06 PM

Hi All,

Just thought I would add the pics of a smaller version of the cabinet I have made for a mate of mine. This one is 780 (w) x 780 (l) x 900 (h).

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/kellstank6.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/joelwillis/kellstank7.jpg

And another recent one of my own 6 foot version :)

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/tankandcabinetjuly05.jpg

Trav

18th August 2005, 10:06 AM

Nicely done mate. That is a hard spot in a house to use well, and I think you've done it nicely.

And I thought all you needed was a fishbowl in order to have a few fish! There is more technology there than in NASA!

Good form.

Cheers

Trav

JDub

18th August 2005, 12:13 PM

And I thought all you needed was a fishbowl in order to have a few fish! There is more technology there than in NASA!

Commerically designed fishtank cabinet simply cannot fit all the 'Nasa Technology' needed for these types of tank... hence the need for a custom designed job....

A few more pics:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/rightfugefeb05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/leftfugefeb05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/insidehoodfeb05.jpg

JDub

18th August 2005, 12:15 PM

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/skimmerfeb05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/wallynov04.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/Blenny.jpg

JDub

18th August 2005, 12:18 PM

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/Flame.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/serimay05.jpg

APOLIGIES TO THOSE WITH DIAL UP!!!:D

Trav

18th August 2005, 12:18 PM

Love the signature... :D

Dusty

19th August 2005, 12:13 AM

Awesome set up.

It's always a pleasure to see someone enjoy their hobby and do it well. Good on ya :) I'm tipping the gear starts to run into a few dollars the more you get into it.!

Fourteen years ago I had nice setup going with a breeding colony of African Dwarf Chiclids. And get this, I used to whistle everytime I fed them and so over time they became atuned into the whistle and would all come out of their hiding places as soon as they heard me whistle.
Used to blow people away with "Fast Eddie World Famous Stunt Fish and friends" :D

The Hornet

19th August 2005, 01:18 AM

Mate what a fantastic job, you have a really nice setup there both cabinetry and also the Marine tank, i can't beleive how much work goes into those things.
Mate could i get you to email me the plans, my brother has a 6 foot tank similar to yours and i would love to make hime this setup for christmas. What about making the base so you could slide things out. would that work as an adjustment, or do you think it would be too heavy?
my email is, [email protected]

JDub

19th August 2005, 10:50 AM

Thanks for the kind comments fellas :)

Hornet: unfortunately the plans are all in my head, although you can see more pics of the construction and details as I went along with the project on the below link (a thread on 'Reefing the Australian Way' Forum)

http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=117283

The tank, rock, water, stand and hood I estimate to wiegh about 1100-1200kgs when full. I wouldnt be sliding anything ;)

I have caravan jacks under the floor to help me sleep soundly at night :cool:

Cheers
Joel

junkboy999

19th August 2005, 04:43 PM

Great Job.

glad you hung in there and got it finished. Did you coat the inside of the top with any thing so help protect from moister??

I know what a pain a prodject of that scale is to take on. I started one for my tanks when I was in Geramny. It holds two 200L tanks and a 36" Tv and my stero. I know Electronics and water dont mix. I moved back to the states befor I could get it finished and now I need to raise floor in family room so I did not set the tanks back up.

Just a pic of it. Tops come off for easy moving. This is actuly 6 different cabnets. All 3 stacks can be bolted together or stand along.

http://members.cox.net/yoterry/pics/ent050.jpg

A few more pics can be found on my page ( Page is way out of date )
http://members.cox.net/yoterry/pages/woodwork.html

JDub

21st December 2005, 09:19 AM

A couple of more pics of yet another one I made for a friend: 3 and counting ;)

http://users.tpg.com.au/viviers/completehood.jpg

http://users.tpg.com.au/viviers/unstained3.jpg

http://users.tpg.com.au/viviers/unstained1.jpg

JDub

21st December 2005, 09:21 AM

And a couple more recent pics of my system:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/angelnov05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/leftsidenov05.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/wally0ct05.jpg

PuppyPaw

21st December 2005, 11:01 AM

aiwoz

21st December 2005, 11:51 AM

JDub

21st December 2005, 11:58 AM

thats a snow flake eel isn't it?
how do you find it around other fish? does it ever attempt to take a nibble at any other inhabitants?
What size tank do they need?
Nice stand BTW, I'm setting up a marine tank right now, was nice to find an australian forum. RC is just too packed with people!

Never touches the other fish, they eat crustaceans in the wild, I may have a rare 'good reef citizen' though as I have heard of others that arnt so lucky.

Agree about Reef Central, RTAW is a fantastic place www.masa.asn.au (http://www.masa.asn.au) (I have the same username there as I do here)

Here is a couple of links to snowflake moray info that may help. I wouldnt put one in anything less than a 4 footer.

http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=160317&highlight=snowflake

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/snowflakemoray.htm

JDub

21st December 2005, 12:02 PM

JDub,

How long can your system look after itself? I currently only do fresh water as it's easier and if started back on a marine system i'd need to let SWMBO how long we could sneak away on holidays etc?

Cheers

about 3 days for my system, after that it needs someone to check in on it...... Too much time and $ to risk it longer than that (about $7-10k I reckon)...... ouch it hurts when I say it out loud ;)

Have a look at the Reefing the Australian way Forums, found at www.masa.asn.au (http://www.masa.asn.au) before you take the plunge again ;)

jow104

21st December 2005, 07:16 PM

Enjoyed your thread JDub.

Have you visited the fish keeping forum site?

http://www.fishkeepersforum.org/

aiwoz

21st December 2005, 07:19 PM

JDub,

Don't ever say it out loud, just drift off to sleep as you run all the indivudual $ through your head. That way you are asleep before you reach the total.

:D :D :D

JDub

22nd December 2005, 09:53 AM

Enjoyed your thread JDub.

Have you visited the fish keeping forum site?

http://www.fishkeepersforum.org/

Thanks for the link, havnt kept fresh water for years, have the marine bug now so theres no going back Im afraid ;)

Harry72

22nd December 2005, 02:07 PM

If you keep making these tank stands for freinds... soon you'll be Australia's leading authority on making http://www.ubeaut.biz/goldfish.gif tank stands!(prob already are)
Nice work Dubhttp://www.ubeaut.biz/thumbupwink.gif

JDub

26th March 2007, 04:58 PM

Well Im currently designing a new tank for the living room so am building a new cabinet and hood to go with it!!! And Ive even got my new shed (and the code:wink: ) to help me along the way:2tsup:

not to mention the new tools (triton etc etc) to play with :cool:

Some progress pics: Its basically the same as the 6 foot one earlier in the thread, only design change is Ive left the hood open topped to decrease the reliance on exhaust fans.

The tank will be a cubed 350L hard coral (SPS) marine tank. See here for more details: http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=357875#357875

Pics: Frame of Hood and Cabinet:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/cubestand1.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/cubestand2.jpg

JDub

26th March 2007, 05:01 PM

And the stucture all but complete, now gotta seal, stain, estapol etc etc

Side of Cabinet and top of hood in foreground:

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/cubestand3.jpg

Hood (again minus doors and removable side panels)

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/cubehood1.jpg

And all the doors and removable side panels (to be fitted after finishing/staining etc)

http://www.users.on.net/~joelwillis/cubedoors.jpg

Bleedin Thumb

26th March 2007, 05:16 PM

richo69

26th March 2007, 05:38 PM

Hey Joel,

Watcha doing over here ? - get back to MASA :;
350LT cube? that sounds great, is it a replacement or an addition to your 6fter?

richo69:2tsup:

JDub

26th March 2007, 05:43 PM

Mate you need help! You are obviously suffering from JASLT syndrome.

That stands for Just a slightly larger tank...

Looks great so far, you will have to be more careful spraying mossie spray around with the open hood.
Will your tank have drain pipes and topup connections or do you siphon by hand, (sorry I'm ignorant about marine tanks)

SWMBO wont let me spray mossie spray in the house even I wanted too, she hates the stuff.....

Top up water resevoir will be plumbed in via float valve to deal with the evaporation.
The overflow into the wier and then to the sumps will be via a manifold (with ball valves) that can be turned on and off for water changes :2tsup:

Eg turn off valve from tank to sump and turn on valve from tank to water change buckets. make sense? Will post a pic when its done.:wink:

JDub

26th March 2007, 05:49 PM

Hey Joel,

Watcha doing over here ? - get back to MASA :;
350LT cube? that sounds great, is it a replacement or an addition to your 6fter?

richo69:2tsup:

LOL, MASA is slow today and im wasting time at work :p

Its a replacement, have sold the 6 footer and am going with this smaller but more specialized system :2tsup: Eg. Eurobraced, more powerful lighting, more flow, lower fish loads, heavier skimming, higher end corals etc etc.

Im sure most of this crap is boring the hell out of the WW's here... 'stupid fish geeks' is what they are thinking right about now.... arnt ya? :p :rolleyes: Righto then, I will go read a thread about SCMS and Sheds so I get my mind back onto WWing and other suitably blokey matters. :- :doh:

PuppyPaw

26th March 2007, 06:14 PM

What are you doing reading threads when you should be out there in the shed finishing the stand and hood?

JDub

26th March 2007, 06:17 PM

What are you doing reading threads when you should be out there in the shed finishing the stand and hood?

im wasting time at work :p

:wink:

Believe me, I would rather be in my shed than here :rolleyes:

PuppyPaw

26th March 2007, 06:28 PM

ah, good spot there, glade someone is actually reading these things! ;)

Bleedin Thumb

26th March 2007, 07:01 PM

Its a replacement, have sold the 6 footer and am going with this smaller but more specialized system :2tsup: Eg. Eurobraced, more powerful lighting, more flow, lower fish loads, heavier skimming, higher end corals etc etc.

Sooooo your down sizing ....... this could be even more serious than I initially thought.............

I thought your 6 footer was pretty dagned nice, which means we have very high expectations for this one.............no pressure mind.:D

Ps I hope Dorey and the eel didn't get sold with the tank.

JDub

27th March 2007, 09:45 AM

I hope I dont dissapoint then :D :p

Ps I hope Dorey and the eel didn't get sold with the tank.

They didnt get sold with the tank but did go to new home (a friend has a 9 foot tank and they now enjoy even more room). 'Wally' the moray eel is simply to big, eats to much and is too messy for the new type of tank I am building (creates to much waste and nutrients for type of coral I will be keeping).

I kept the flame angel and the clowns though :2tsup: