Budget doesn't exist in this hobby: Brian's 45g Build

[Myka]

I see a backpack, are you a student?

First of all, do you have any tools available to work with? Circular saw? Drill?

The first one is pine, not oak. It looks to be a really good option. You could paint it white or the wall color to match the house trim or walls and it would look pretty sharp. I'd probably pop the boards off the back of it and replace that with 1/2" plywood. You're right though, $60 is too much.

The second one I wouldn't be comfortable putting a 29-gallon tank on top of it as it is. It appears like it would collapse sideways fairly easily. I would remove the lower backing, and put a single backing of 1/2" plywood covering the whole thing. I'd also check under it to see what's supporting the "floor" inside the cabinet. What's the inside measurement from the floor to the shelf? It looks pretty short.

The reason I suggest plywood is because it's one solid piece, and if you tack it on all the way around with nails or screws every 6-8" it adds a significant amount of reinforcement preventing the cabinet from leaning one way or the other and collapsing.

[Etaloche]

Yes I am indeed, I'm attending BCIT for mechanical engineering right now.

I do have some tools, I also have access to the machine shops at school. For more specialized tools I was going to start asking local reefers if they could lend me a hand when the time comes. I'm sure my school will have more than enough tools for my needs though.

I never knew shopping for furniture would be so difficult and expensive to get just the one you want. I'll usually spend about 2 days max looking for something online and picking it up, but 4 days of searching for the right cabinet and still nothing...

Once I have a cabinet in my possession I'll start to look into ways to strengthen it for sure. Have you built a stand from scratch? What is the rough estimate cost of the 2x4s and plywood altogether? I want to spend just about as much as it would cost to build one. Another couple of days and if I can't find something to my liking I might just hit up the hardware store and DIY it.

Originally Posted by Myka

I see a backpack, are you a student?

First of all, do you have any tools available to work with? Circular saw? Drill?

The first one is pine, not oak. It looks to be a really good option. You could paint it white or the wall color to match the house trim or walls and it would look pretty sharp. I'd probably pop the boards off the back of it and replace that with 1/2" plywood. You're right though, $60 is too much.

The second one I wouldn't be comfortable putting a 29-gallon tank on top of it as it is. It appears like it would collapse sideways fairly easily. I would remove the lower backing, and put a single backing of 1/2" plywood covering the whole thing. I'd also check under it to see what's supporting the "floor" inside the cabinet. What's the inside measurement from the floor to the shelf? It looks pretty short.

The reason I suggest plywood is because it's one solid piece, and if you tack it on all the way around with nails or screws every 6-8" it adds a significant amount of reinforcement preventing the cabinet from leaning one way or the other and collapsing.

[WarDog]

Lots of members here build their own stands. Just scroll through the Tank Journal forum. You can spend as little as nothing, if you have material lying around, or hundreds to thousands depending on many factors including welded metal frames, or fancy millwork. In your case, I'd expect you would spend $60 at least on materials at Home Depot etc. Buying a used piece of furnature and reinforcing it as Myka suggested is the best way when on a budget.

[rishu_pepper]

Check the "Free" section on Craigslist. Once in a while you can find some gems on there that cost you nothing, just need transportation to bring it home. You'd be surprised at what people give away for free.

[Etaloche]

Originally Posted by rishu_pepper

Check the "Free" section on Craigslist. Once in a while you can find some gems on there that cost you nothing, just need transportation to bring it home. You'd be surprised at what people give away for free.

Thanks for the tip, while looking on there I actually found some glass sheets being given away for free. I wanted to take a sheet and cut it up to use for my baffles.

I had some questions though, the glass is coming from some office and I assume it has been cleaned with chemicals during its time. Is there a safe way to clean the glass so that it will be aquarium safe? Or should I just not bother?

Does anyone know of a reputable and inexpensive place to get glass cut in GVRD?

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by Etaloche

Thanks for the tip, while looking on there I actually found some glass sheets being given away for free. I wanted to take a sheet and cut it up to use for my baffles.

I had some questions though, the glass is coming from some office and I assume it has been cleaned with chemicals during its time. Is there a safe way to clean the glass so that it will be aquarium safe? Or should I just not bother?

Does anyone know of a reputable and inexpensive place to get glass cut in GVRD?

Just clean it with a vinegar/warm water solution and that will do the trick.

Cheapest way to cut glass is with a glass cutter from Revy/Home depot, maybe $10, and use a straightedge to score. Finish the edges with some sandpaper. Provided of course, the glass in question is NOT tempered.

[Roskoreef]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Lots of members here build their own stands. Just scroll through the Tank Journal forum. You can spend as little as nothing, if you have material lying around, or hundreds to thousands depending on many factors including welded metal frames, or fancy millwork. In your case, I'd expect you would spend $60 at least on materials at Home Depot etc. Buying a used piece of furnature and reinforcing it as Myka suggested is the best way when on a budget.

I agree, I built this one for about 95$ 2x4s and pine covered. Added trim and stain and still without doors im in for 150$....

[Etaloche]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Lots of members here build their own stands. Just scroll through the Tank Journal forum. You can spend as little as nothing, if you have material lying around, or hundreds to thousands depending on many factors including welded metal frames, or fancy millwork. In your case, I'd expect you would spend $60 at least on materials at Home Depot etc. Buying a used piece of furnature and reinforcing it as Myka suggested is the best way when on a budget.

Originally Posted by Roskoreef

I agree, I built this one for about 95$ 2x4s and pine covered. Added trim and stain and still without doors im in for 150$....

That nice pine cabinet for $60 doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore... hahaha
Your stand looks awesome though Roskoreef, if I had time and money right now I wouldn't want to do anything else but custom build all my equipment.

[Etaloche]

Wow today was a busy of running around picking up some equipment and looking at multiple different cabinets.

This was today's haul:

CPR CS-90 overflow box and brand new Tom aqua lifter with hanging kit
Got this for $50 together from someone on craigslist
The overflow has some buildup but it's eventually bound to happen. Any tips of removing this? Is acrylic safe to vinegar dip?







Next, I grabbed a return pump and a simple LED light to use for the fuge for $10 also from craigslist.
Not sure what brand the pump and the label doesn't have much info either, but from what I've researched I think this is called a mag7 pump? If anyone has more info and want to post it'll be appreciated. I just thought it was cheap and there wasn't much to lose with this purchase so just went for it.











Finally, I found a cabinet that I think will finally work for my build!
I believe it's solid pine, and it was built by the seller's uncle.
I got very fortunate with this purchase, he was selling a set of 4 furniture and I thought he wanted $90 for it and was thinking of offering $30 for the cabinet alone. When we met up and started talking price he wanted $200 for the cabinet and I was shocked and I told him I came here thinking of spending about $30. Turns out the ad was for $900 altogether and I had just misread it. We negotiated a bit and I told him since we're both out here and I got $40 cash right now that I would take it on the spot if he can let me have it cheap for a project and in the end he let it go to me! The furniture was too big for his my apartment and he had been paying storage to have it stored so I think that's why he was so generous about letting it go. In Vancouver Kijiji seems to be less popular compared to Craigslist but I'm glad I looked there and found this cabinet.

Here it is!


Each side is made up of about 1" thick wood and even the back which is shown in the picture


The bottom is supported by beams on 3 of its side


Each joint is glued and either screwed together or nailed together


The back panel has a bit of gap between it and the top but i think structurally it should still be sound. I might fill in the gap with some wood putty.


Even the doors are joined together instead of 1 piece, looks awesome imo


I gotta admit though that with the sump in the storage compartment it's a tight fit. I'll be able to get everything in there but will need to do some amazing cable managing to get everything to fit nice. Starting to plan out the plumbing as well now and things are starting to get complicated. Maybe I'm being overzealous with the 20g sump and maybe I'll try to find a 10g to use instead.



Here it is set up with whatever I have for now.
I wanted to hang the lights off the shelf I have and the cabinet turned out to be the perfect height so I'm very happy.



The wood on the cabinet is also rough finished so I can just light sand it and stain or paint it the way I want or just leave it the way it is. I kind of like the look of the wood right now and how it contrasts the rest of the dark furniture in my room so I might just leave it the way it is and just give it a nice finish.



The cost is slowly starting to rise and the next couple of things I get will be more expensive probably. Next on the list to hunt down are a skimmer, heater, lights, and power head.

Total cost so far now: $140