Building of new system

[Midknight]

Ok, I have decided it is time to finish the upgrade to the freshwater tank situation in my place.
With 1 large tank and a couple of smaller ones I wanted to consolidate in to a nice planted tank.
I received an older 50 G tank from Old Guy (many thanks again) that will be final setup.
First we have my old main system.

(Gota love my idea to give room for the plants to grow)

And this is the tank everybody will end up in.


As you can see I have already modified the top a bit, but more on that later.
Finally here is a rough draft of the completed stand…


And tank.

[Midknight]

So let’s start with the stand, this was bought for a 48” long Hagen’s 50G so I had to change this to accommodate the shorter 36” 50G.

First I picked up a new piece of 5/8th MDF, Then removed the narrow top and measured the holes to allow for the lock tabs as this is a prefab stand to start with.

You can see the size difference between the old and the new top.

After drilling (and re-drilling as I measure everything backwards the first time) I got the new top on the stand.

[Midknight]

Doing a test run for size everything looks good.
One small variation was to remove the center board in the back part.
Will put the canister filter here, drill the stand and feed the hoses up through the bottom.

More on the stand as it progresses.
Any comments with this?

[Buddyboy]

Nice tank!!! I love the dimensions of the breeder tanks! Good luck with your project! I'll watch for updates...

[Midknight]

Ok, finally got the bulkhead and will be cutting the hole as soon as I have a bit.
And finally got the glass cut for the overflow, pics to follow.

[untamed]

I have my 10 gallon sump sitting in a very similar stand. I found that the MDF sagged just enough that the front doors rub when opening/closing.

You've replaced the regular top with a 5/8" thick piece, so that might solve the problem...but you may have to place 1 vertical support directly behind the dual door handles.

Fill 'er up with water and check!

B