[jamesmith]

Hi all,

This is my first post on here so I apologise in advance if any of this is in the wrong format.

Here are the progress photos so far of just one of my current projects. I took a metal bookshelf frame and fabricated clear acrylic shelves with a lip surrounding the sides and back to stop ideas sliding off. I then threaded the side surrounds to allow them to screw to the frame and also be able to hold the required weight. Before installing the shelves I resprayed the frame to a grey to match the existing furniture in the room.

On to the tank! I measured the area I had to work with on the top shelf and fabricated a seamless acrylic tank to fit onto it. The tank measures at 50cm length x 15cm deep x 20cm tall. All edges are diamond polished as with the shelves.

Below are the photos of the progress so far:

 

[jamesmith]

Quick update on progress. I'll get some better shots on my camera as well later on.

The light and filter arrived yesterday so I got those set up. I went for:
.Arcadia Classica Stretch Freshwater LED 18w 50cm 15 x LEDs
.Dennerle Nano Eckfilter.

I also scaped the tank this morning using some spare plants I had from a previous project and some news ones. I went for:

.Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini'
. Lilaeopsis mauritiana
.Staurogyne repens
.Bacopa 'Compact'

The tank is full of oxygen bubbles at the moment so I will get better photos as the tank settles down.

 

[tamsin]

Wow, very nice! Looks very neat and clean design

 

[jamesmith]

Thank you! Thats what I was looking to achieve so I'm glad you think so!

 

[finfan]

neat idea... I may steal later, can't wait to see this develop

 

[Grobbins48]

Very cool interested to watch this progress!

 

[The Dude1]

Wow.. you are very talented

 

[SLOBY]

Well done!! will be watching.

 

[jamesmith]

Bump:

neat idea... I may steal later, can't wait to see this develop

Im glad I could provide some inspiration! I am actually considering producing these as kits if anyone is interested!

Bump:

Very cool interested to watch this progress!

Thank you! I'll post a few updated images soon! The fish for it are on their way as well!

Bump:

Wow.. you are very talented

Thank you for the kind words! Thats much appreciated.

 

[ehowe]

Very cool!

I'm curious about how you fabricated the shelves. Could you tell a little about what is involved with fabricating with acrylic?

 

[jamesmith]

Very cool!

I'm curious about how you fabricated the shelves. Could you tell a little about what is involved with fabricating with acrylic?

No problem, I first CNC cut the shelves themselves with the side and back pieces which are were the screws are tapped into. I then bonded these on and threaded the holes for the screws. All pieces were then diamond polished for the crystal clear finish. I specialise in acrylic.