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Any risk of a sleepy head swinging back and knocking the tank?
Freeman's Final Destination
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Maybe! But I doubt it. The cushion things on the back sit a couple inches forward of the back of the love seat. The feet also dig pretty deep in to the carpet, so it doesn't slide well. I set it a few inches in front of the tank for now. My largest concern was people sitting down and the couch sliding into the tank/stand. Going to play it by ear for awhile.
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Get the kid a helmet.
Once you get everything up & running, you wouldn't be able to pry me off that loveseat....
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My daughter is a BIG fan of the fish tank! She usually sits next to them and dazes off. The couch is right across the way and I spend a fair amount of time enjoying my tanks as is.
Nothing but a couple minutes to correct it!
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So I lied. The hood is taking much longer to finish as I am neglecting the work required. I did install some under cabinet lighting since the stand was dark with the doors on.
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Just your typical 15' of LED with a dimmer and power supply. Very cheap, highly recommend if you have a stand with lots of equipment underneath it.
Still waiting on the LFS to get the handful of plants I ordered in, but the tank is steadily coming along.
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I do believe the tank has cycled! Nearly 10 ml of Ammonia (10%) added ~24 hours prior. Roughly 2 to 3 ppm ammonia cycling within a day. Nitrates are surprisingly low, probably due to the number of water changes due to my mistakes.
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Just your typical 15' of LED with a dimmer and power supply. Very cheap, highly recommend if you have a stand with lots of equipment underneath it.
Still waiting on the LFS to get the handful of plants I ordered in, but the tank is steadily coming along.
I do believe the tank has cycled! Nearly 10 ml of Ammonia (10%) added ~24 hours prior. Roughly 2 to 3 ppm ammonia cycling within a day. Nitrates are surprisingly low, probably due to the number of water changes due to my mistakes.
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The canopy is nearing completion. Some cleanup on the glue, paint and hardware installation is all that is left.
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The rear brace is oddly wobbly looking. I swear it isn't that bad in person. Regardless, it is more of a spacer to prevent the entire thing from bowing than anything. There is a 1x2 to prevent the center from bowing/sagging as well. The 1x4s are near the handle to hopefully disperse some of the force from pulling on the handles. The clear plastic bits are for blocking the gap from the hinge. I wanted to prevent light from escaping if possible. The rack bits are for my 48" finnex 24/7. The holes, try not to be too impressed, are for vent fans.
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Close up of the hardware mounts on the MDF. Just glued some scraps in case the lifting at these points tries to separate the glued and screwed MDF butt joints.
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A couple of holes for the vent fans. The bracing is to reinforce the corners. There is a lip that is only attached in the rear that will sit on the rim of the tank. There is a stop that will sit on the lip. Another bit of plastic for blocking light from the seem.
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The front face with routered edges. I haven't done any sanding on the filler for the screw holes.
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Here are the computer fans I'll be using for the canopy along with 50' of two conductor and an AC to DC 2A power supply. The fans are less than 500mA each, so it should be great. I will attach and pin the wiring to the hood and the power supply will hook into the same timer as my 72" beamswork LED light. That way the fans will be on when the "high powered" light is on. I may change this up, but that's the idea thus far.
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The rear brace is oddly wobbly looking. I swear it isn't that bad in person. Regardless, it is more of a spacer to prevent the entire thing from bowing than anything. There is a 1x2 to prevent the center from bowing/sagging as well. The 1x4s are near the handle to hopefully disperse some of the force from pulling on the handles. The clear plastic bits are for blocking the gap from the hinge. I wanted to prevent light from escaping if possible. The rack bits are for my 48" finnex 24/7. The holes, try not to be too impressed, are for vent fans.
Close up of the hardware mounts on the MDF. Just glued some scraps in case the lifting at these points tries to separate the glued and screwed MDF butt joints.
A couple of holes for the vent fans. The bracing is to reinforce the corners. There is a lip that is only attached in the rear that will sit on the rim of the tank. There is a stop that will sit on the lip. Another bit of plastic for blocking light from the seem.
The front face with routered edges. I haven't done any sanding on the filler for the screw holes.
Here are the computer fans I'll be using for the canopy along with 50' of two conductor and an AC to DC 2A power supply. The fans are less than 500mA each, so it should be great. I will attach and pin the wiring to the hood and the power supply will hook into the same timer as my 72" beamswork LED light. That way the fans will be on when the "high powered" light is on. I may change this up, but that's the idea thus far.
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A time lapse of the build for my aquarium hood. I added some additional bracing and started painting it after this. A simple task has taken me weeks! This time of the year is simply way too busy.
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Can't wait to see it competed! Hope you are enjoying building your as much as I am enjoying making mine right now!
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It is enjoyable! I do hate painting though. That's the worst part for me. I prefer staining but MDF stains awkwardly. I'm excited to be finished and order some livestock.
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Just a couple photos of the finished stand with the doors on.
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The tank is full of tannin from the driftwood again.
The tank is full of tannin from the driftwood again.
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Looks great. I enjoy tannins.
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It's looking good! Would you mind posting a complete plant list?
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
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I enjoy them to an extent as well! I don't worry about filtering it out like many people do. It will clear up eventually on its own through water changes.
I edited a photo to include the names of everything. It is basically vals, crypts, sag and frogbit. Easy, fast growing, low tech plants.
Attachments
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Thanks! Pretty much all disappeared when I changed the water but it slowly comes back.Very nicely done. I love those tannins as well.
I added some sound deadening to the cabinets with the canister filters. For $30, I thought I would give it a try. I actually don't mind the noise and neither does my wife but I wanted to see how quiet it could be.
I also finally got in the last of my plants. A couple amazon swords for the rear and a handful of java fern to fill out the midground. Livestock coming soon.
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Did the passing help the sound? I find SunSun are hit and miss. I have one super quite one, even quieter than my new fluval 407. I have one that is tolerable, and one I had to stop using because it was so obnoxious (which is why I have the fluval now).
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Thanks! I definitely will. I believe my camera is just old a janky, but I'm hoping to get some better photos. I think the hood will help with all the light correction my camera is attempting.
This sun sun seems louder than my previous ones. So I wanted to give it a shot. I dont think it is much better than the doors closed without sound deadening. It really helps with vibrations and I guess my doors are pretty still. The canister itself does vibrate though. With the doors closed and anything else going on, you cant tell.
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I picked up some fish! Not your typical first purchases, but I've been steady preparing the tank for their arrival. They are a crowd favorite and my family really enjoys them. Plus, they are really just the most peaceful fish there ever were.
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I picked up 15 oto cats! I hope they all make it, but I am expecting some losses. They disappear into the tank and there is already some algae build up. I'll add veggies here and there to supplement after a few days. The hood is receiving the last coat of paint and then I'll install the fans and hardware. Should drop right on. I plan to remake the hood soon. The wife surprised me by removing the couch in front of the tank. So now the hood doesn't match the stand much. I plan to make a frame out of 1x4s and drop in vinyl wrapped fake grey wood panels to match the stand.
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I picked up 15 oto cats! I hope they all make it, but I am expecting some losses. They disappear into the tank and there is already some algae build up. I'll add veggies here and there to supplement after a few days. The hood is receiving the last coat of paint and then I'll install the fans and hardware. Should drop right on. I plan to remake the hood soon. The wife surprised me by removing the couch in front of the tank. So now the hood doesn't match the stand much. I plan to make a frame out of 1x4s and drop in vinyl wrapped fake grey wood panels to match the stand.
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