ZoopooZ
New Member
Gāday fish folks,
This is my first post here, so I hope itās going up in the right section.
I just wanted to chat about my current aquarium project and maybe get a few ideas from yāall in the process.
So, around June of 2020 I picked up a second hand 6ft tank for 100 bucks. It was pretty dirty and average when I got it but it also came with a bare-bone but sturdy stand. The whole 6ft tank idea has been a dream of mine since starting out in the hobby close to 10 years ago and has been a slow work-in-progress due to family commitments, Australian winter, lack of power tools and the fact that Iām moving house in a month or so. The slow progress hasnāt been all that bad - itās given me plenty of time to research stock ideas and plan most of the build in my head.
For stocking ideas I think Iām set on native Australian rainbow fish. Thereās an online supplier here which stocks a number of diverse species at a great price - around $7 per fish.
The native Australian idea is something Iām passionate about and am fully set on. Originally I was trying to source one or two Coal Grunters for livestock but that proved to be difficult as availability was scarce and price was high for that species, so Iāve given up on that idea - maybe another time and another tank, who knows?
Alight, so now for tank progress.
So far, the stand is complete, Iāve added and built some cupboard doors on hinges to hide the filter and hopefully quieter things down. The stand has been painted too. The paint was chosen by my wife to match other furniture in the house and Iāve convinced her the display tank will be a great piece of furniture, even if is is made by myself with hand tools.
The next step will be lighting. Iām a little lost as to how Iāll construct a diy lighting set up for the tank, but Iāve got a couple of ideas floating around my head and am happy to take any advise. Iām trying to keep this project on somewhat of a budget, so a last resort will be buying a 6ft aquarium bar light.
My first idea is to but strip led lights and connectors and build my own bar light. The only problem I can see with this is the bar will be made of timber and Iām not sure if it will rot or get damaged being directly above the tank.
The next lighting idea is a pendant light but built on a free standing, or attached bracket to the main tank frame. This would basically be the same idea with led strip lights but would stand as more of an individual unit and be higher above the tank than a bar light.
The leds Iād use would be 5630 cool white.
The next problem I have is a lid for the tank. Initially I was planning on cutting a plastic lattice sheet to size to fit perfectly above the water. Issues with this could be the lattice blocking a lot of light from entering the tank. An alternative would be to use a steel chicken wire fence that would take the lattices place. Would this rust quickly? Rainbow fish are know for being jumpers, so I want to get something over the top but donāt want to break the bank.
Also, Iāve started to build a 3D background for the tank but I donāt know if Iām going to follow through with it. Any advise on that would be great. I can go in to more details on that build if anyone want to.
Plants will be hopefully native Aussie ones too but still deciding what will be best with the lighting set up I go with.
Hereās a pic of the current build. As I said, itās a long work in progress but Iām happy to take any thought on what you think should be added to make life easier in the long run. Itās not every day you get to build a set up, and Iād kick myself if I missed something obvious that will cause me hassles later.
Cheers.
This is my first post here, so I hope itās going up in the right section.
I just wanted to chat about my current aquarium project and maybe get a few ideas from yāall in the process.
So, around June of 2020 I picked up a second hand 6ft tank for 100 bucks. It was pretty dirty and average when I got it but it also came with a bare-bone but sturdy stand. The whole 6ft tank idea has been a dream of mine since starting out in the hobby close to 10 years ago and has been a slow work-in-progress due to family commitments, Australian winter, lack of power tools and the fact that Iām moving house in a month or so. The slow progress hasnāt been all that bad - itās given me plenty of time to research stock ideas and plan most of the build in my head.
For stocking ideas I think Iām set on native Australian rainbow fish. Thereās an online supplier here which stocks a number of diverse species at a great price - around $7 per fish.
The native Australian idea is something Iām passionate about and am fully set on. Originally I was trying to source one or two Coal Grunters for livestock but that proved to be difficult as availability was scarce and price was high for that species, so Iāve given up on that idea - maybe another time and another tank, who knows?
Alight, so now for tank progress.
So far, the stand is complete, Iāve added and built some cupboard doors on hinges to hide the filter and hopefully quieter things down. The stand has been painted too. The paint was chosen by my wife to match other furniture in the house and Iāve convinced her the display tank will be a great piece of furniture, even if is is made by myself with hand tools.
The next step will be lighting. Iām a little lost as to how Iāll construct a diy lighting set up for the tank, but Iāve got a couple of ideas floating around my head and am happy to take any advise. Iām trying to keep this project on somewhat of a budget, so a last resort will be buying a 6ft aquarium bar light.
My first idea is to but strip led lights and connectors and build my own bar light. The only problem I can see with this is the bar will be made of timber and Iām not sure if it will rot or get damaged being directly above the tank.
The next lighting idea is a pendant light but built on a free standing, or attached bracket to the main tank frame. This would basically be the same idea with led strip lights but would stand as more of an individual unit and be higher above the tank than a bar light.
The leds Iād use would be 5630 cool white.
The next problem I have is a lid for the tank. Initially I was planning on cutting a plastic lattice sheet to size to fit perfectly above the water. Issues with this could be the lattice blocking a lot of light from entering the tank. An alternative would be to use a steel chicken wire fence that would take the lattices place. Would this rust quickly? Rainbow fish are know for being jumpers, so I want to get something over the top but donāt want to break the bank.
Also, Iāve started to build a 3D background for the tank but I donāt know if Iām going to follow through with it. Any advise on that would be great. I can go in to more details on that build if anyone want to.
Plants will be hopefully native Aussie ones too but still deciding what will be best with the lighting set up I go with.
Hereās a pic of the current build. As I said, itās a long work in progress but Iām happy to take any thought on what you think should be added to make life easier in the long run. Itās not every day you get to build a set up, and Iād kick myself if I missed something obvious that will cause me hassles later.
Cheers.