Hi - I just thought I'd post a couple of pics of the unit my boyfriend made for me a few weeks ago to fit into an alcove next to the chimney breast.
My Aquarium is 4ft long and the alcove was just slightly wider than this but wasn't wide enough to fit a 5ft tank (awww!).
Anyway, he made it using a solid timber framework and he used strong, longish (I've no idea of the specifics LOL) screws to secure the frame to the wall (and also each baton had grip-fill stuff on it as an added safety measure). Underneath the top edge batons, against the wall, he used some strong metal brackets (to be treble secure - there's no way this aquarium stand could give way LOL!) as he secured it every way possible.
I chose some white, high gloss doors from B&Q (white because our fire surround is white so I wanted it to blend together), with soft-close brackets to avoid the chance of the doors accidentally slamming and frightening the fish.
In one of the cupboards he made me two shelves so that I can store fish foods/medications and other stuff neatly. The other cupboard houses the electrics mainly.
The centre area is going to house a 2ft tank. He just needs to create a small opening on the side panel for all the leads to pass through to the electrics cupboard.
The whole unit was completed over 2 days (few hours each day).
Here are a couple of pics:
Halfway...
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Finished!
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Just thought I'd post this as it might give someone else an idea of how to build their own unit.
Regards
Athena
My Aquarium is 4ft long and the alcove was just slightly wider than this but wasn't wide enough to fit a 5ft tank (awww!).
Anyway, he made it using a solid timber framework and he used strong, longish (I've no idea of the specifics LOL) screws to secure the frame to the wall (and also each baton had grip-fill stuff on it as an added safety measure). Underneath the top edge batons, against the wall, he used some strong metal brackets (to be treble secure - there's no way this aquarium stand could give way LOL!) as he secured it every way possible.
I chose some white, high gloss doors from B&Q (white because our fire surround is white so I wanted it to blend together), with soft-close brackets to avoid the chance of the doors accidentally slamming and frightening the fish.
In one of the cupboards he made me two shelves so that I can store fish foods/medications and other stuff neatly. The other cupboard houses the electrics mainly.
The centre area is going to house a 2ft tank. He just needs to create a small opening on the side panel for all the leads to pass through to the electrics cupboard.
The whole unit was completed over 2 days (few hours each day).
Here are a couple of pics:
Halfway...
Finished!
Just thought I'd post this as it might give someone else an idea of how to build their own unit.
Regards
Athena
