Began major construction today

6/19/2007

I began construction on the stand to fit my 55 gallon display and 55 gallon sump. Figuring out how to put both of them in one stand was a bit of a challenge, but I think I've got it worked out pretty well.

This vast stretch of empty wall is just begging to filled with zooxanthellae symbionts.



You'll have to wait a few more minutes to see the stand begin to come to life (the anticipation is killing you, I know!!). First came the nerve-racking part of the construction. I ordered a diamond hole saw ($10 including shipping from Hong Kong), did a little meditation to calm my nerves, and then went to town on my tank. The holes actually went very easily, it took about 5 minutes to drill each one. I started off using plumbers putty and water in the middle and wound up ripping all of that off and just pouring glass cutting oil on the area as I went along.


Supplies:


The "rig":



Success!!



And now the moment you've all been waiting for! After careful planning and one screw-up (we'll just pretend that this is the first time I've attempted to build the stand), I came up with a sound plan. First I cut all of my 2x4's and marked them (so I wouldn't mistake them for scraps!).


Next came the construction, first the top and bottom:

Then with the supports in place:

Added an OSB board to go under the tank and two supports in the back for the canopy:

And last for today, I test fitted the tanks to make sure before I begin construction of the fancy looking facade:

Tomorrow I'll finish up the facade and cut some holes in the OSB for plumbing. I'm going to wait for my Lights to arrive before building the canopy.

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