# Homemade 4 gallon tank. First El Natural Experiment



## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

I grabbed some scrap quarter inch Lexan from work one day and cut it up to make a 12x9x9 inch tank. I could not find any weld on locally so I just heated a nail with a torch and melted the pieces together. The seams were not perfectly waterproof. So a bead of silicone was needed. I then made a hood from scrap wood and painted it black. I mounted two 10 watt 6500k daylight CFL bulbs inside the hood. I had a Red Sea Deco filter laying around and an old glass heater. These were used for heat and water movement. I decide to start experimenting with the Walstad setup. So that is how I set up the tank. I purchased some Michigan Topsoil in a 40 pound bag for $1.49 and a 50 pound bag of playsand. I have other tanks and am tired of dosing ferts and adding CO2. The large amount of materials leftover will end up in my 29 gallon tank after I see how this works out. I pulled some plants from my other tanks to get it started.

Hygro Cormbosa
Hygro Kompact
Blyxa Japonica
Water Wisteria
Star Grass
Water Lettuce

I then threw in 3 Celestial Pearl Danios and 3 Cherry Shrimp.


























The tank has been running for only five days. No water changes yet. Now to just let it set and see how things go. My only concern is that the tank is in my basement and receives no natural light. I wonder if I have enough light? Time will tell.


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## Valley (Feb 28, 2007)

I like your tank. DIY projects are always exciting.  
I don't think light is going to be a problem. If you've got 20W over 4g, that's a lot of light. You might find you need to reduce your light if you start having algae problems.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Yep, nice looking little tank. Are you using siesta lighting? The siesta provides more oxygen for the critters and reduces algae growth. If you are in a basement with no natural light I'd be tempted to place a lamp nearby timed to come on when the other lights are napping. Home Depot has dandy small timers for about $4. Otherwise, it sounds like plenty of light, but of course your plants will tell you.

Since you have it stocked already, you might want to keep an eye on your ammonia levels. They might be fine with all of the plants - but they might be too high for your fish and shrimp and require a few water changes in the early weeks. 

Terrific use of scrap materials! Very inspiring. Please keep us posted on your progress.


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## inghamb87 (Mar 10, 2010)

Great job haulmark400! It looks great and DIY projects are always, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing that it's done and you did it .

By the way, I have never attempted a DIY aquarium project and have one question based on your description. You mentioned a bead of silicon was needed to seal of the seams for waterproofing purposes. Is this silicon exposed inside the tank as well or just outside? If inside, can there be any adverse effect to the environment inside the tank. Just wondering and am sure you can tell I am a DIY rookie ;-)

Once again a great job with the aquarium. It sure is looking great


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

The silicone is on the inside of the aquarium and exposed to the water just as it would be in a glass aquarium. By using aquarium safe silicone there is no harm to the enviroment in the tank. For the most part building an aquarium is only worth it if the materials are available for a dirt cheap price. I could have purchased a new 5.5 gallon glass tank for probably $12.00. So building this one was more of a see if I can do it. The only plus in this case was using scrap materials that were free. I should note that melting the seams of Lexan was done outside and smelled horrible. I am sure the melting of the materials created toxic fumes. So I would not reccomend anyone try this inside a building.


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

I should also note that the background is painted on the outside of the aquarium. Plain blue Krylon paint.


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## inghamb87 (Mar 10, 2010)

haulmark400 said:


> The silicone is on the inside of the aquarium and exposed to the water just as it would be in a glass aquarium. By using aquarium safe silicone there is no harm to the enviroment in the tank. For the most part building an aquarium is only worth it if the materials are available for a dirt cheap price. I could have purchased a new 5.5 gallon glass tank for probably $12.00. So building this one was more of a see if I can do it. The only plus in this case was using scrap materials that were free. I should note that melting the seams of Lexan was done outside and smelled horrible. I am sure the melting of the materials created toxic fumes. So I would not reccomend anyone try this inside a building.


Thanks for the reply Haulmark and clearing that out for me. And yes, sometimes the joy of building things by yourself is far satisfying than just buying. Congrats once again on the awesome job


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## haulmark400 (Feb 21, 2009)

All things are going well. Except one celestial pearl danio jumped out of the tank and died on the entertainment center where the tank sits. I turned the filter off a few weeks ago. Plant growth is good with no algae. No water changes yet either.


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## JakeJ (Apr 14, 2010)

I really like the tank/hood!


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