# Burks 40g breeder journal.



## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Here I will be keeping up with the progress on my 40g breeder tank. I've had the thing sitting in my living room for a few months and my cats have used it as a "play pen" during that time.

Today my dad and I started work on the tank stand. He bought the wood last week and built the frame (most of it) last week as well. Today was a "measure four times, recut four more times" type of day. This was us all day :doh:   :argue: .

Below are two pictures of the semi-finished stand. It got too cold tonight to finish building the doors. As you notice the opening is rather large but I wanted it that way for the ease of moving stuff in and out (filters, CO2 tank, ballast wiring, etc). It's a darn heavy and sturdy stand too! We also need to put the molding on the top as well.

The tank to the left is my dad's 29g he bought at a garage sale. Came with a bunch of stuff for like $40.

Biggest problem is transporting the tank, stand, lighting (shoplights), and the canopy (will be built Tuesday) 110 miles back to my apartment. Hopefully they'll be visiting soon as my Neon can only hold the tank.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Nicely done stand... You save so much money when you can build your own stand, they cost so much.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

That's so true trenac. After the stand/canopy is complete there will be under $100 invested in both combined. Could have been done cheaper but my dad picked out the high grade wood and went with the ones with a "groove" already cut in it. Just adds a bit more detail to the package. Stain was leftover from other projects, so was the clear coat. This project actually gave us a chance to try out the air powered nail gun we bought my dad last Christmas. FUN!

Finding a stand for a 40g breeder is pretty hard to do as well. Heck, 36" is a rare thing in this hobby.


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## mahamotorworks (Nov 7, 2006)

The stand is off to a good start. Keep us posted. 

MAHA


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## lildark185 (Jul 7, 2006)

Hey, nice to see that you're finally starting your 40g breeder. The tank stand looks really sturdy. Will this be the pleco tank?


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

lildark185 said:


> Will this be the pleco tank?


Yes it will be. 

By the way, neither my dad or myself claim to have any skills with woodworking.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I can't wait for this to develop. I think you got this tank during the Petco $1 per gallons sale a while back, and I was always wondering what you were going to do with it.

Great stand by the way. Any plans for a cabinet doors?

-John N.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

That's correct John. The $1 Petco sale rocks!

The doors will be made out of the same material as the sides and front. We'll have the grooves line up so it doesn't look too out of place.

Today for Christmas my parents got me a Rena Filstar XP2, Stealth 200w heater, and a RO unit (didn't even ask for that!). Now to figure out how to run the tubing on the RO unit....


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## raven_wilde (Nov 16, 2005)

Wow! Lucky you! Parents that encourage your hobby! And a 40 gallon breeder, the ideal planted tank, nice and deep front to back, perfect for aquascaping. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

raven_wilde said:


> Wow! Lucky you! Parents that encourage your hobby! And a 40 gallon breeder, the ideal planted tank, nice and deep front to back, perfect for aquascaping. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!


Yeah it's nice to have them support my hobbies. Basically every gift I got this year was toward either aquariums or coins.

Here's a slight update. Today's weather didn't help us one bit. The rain kept us in the garage, the wind was blowing into the garage making saw dust and cold a big problem, and lack of tools restricted us (Grandpa has my dad's rip saw, he wasn't home).

This is the canopy. Photo was taken before the supports were put in along with the supports for the shoplights/ballasts. The canopy ended up being an extra inch longer on each side so I can fit the shoplights in. Made a stupid mistake on the bulb length....Don't ask.









This is the stand in its current state. All we did today was give it a light sanding to prepare for staining and placed the stripping on to cover up the black tank trim.









I've decided on the color of Golden Pecan for the stain.

Edit: YES that is a picture of Mahamotorworks DIY Canopy. I kind of based the canopy design off his, it looked really sturdy and well made. So the canopy is in no way my design but we did add extra things to suit my setup.


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## mahamotorworks (Nov 7, 2006)

I really like the whole 2X4s on the bottom that will give it a lot more stability.

MAHA


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Well the tank is back in Toledo! Had to move my room around a bit. It was either that or the tank had to sit near the doorway which I really didn't like. Too much traffic.

Full stand shot with the doors open. The canopy looks a bit large, which it is, but I wanted it a bit larger due to shoplights. Keeps them away from the water level, safety first.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC04326.jpg

Canopy shot opened. It's my ghetto little prop stick. You'll notice it's slightly longer than the tank stand but that was due to, again, the shoplights. Really not noticeable in person at all.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC04327.jpg

Here's the stand. I compared our construction to that of stands sold at Aquarium Adventure....yeah we win. They used skinny pieces for support and really the tanks weren't well supported. Similar stands cost $300+ there, this one was less than $50! Made out of quality pine and we didn't skimp on the support. Damn thing is rock solid.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/burks/DSC04328.jpg

The tank will not be filled for about a week. I want the entire thing to settle into the carpet first (thankfully we don't have any of that cushion crap underneath the carpet).

Personally I don't think my dad and I did too bad of a job. Considering this was our first major build we learned a lot of things to do, and even more not to do. Total price for everything was under $125 (not including the tank). We looked at similar setups and the price was nearing $700 for the nicer stands/canopy's. We had fun doing it and can't wait to do another one. Next time we won't screw up cutting so much.


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## mrbelvedere138 (Jan 18, 2006)

Burks, I think you should buy a larger aquarium. The canopy looks so large and the tank looks so small that the whole deal will be awkward looking. A 40 is 36x18 correct? Buy a 58 or 65 gallon, all that extra room to deal with.....


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

I'm not trying to imitate Amano or anything, so it really doesn't matter to me.

If I like it then that's all there needs to be. By the way this is a temporary canopy anyways. I'm building a smaller one for a T-5 fixture.

Don't look for my journal to continue. No updates will be given unless through PM's.


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## mahamotorworks (Nov 7, 2006)

It looks really nice. I like the stained wood. Looks better then anything you could buy. Good Job.

MAHA


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Thanks Maha!


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