So just having the turtle tank frame completed is a huge accomplishment! We don’t have a lot of space in the house, so I needed to sell the 90 gallon aquarium first, so that there would be room to proceed with the build. I was actually worried about that part. Before deciding to build, I searched Craigslist.com for what I wanted. After talking to a few people trying to sell, I noticed they all had the same story. Their fish tanks had been listed for months and they received a lot of questions, but no buyers. So without more ado, I can say my tank sold in two weeks and I was able to start building the stand.
Breaking Down an Existing Aquarium
This is the least favorite part of keeping aquariums. What do you do when you need to bring a tank down. You can only siphon so much of the water out of the tank, and if you have a considerable amount of gravel, it retains water. It is a mess. I forgot to start at the beginning. It also took several hours to catch all the fish and move them into the 75 gallon aquarium. You are probably asking “Why hours?” The answer is 25+ brown kuhli loaches. They bury themselves under the gravel and they are fast and hard to keep in the net.
Supplies Needed For Stand Frame
The frame is the skeleton before putting a pretty outer covering on the aquarium stand. Most videos show outright 2×4 builds or a combination of 2x4s, 2x3s and various boards. My first tank stand build used 2x4s. This was great, but it does take up a little more space than I wanted to give up, so I went with 2×3 boards to make the frame. I had used the tool I referred to in the last post to get a cut sheet, and I am quite happy with the results. The tool said I would need 8 boards, and i figured I might make some mistakes along the way. I got ten boards. I needed 8 boards. Had I gotten 8, I would have needed 10. The wood cost $2.40 per board. So I was able to finish the frame for $24.00 in wood. I also got a box of 2 1/2 inch wood deck screws for $8.58, making the total for the frame $32.58.
No Wires, No Chords, No Airline Tubing
As mentioned one important factor of this build, is to not see wires or tubing or anything. To accomplish this, I had an electrician come out and place an outlet right behind where the tank will be. I can change out sockets and light switches on my own, but when it comes to adding new outlets, I figured it might be best not to do it myself. Well, the electrician cost $350.00, so I might rethink that next time. It’s a good thing my 90 gallon aquarium sold for $300.00 so as to offset that cost. I had it placed as far to the right as I could, so that it would be as far away from the sump water lines. No reason to mix the two in the same area.
The Tank Stand Inspector
No matter what we do in the house, our cats are always curious as to what is going on. In some way, I think they think that the frame is some sort of crazy cat condo just for them.
