37 gal column conversion to AIO with foam/rock wall

[Cubeman]

Originally Posted by Salt2Death

Got me tagging along... I want to do a similar set up on a 40g bow front.
Love the fact your doing tons of pics!

Thanks Salt2Death. I used to have a 46 gallon bowfront; great size tank with that little bit of extra depth in the middle.

[Cubeman]

So the tank has been cycling in a spare room while I worked on the stand. My wife did not want the standard black Marineland stand that is made for this aquarium so I spent a few weeks browsing Craigslist for any piece of suitable furniture. I ended up buying what looked like a beat up 30 year old cabinet for $50 that looked like it could use a good refinishing job. Imagine my surprise when I got home and took a good look at the construction and found out what I had just purchased was actually an antique made in China in the late 1800's. Yep, I had one of "those" Craigslist finds!

Anyway I still needed an aquarium stand and knew that this one would have to be "modified" with a saw to open up the back if it was to fit the bill. Knowing full well this would de-value it I stared at the bloody thing for 2 weeks trying to get up the gumption to chop a hole in the back. Well I finally had a rotten day at work and out came the tools once I got home.

Here's how it went in pictures:

The cabinet, untouched on the outside except for a hole in the back, which is now being used as of today.


The first bit of work I did on the inside was to cut an access hole and start reinforcing the frame. I thought the cabinet was sturdy enough but being as old as it was didn't want to take any chances. So I glued and screwed a bunch of supports around the existing framework and then stained the new wood dark so it matched a little better. You'll notice in this picture the doors are off and there are little shell shaped pivots where they fit into - no metal hinges at all, just all carved out of wood. This was at about the half way done stage.


After I did the framework I put in a false back, side, and bottom (on the inside) so I would have something to screw my equipment to. There's not a lot of room so it's just holding 2 dosing pumps, Calcium and Alk containers, a Reef Keeper Lite, and a small chiller which is vented through the back.


I also cut a 3/4inch piece of plywood and stained it to help support the tank and protect the top of the cabinet from salt water. Here's what the finished product looks like with the tank in place.


Not to everybody's taste I know but the wife got a unique piece of 150 year old furniture that she is happy with and I finally got the aquarium in its ultimate resting place so I can continue with the build.

[daplatapus]

Looking good actually! Can't wait to see some wet stuff in there

[maron6977]

Always nice to keep the wife happy as well as work for your project !

[Cubeman]

Originally Posted by maron6977

Always nice to keep the wife happy as well as work for your project !

That's half the secret to being able to spend money in this hobby is buying stuff the wife likes. Always end up buying more pretty things when she tags along

[Cubeman]

I'm now using a couple of Koralia 750's for circulation and have placed them both right at the bottom of the aquarium in the back corners. They're hooked up to a digital timer so they take turns being on independently and simultaneously as well as both off for a few hours. The small base footprint and the large turnover creates a great upwelling of current from bottom to top.


The problem this much bottom current created is I couldn't use my existing Fiji pink sand as it was too fine and would be stripped bare in certain spots and piled up in others. I picked up some coarser reef sand yesterday and because I only needed 20lbs the difference in price between live and dead was negligible so I picked up the live.


The tank was pretty cloudy for the rest of the day but was crystal clear 18 hours later. Left a bit of a "bathtub ring" around the top edge but that was easily cleaned with a filter sponge.

[lastlight]

the wall looks awesome i really like it. lends itself perfectly to column tanks.

and that shelf piece looks sweet just don't mount any sps at its edge or you'll be fragging in a month lol.