190 gallon discus tank

[bonsai dave]

Hey every one. Thanks to my lovely wife for buying this beautiful tank for me. I found this tank on craiglist.It The dimensions of the tank is 54"x 27" x 30" .The stand is 56"x 28"x 34" . I'm making it out of 2x4's and I will skin it with either maple or oak plywood. The tank needs a good cleaning. I will be using a sump for filtration. But I'll not be using the sump it came with.Here are a few pictures of the stand build and the tank. .

[onefishtwofish]

nice size ..acrylic?

[bonsai dave]

nice size ..acrylic?

Yes it is.

[onefishtwofish]

i love the clarity of acrylic. your discus should show really well in it.

[gklaw]

The workmanship on this series of tanks is absolutely incredible ! Crazy Dave owns 2 of the 3 I've seen. Really like to know who fabricate them.

Dave: Your pics are getting me dizzy Have a tough time seeing which side up hehe.

As for the stand. It does not hurt to lap another 2 x 4 in the vertical legs lapping onto the top frame 2x4 and the bottom frame. I.e. it will sit on the floor and reaches to the underside of the tank. Screw this new 2x4 to the top and bottom frame real good and a few to the existing vertical.

As is, you are relying on the screws between the leg and the frame for stability.

Make sure to sheath the entire back, edge to edge with at least 1/4" plywood - the diaphragm. Call me if you want to discuss.

Remember Maple is not a easy wood to stain either. Unless you plan to clear coat, go with oak - cheaper and much easier to stain. Use bleached oak stain and water based varnish if you want a lighter colour. Next time you are over, I can show you a couple things re. finishing the plywood edge. Good you are using your tools Nice cut with that sliding mitre.

[bonsai dave]

Thanks Gordon. I will chat with you when i stop by. I'll be adding more wood to the stand. I need to take it a part. I need to lower the legs 4 " . I really want to go with red mahogany but it's a little out of my price range. Beth had to take my wallet from me the last time we went to Windsor Plywood.

[gklaw]

Yah, there are plywood at almost $300 a sheet. Last time at Windsor Bby, I think I might have left some drool stain on a couple sheets Keep your credit card in your shirt pocket and she can have your wallet.

Oak just went on sale at Coquitlam Store, may be at N. Vanc as well. Stain that red mohogany and tell people its red mohogany. Not too many can tell any way

[STANKYfish]

Nice wife!! Nice tank!! This is going to look awesome with Discus. Will watch for more pics

[discuspaul]

It's gonna be an awesome Discus tank, Dave !

[djamm]

Nice looking tank Dave, congrats...Looking forward to seeing your setup on this one