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DIY Barracks


Rhysmachine101

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Hey all, as some of you may know (from my mini disaster the other night- thanks for all the help, by the way! :) )I am finally building myself some barracks! YAY!

So I wanted a system that was somewhat modular and portable, as I rent and may be moving at the end of this year.

So I decided on these long wide (but not very high :( ) tanks that I could build at need for a relatively low cost as my collection grew. Getting all the glass cut to size and holes drilled cost me $54.

The wood racks they are resting in cost me roughly $20 to build; got all the wood cut to size- all I really had to do was glue and screw them together.

So all up one of these units costs me around $75. Ok, so they're not that cheap. :blush:

Here is some pics:

The glass arrives in butchers paper! Holes for drainage.

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Putting it together.

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Sorry the lighting isn't the best- I'm no photographer.

This is two units- the bottom one is the sump; top is the first barracks.

The stand I just whipped up tonight- took me three hours; and a few more to go before its finished! Pretty nasty looking at the moment. :blush:

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This is possibly a bit clearer.

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This is how they come apart- neodymium magnets will provide a lot of stability in-between units. You can pull the actual tank out of the wood cradle quite easily as well.

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With the barracks- you'll notice that its not very 'barrack-sie' this is because I wanted to be able to give the fish living there more room or less depending upon how many fish are actually housed there at any time. this will be achieved through a few magnets attached to some fly-wire (nylon) netting sectioning off parts of the tank - kind of how those aquarium algae cleaners work- yes?

So thats my progress thus far- stay tuned for more misadventures involving more water on the floor no doubt! :D

Questions and criticism are welcomed!

Rhys.

Edited by Rhys
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Hey, that's pretty cool. I suppose the big gap on the last picture because you haven't put the glasses divier? (or maybe because you're planning a spawn in the middle of the barracks? :lol: )

Seems to come along smoothly :)

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Thanks guys and girls! Each tank was designed to hold a maximum of 5 fish with 5L for each fish- I can squeeze a couple more in if I have to.

The big gap in the last pic was to show that the wood cradles just sit upon each other and can be lifted off easily :).

A couple more pics...

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I like the design Rhys :D You'll have to keep an eye on any betta you put near the overflow resevoir that he doesn't jump or get washed over into the resevoir and get sucked down the drainage tubes and into the sump...

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D= magnets its perfect !!! I cant wait to see how the magnet & netting dividers work its brilliant ! my tank is similar its one long tank that i add dividers in as i need, but they are very unstable so magnatising them would be great!

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Some progress boys and girls!

Here is how I built the 'cradles' for the tanks-the shelves that come apart.

Marking the sides for cutting

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Sides all cut!

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Pre-drilling all holes- especially in these thin oak rods!

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Glue then screw!

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One side finished! Now for the other...

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More to come in ten mins!

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Adding the Oak rods as stabilisers:

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Once that's done, its all finished!

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I've painted the stand and started to set it all up: this is what it looks like with three rows so far...

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The tub at the bottom is my spawning tank- soon to have the first generation of CTPK's in there! Lighting to be added soon!

And what it looks like next to all of my other fish tanks! One wall in my room has now bee completely taken over by fish! (and axies!)

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P.S. They are NOT my slippers! :lol:

More to come when I get some more done!

Rhys.

Edited by Rhys
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