It is interesting to know how to make a home aquarium and make it yourself. Master classes, step-by-step photos will teach this. Another workshop will show you how to create different styles of fish houses. If you like watching the underwater life of fish, you love tinkering, then try making an aquarium with your own hands. Following your imagination, possibilities, you can make a completely unusual device.
How to make an aquarium table with your own hands?
To make you want to make a fish house, first watch an unusual master class. Here the aquarium also serves as a table.
First, the master made the aquarium himself from durable glass. You will learn how to choose glass and create just such a base a little later. Since the aquarium has the shape of a trapezoid, expanding upward, the stand for it is made to fit the bottom of the aquarium.
It must be strong enough to withstand a container filled with water.
There are voids in the curly sidewalls so that hoses and wires can be hidden here. Now you need to put a sheet of styrofoam on the bottom of the table, and put the aquarium on top. They put soil, stones in it, fill the container with water, put filters, a device for supplying oxygen here, and place fluorescent lamps outside. Here is such a wonderful fish house.
If you are not yet ready to implement such an ambitious plan, you can see how to make a regular style home aquarium. You can design it according to your measurements, make it in such a size that the fish house fits on the bedside table or takes up another free space.
The thickness of the glass is of great importance. It depends on what size your finished product will be. Please refer to the following table to make it easier for you to understand. At the intersection of the desired width and height, you will find the required glass thickness.
Legend will facilitate the perception of this information: H - the height of the aquarium * - with ribs; ** - with rack ribs. L is the length of the aquarium.
In this case, the aquarium has dimensions of length, width and height 900x360x600 mm. The volume of such a structure is 194.4 liters. Looking at the table below, you will understand that you need to take glass with a thickness of 8 mm. But it is better to play it safe, take a slightly thicker glass. In this case, its thickness is 1 cm.
Here's how many glasses and what size you need:
- 2 pieces for front and rear glass 600 x 900 mm;
- 1 piece for a bottom measuring 878 mm by 338 mm;
- two sidewalls 600 x 338 mm;
- for the upper ribs, a rectangle measuring 30 by 848 mm;
- for the lower ribs - 50 by 236 mm;
- for other lower ribs 50 by 878 mm.
If you plan to make a large home aquarium, then you need to install crossbars here, or, as they are also called, ribs. These elements will need to be glued longitudinally at the bottom and top of the aquarium. This will make it more durable and reduce the bending of the glass.
If you have the tools and skills to cut glass, you can cut it yourself. If this is not possible, then contact a glass workshop.
It is better to grind the sharp edges of the edge, but leave the cut itself uneven, then the elements will be easier to fasten with silicone. But first you need to degrease the junction with a rag dipped in acetone. Now try not to touch the joint so as not to leave greasy stains on them, which will interfere with gluing.
To prevent the silicone from staining a large area, you need to glue the edge of each glass around the perimeter with adhesive tape, stepping back 7 mm from the edge.
When buying silicone, make sure that the sealant is specifically designed for aquariums. This should not contain harmful additives that are contraindicated for fish. To prevent the bottom of the aquarium from sticking to the floor, put a sheet of plywood here first and newspapers on top of it. Now apply sealant to the side stiffeners and glue these elements to the bottom of the fish house.
Now apply sealant to the sides and bottom of the front glass, and press it against the bottom glass.
Make sure that the seam of the sealant is continuous and there is no void in it.
Now apply sealant to the bottom of the sidewalls and glue them to each other, also to the bottom. Then you can attach the rear window in the same way.
To make the seams smoother and the silicone from sticking to your fingers, go over this adhesive with soapy water. This will also remove excess silicone. Now you need to be patient and hold the aquarium for two days so that the silicone is completely dry. Only after this time can you pour water into the aquarium and see if it flows out. This also takes some time. If everything suits you, you can bring life support systems here, fill the aquarium with the necessary elements and start the fish.
Aquariums in the wall look beautiful. Look at the principle of making such fish houses.
How to make a home aquarium in the wall?
Such a device will help to significantly save space, since the aquarium does not need to be placed on a table or on a windowsill and take up space.
The master built this wall himself. Used for this board, chipboard, wall metal profiles. The opening must be made in such a way that the length of the aquarium is no more than one and a half meters, the height is up to 70 cm, and the width is up to 40 cm. In this case, these dimensions are as follows: height 68 cm, length 1 m, width 25 cm.
Having decided on these dimensions, the master began to mount the wall. Above and below, he used profile guides, similar to the letter P. The width of such elements is 3 cm. They had to be fastened to each other, focusing on the depth of the niche.
Next to the niche, the opening was lined with edged boards and chipboard. Where the aquarium will be installed, it is necessary to make the wall lathing with a board to strengthen it. When carrying out such work, use the level to achieve evenness.
To avoid sagging, you need to put foam plastic for the ceiling panels under the bottom of the future aquarium. Also, it was necessary to mount a switch and a socket of several components into the wall in order to be able to turn on the lights, oxygen supply, and filtration to the fish.
In order not to suffer with the installation of the hatch, it was enough just to hang a picture of a suitable shape on this place, and it perfectly hides the opening with the supplied communications. When necessary, you can simply remove and then hang it back.
The plasterboard wall needs to be pasted over with wallpaper, and the plastic corner that closes the gap between the wall and the body of the aquarium should be decorated with crumbs made of stone and shells.
From the side of the corridor, the master closed the joints between the wall and the aquarium with a door trim.
In the evening, you don't need to turn on the main light, since a lighted aquarium will add it anyway. It is a very spectacular sight to look at the underwater world, sitting at the table of a cozy kitchen.
Not everyone has the opportunity to make such global structures. But if you still want to occasionally admire the fake fish and their house, consider the following ideas.
Do-it-yourself fish house
Make this craft with your child. Perhaps he will like it, and when he grows up, he will know how to make an aquarium himself and will make it. First, prepare what you need, these are:
- a suitable transparent container with a lid;
- plastic fish;
- self-solidifying mass for modeling;
- thick needle;
- thin line;
- thin wire.
First you need to twist the wire frame for the future coral. Then mix the green and yellow sculpting mass and make a stand for it. Use the tips of scissors to loosen the structure so that this accessory comes out more realistic.
Cover the frame with red self-hardening paste. You can glue some more small details to it to make the coral more branched.
If you are making small underwater grasses and algae, then you can build them without using a frame.
Leave these crafts for a while to dry and harden. At this time, you will make an attachment in order to hang the fish with it. To do this, take a piece of blue mass, roll it into a ball and glue it on the lid. Make a hole in this piece, through which you will thread the fishing line. And on the other side, attach a fish to it.
To make the bottom of the reservoir, mold it from yellow and green mass. Then the yellow will turn into sand, and the green into plants.
Place this still-dry craft on the bottom of the aquarium and attach it here with a pencil.
Make a hole in the back of the fish with an awl and insert the fishing line here. Tie it into knots, thread the other end of the fishing line through the hole on the ball. Stick it in here again and don't cut it. Then you can make the length you want and you will vary it.
You can pour water into the aquarium or leave it dry. Since the glass is thick, it will still seem that there is liquid in the container. Screw the lid back on the aquarium and see how your child will be delighted with the new toy.
If you do not have a filter, compressor and other devices for breeding fish, but you want to have a corner of the underwater world, then you can still create one. More unpretentious animals such as water snails can live here. They will feed on algae and do not need special care.
How to make a simple home aquarium?
You will make such a dwelling for underwater animals if you take:
- glass container;
- pebbles;
- aquatic plants;
- tweezers.
First, rinse the container and pebbles well with water, and then pour these small pebbles into the aquarium. Now take tweezers and plant your aquatic plants here. If no such tool is available, do it carefully with your hands.
To make a simple aquarium, breed the most unpretentious aquatic plants in it, such as kabomba, hornwort. Normal tap water contains chlorine, which is harmful to plants and snails. Therefore, first, the water must be defended or boiled. Place the aquarium close to a window or on a windowsill to let your creation light up. If you have a desire to place it near the desktop or in another place far from the window, then turn on artificial lighting.
If you do not have a suitable container for such a creation, but you have a light bulb, then you can still make your dream come true. For this you need to take:
- light bulb;
- pebbles;
- aquatic plant.
Remove the base from the lamp. And carefully remove the glass parts from this container.
Here's how to make a simple aquarium in a light bulb next. File the edges of the flask with a file, rinse the container and add small pebbles or aquarium soil here. Plant the plant carefully. Fill the container with water and close the bulb with base.
How to arrange an aquarium with your own hands?
If you are short on space, you can make another original aquarium, but very small. Perhaps you will be inspired by the idea of Stanislav and Anatoly Konenko, who made a very small fiberglass aquarium.
But algae grow in it and real fish swim. These are zebrafish fry with a size of 4 mm.
The aquarium holds only 10 ml of water. To ensure the viability of the fish, the craftsmen even made a micro-compressor, which turned out to be the most difficult in this work.
There are several styles. Decide which one you like best and decorate the aquarium in that style.
If you like the Dutch landscape, you can take this on board. For this style, different-scale plants are used that differ in color, size and shape. Tall plants with thin or small leaves are planted in the background, with larger foliage in the center, and the smallest bushes are placed in front. Then a feeling of multi-tiered is created.
You can use algae in red, yellow, dark and light green tones. Plants need to be planted quite close to each other so that such flora resembles the green landscape of Holland. An even more rosy picture will be presented by small brightly colored fish swimming past the algae.
If you want to design a Japanese-style aquarium, then you can make a rock garden with a bonsai tree in the center of the composition.
Since the usual will not grow underwater, aquarists use some tricks.
So to make a bonsai tree like this, they use Javanese moss. It is unpretentious, grows on stones, on snags. Therefore, you can place a snag at the bottom of the aquarium, fix it and plant moss here, which will become the crown of the tree.
Javan moss grows well on snags, on rocks, so it doesn't even need soil. This plant will not only help decorate the aquarium, but will also allow fish to spawn in the crown of these algae.
In order for this plant to have supports, they are made from cotton threads or from thin fishing line.
To make a bonsai tree, first plant a snag of the desired shape in the aquarium soil. Fix it with stones. Now place the javanese moss on top of this driftwood, give it a crown shape. Decorate the stones and the surrounding space with it as well.
Another style in the aquarium hobby is collector style. To implement it, you need to plant 15 or more types of algae. Over time, they will grow and the effect of a neglected English garden will be created, which is required.
To do this, you need to take a fairly spacious aquarium and combine tall and low plant species that differ in color.
If you want to arrange the fish house in the nursery, then give it a fabulous look. Another style of aquarium design is called Disney World.
Make the fish house similar to the scenery for Finding Nemo.
You can buy or DIY the following things to transform the underwater world of this style. It:
- shells;
- grottoes;
- corals;
- sunken treasures;
- locks;
- intricate shells.
Settle crabs and colorful fish here. You can stick a Disney-style picture on the outside of the back of the aquarium to decorate it this way.
An aquarium with wooden driftwood also looks great. You don't need to buy them, but you can find them on a walk.
But before you put these items in the aquarium, they need to be properly handled. First, such things are boiled for 2 hours.
Use driftwood and twigs that are already dry and will not release resin and sap. Also, conifers and oak are not suitable for an aquarium, since such materials will make the water darker or sour.
If you want to use natural stones, then they also need to be properly processed first. If you find such a specimen, you need to wash it, boil it, and then check if the stone contains lime. To do this, drop a little vinegar on it, if it hisses, it means that such a stone cannot be used. It will be harmful to fish and plants.
Before you lay the stones, even if you bought them in the store, they need to be cleaned with a stiff brush and poured over with boiling water. If you have cyclides in your aquarium, then they need grottoes. You can create these fixtures by stacking sandstone stones on top of each other and bonding them together with a silicone sealant that is harmless to marine life. At the same time, leave space so that cyclides can settle here.
If shrimps will live in your aquarium, then place the stones so that there are many small caves between them, which will certainly please the inhabitants of the underwater world.
Once you have decided on the style of the aquarium, you need to properly fill this container. But first, prepare the stones and driftwood, process the dummies as described just now. Install the equipment that will be at the bottom of the aquarium.
Pour soil here and level it. Now you need to install the pump if you want to make a small waterfall. Pour some water on the ground, plant plants here. If you plan to plant Javanese moss on driftwood at the bottom of the aquarium, secure it here with fishing line or string. Then refill the water and carry out the next stage of landscaping, when this tier is finished, fill the aquarium with water and connect the necessary equipment. After that, you can launch fish and admire the underwater inhabitants.
In the end, it remains to show you videos, in which you will also find information about aquarism. If you are interested in how to make a home aquarium, then check out the first video.
The second plot will help to understand the question of how to make a small compressor with your own hands.
