Making things that other people buy in this hobby..

[Diesel 2021]

ok here it is. Basically I just put together two wooden oars wrapped them with rope and found two heavy duty shelf brackets painted them and hung the lights from the oars. I found the compus at an antique shop and put it up as well.

 

[G Santana]

It's all about the Benjamins, basically I save money where I can.
I like working with my hands and learning new hobby skills.

Years ago I learned how to work with acrylic just to make an inexpensive skimmer that I still have 25 years later.

I recently spent $30 to make an algae scrubber which folks spend hundreds of dollars on and the thing is a beast, a work horse.

I recently wanted to breed brineshrimp and I laughed at the prices for a breeding setup. After drinking my seltzer, I have a brineshrimp hatchery for pennies.

I'd rather spend money on livestock than gadgets. If I can make it, I will.

There are so many tutorials online to help the hobbyist to save money, I wish they were around 25yrs ago.

Once my tank has sufficient live stock, I will try my homemade calcium reactor, again it cost very little to make (I had spare parts) and if it works I'll have saved hundreds to invest in live stock.

I could easily go out and spend thousands on cool store bought shiney gizmos, I choose not to.

 

[Timfish]

1. What is something you've made or built that other people in the hobby pay for?

2. What's the main reason you take on DIY reefing projects?

To answer the poll "All the above"

#1 Almost everything other people pay for I've built myself.

#2 This may seem schizophrenic as I feel the notion of control over our reefs is impossible considering how incredibly complex they are but the reason I DIY is fundamentally to have control. Additinally, either no one has what I need or I can do it better.

Examples:

DIY 3500 PAR LED Cannon

Wave Aquarium






300 Gallon Recurve Aquarium (in progress)

 

[65Naja]

DIY to me is part of most hobbies, but definitely part of this one. Its about spending time doing things that both relax and interest you. It really is therapy to me. I spent the past 35 years in design engineering, CNC, and digital manufacturing. Creating something, designing it, thinking it through and then fabricating it and testing it, gives me the feeling of accomplishment. I spent a little over a year planning my tank build and fabricating the overflow, the acclimation / fish trap combination, the roller fleece filter, the algae scrubber, the ATO and Skimmer overflow reservoirs, the control panels, and the sump (elected to get professional assistance with the large acrylic fabrication and bonding) from pro LUNA). Now its all together and has been running for 7 months. Check out my build thread to see some of the DIY. Even did a DIY CNC machine.

 

[tmason]

All of the above but mostly because I like to make thinks.
I've printed a few things
Refugium light mount
Mini filter for a pico tank using a RIO power head (Rio 50 and 200)
Filter uses floss and has a carbon chamber.
Output head for the above filter
Mesh screen cover corners for a Redsea nano
Mount for my Hydra 26 using 80/20
Next will be a small ATO/ controller cabinet for both tanks.
I'm happy to share files.

 

[bgallagher]

The control board is my favorite DIY project for the tank. I was able to customize it and make the most the limited space in the stand. Plus it’s great for hiding all those wires!

I also made a dosing pump stand out of the same material.

Looks awesome That's my next project for my new tank build.

 

[slim425]

I would love to have one like that you inspired me that might be my next project
Good job

Looks awesome That's my next project for my new tank build.

Thanks guys! i forgot to mention that the material i used is called Starboard and i picked it up from Tap Plastics.

 

[LostSoul]

DIY to me is part of most hobbies, but definitely part of this one. Its about spending time doing things that both relax and interest you. It really is therapy to me. I spent the past 35 years in design engineering, CNC, and digital manufacturing. Creating something, designing it, thinking it through and then fabricating it and testing it, gives me the feeling of accomplishment. I spent a little over a year planning my tank build and fabricating the overflow, the acclimation / fish trap combination, the roller fleece filter, the algae scrubber, the ATO and Skimmer overflow reservoirs, the control panels, and the sump (elected to get professional assistance with the large acrylic fabrication and bonding) from pro LUNA). Now its all together and has been running for 7 months. Check out my build thread to see some of the DIY. Even did a DIY CNC machine.

What program did you use. I work in tekla 3d. It's a metal fabricating program but it spits out cnc files.

 

[jaihutcherson]

Lol I have to go with @Silvas most my DIY end up costing me more as they go horribly wrong. …. But I keep building them. I do more so so I can build what I want to fit my tanks need. None of my tanks are industry standard sizes as I built them to go where I wanted them in the house.

with that said… I’ve built sumps, tanks, stands, hoods, chillers, custom manifolds, prob holders, and anything else I needed and didn’t have to weld to build it…… gotta learn how to weld.

 

[Biokabe]

I love DIY, but I don't do it nearly enough... I get lazy sometimes and take forever to finish the projects, so a lot of the time I just end up buying something so that I finish relatively on time. But I have done a few fun DIY projects... three different LED fixtures, an aquarium controller, a stand, a light stand, several polycarbonate lids, and I'm currently working on a water change/aquarium supply cabinet.

I initially started doing DIY to save money, but over time that's become less important to me... these days, it's more about giving myself another way to enjoy the hobby, and about building something exactly as I want it.

 

[McPuff]

Why DIY?
- it's fun
- it's rewarding
- can specify exactly how I want something
- save money (usually!)

 

[mnreefster]

All of the above. Mostly though, for utilitarian purposes. If I can’t find it, I’ll make it. Made a diy rock scrubber just last week, works like a charm! Hook it on the end of a drill, very effective

 

[fishybizzness]

I love to build and remodel. I drew up the plans and built my stand and canopy and did all the plumbing as well. Iincorporated the tank into my bar build this was a fun project and

huge challenge for my first reef tank. Ilearned alot on this project. I would appreciate any feed back.

I love it!

 

[Silvas]

Lol I have to go with @Silvas most my DIY end up costing me more as they go horribly wrong.

Yep... perfect example - I set out to make a cheap pine frame aquarium stand for my 36x24x24 tank, got it together... didn't have enough clamps or the right clamps to do everything quite right, the frame had a little bit of wiggle to it which I was unwilling to accept underneath my expensive tank, the bottom and top glue ups twisted and bowed a bit while clamped in the glue up... Reef it, that's a workbench now...
and now I have (minus the leveling caster base plates, and eventual side panels) the parts for a roughly $1200 aluminum profile stand. The extrusions and hardware just showed up today, the 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch marine board HDPE sheets for bottom and top came a couple days ago, already have the leveling casters, just waiting on those base plates.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I’m the middle of wrapping this up in the next day or two. I’m out of tac cloth and once it arrives this stand is ready for a wipe down and staining.

I’ve build stands, skimmers (mechanics and air drive) I do most of my own acrylic work, overflows and tank drilling.

I won’t build a tank. Too much can go wrong and it doesn’t save me enough money.

 

[N1Husker]

I built my stand and hood.

 

[threebuoys]

I've been a Do It Yourselfer my entire life. Primarily to save money, but I get a lot of personal satisfaction just being able to make things on my own. Sometimes what's available commercially just doesn't fit my need.

The most significant projects for my aquariums have been the DIY construction of stands and sumps. My next project will be an Algae Turf Scrubber. I just bought the materials and I'm finalizing my design.

I would love to build a tank, but I don't have a workshop available.

 

[Apotack]

After building my first stand I’m not sure I’ll ever buy another. It’s so nice being able to build something exactly how you want it plus it’s also a nice activity to keep the mind busy. Here’s the finish project:

Details on the panels?

 

[Ozonic]

I build this wall-unit to accommodate also diy custom 120G tank.

 

[TLO45]

I have made sumps with baffles to accommodate my skimmer ect , light racks to hold the lighting options I want, tank stands to hold displays built into walls ect. After 20+ years in the hobby I enjoy coming up with ideas and finding the best way to implement them.