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Doing it yourself - a few sources of information and some tips

© Winston Vaughan Schoenfeld

Almost all aquarists, at one point or another, think about trying to make some aquarium component themselves in order to save money. While such initiative is always good to have, there are some components that are better to purchase than to make yourself. In this article, I will try and give a few tips about how to decide if you really should try and do it yourself as well as a few sources for those interested in making their very own component.

Perhaps the most common component that aquarists think about manufacturing themselves is the aquarium. Typically made of either glass or plexi-glass, they are rather simple in design, requiring just the aquarium material (usually 5 panels) and a bonding compound. Unfortunately, the simple construction keeps the manufacturing costs down for the commercial manufacturer, making it difficult to save a great deal of money by making an aquarium yourself. Once you purchase the aquarium material, often already cut to proper size, and find the proper bonding agent, you will most likely end up coming out about even in costs/effort to simply purchasing an aquarium at the store. One exception to this is the case where you are interested in an odd-shaped custom aquarium. The added costs of getting a custom-built aquarium can make doing it yourself more attractive, but often aquarists still opt to purchase the aquarium....remember that it comes with a warranty. The bottom line here is that most aquarists end up purchasing the aquarium since one can typically only save a small amount of money at best. Also, the majority of money that you put into an aquarium goes towards what will live and reside within the aquarium; thus, most are not willing to take a chance with its structural integrity.

For those of you with freshwater aquariums, typically there are not too many components in your aquarium that you are interested in constructing yourself. Most filtration systems for freshwater aquariums are simple in design and have a relatively low cost associated with them. Most freshwater aquarists opt to simply purchase the filtration systems and other components.

Saltwater and reef aquarists are usually constantly trying to think of ways to save money and construct their own components (I think this is enhanced by the cost of fish and invertebrates). Probably the most common do it yourself component of such aquariums is the protein skimmer. These filtration devices have proven to be very effective and are simple in design. I known many aquarists who have made their own protein skimmer, easily saving money and gaining a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, one can easily find detailed descriptions of designs and a list of components on the web. One very useful description of a protein skimmer design that one can use for reference can be found at the following link: "http://www.actwin.com/fish/plans". You will find a fairly thorough description of a protein skimmer design along with a list of the parts and diagrams for construction. While I have never tried to use this protein skimmer design, I feel fairly confident that it works since the author clearly admits that it is the fifth and final design of a series of attempts. Additionally, for those of you who are interested in reef aquariums, you can find information on building protein skimmers in a book called "http://www.connix.com/~reefkeep/" - Simplified Reef Keeping, by Robert Metelsky.

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