Old TV to Aquarium Build

[Guppy Guy]

I know I know, It’s been way too long since I have started an aquarium project, (and the last one didn’t exactly go according to plan 😬. (Click here to see my gumball machine aquarium build) This time though, I am using a pre-made tank with the filter built in, so it hopefully won’t be as hard to get working as the last one. 

The TV is a mid-90s Daywood a friend gave me, and the tank is one of those marineland 3 gallon portrait tanks. I have already gutted the tv, and cut the unnecessary supports so the tank will fit. The next thing to do will be to wire up the light to the original power button, and figure out how to secure it inside the TV while making tank accessibility easy for routine maintenance

I am super exited about this project, and I am more then happy to hear your ideas! I hope this comes out better then the gumball machine (a success assuming it doesn’t leak 😂)

Here is an image of the tv when I first got it, after I gutted it, and the tank I am using.

[TeeJay]

Hopefully this one goes a little easier this time around. I think it will look great once it's done.

[Cory]

I always love tv tanks. Excited to see how this one turns out.

[Odd Duck]

Something very cool about TV tanks. Do you already have a spot in mind for it?

[Guppy Guy]

On 1/14/2023 at 11:45 PM, Odd Duck said:

Something very cool about TV tanks. Do you already have a spot in mind for it?

Of course! I just broke down the 10 gallon tank in my room to give to my brother, so now there is an empty spot there. I want the sound of trickling water back in my room, so the sooner I get it done, the better 😀

[Odd Duck]

On 1/15/2023 at 12:58 PM, Guppy Guy said:

Of course! I just broke down the 10 gallon tank in my room to give to my brother, so now there is an empty spot there. I want the sound of trickling water back in my room, so the sooner I get it done, the better 😀

Excellent!

[lefty o]

should be neat. to be honest when i saw the thread title, my mind instantly went to 60's/70's giant old console tv!

[Patrick_G]

On 1/15/2023 at 11:23 AM, lefty o said:

should be neat. to be honest when i saw the thread title, my mind instantly went to 60's/70's giant old console tv!

 

 

[Guppy Guy]

On 1/15/2023 at 2:23 PM, lefty o said:

should be neat. to be honest when i saw the thread title, my mind instantly went to 60's/70's giant old console tv!

I may happen to be planning something similar to that in the distant future 😉 

[Guppy Guy]

I had a great idea today. I was thinking that aquarium maintenance would be practically impossible if I had to take apart the TV every single time, so I cut the bottom off! I attached an animated image of the before and after.

Since the tank isn’t resting on the TV base anymore (which is good as a tabletop is more stable then plastic), it is a little low. Luckily, I have plenty of wood, so I can set the tank on a piece to raise it up about an inch. I will cut that closer to the end so it won’t get in my way.

The next task is to cut a hole for feeding, as well as wire up the light. I have a cool idea for that so stay tuned! (See what I did there? 📺 😂)

[Theplatymaster]

you are always doing such interesting tank projects! I like how you take things like TVs and gumball machines, and make them into aquariums.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

This is gonna be rad. Can’t wait to see it completed!

[Guppy Guy]

I have started the light control. Since there are 2 sides of this story, I split them below. The “Regular Person” part is super simple and basic, and the “nerdy like me 🙃” section goes into much more detail about parts and the design process. This is only the very beginning, and it will likely be a few days to complete. I tried to keep the descriptions simple, so let me know how I did. Enjoy!

Details for the regular person:

The light and controller use different power sources, so I have to use a transistor to control the power like a digital switch. This is repeated for both channels (white and blue). Currently, I am using a button for testing, but this will be connected to a small computer in the final version.

Details for the nerdy like me 🙃:

The light is a 12 volt strip, but the microcontroller I am planning to use is 5 volts. This requires the use of a transistor (BC337 if you were wondering) to switch the power, and because there is 2 channels (white and blue), this happens twice. Due to the nature of transistors, there is a total of 4 pull-up resistors (one on the base and one on the emitter. The collector doesn’t need one) to ensure that there is no ghosting.

 

 

[Guppy Guy]

Well, I finally finished the prototype circuit. That was painful. I had to learn how to use a darlington transistor configuration, and trust me, its as difficult as it sounds 😂. The attached gif is me testing it out, and seeing that it (thankfully) works.

Now I have to import the schematic into the computer, and learn how to mill a PCB. I will give that a few attempts, and if it fails, I will just have to solder it all by hand.

I know that hardware I used is complicated, but it gives me the freedom to fine tune light setting from the software, and even add a built in timer in the future if I wanted to. Plus, all those components cost me less than $5 since I made it myself, so that is a bonus as well. Let me know what you think so far!

 

Edited February 8 by Guppy Guy