150 Gallon Planted Aquarium Project - Summer 2010
Pete & Jean Honl

Norwegian Rosemaling - Jean Honl

Jean and I purchased a 150 gallon aquarium from Pets R' Inn, Columbia Mall, Grand Forks, ND.  They special ordered the aquarium for us.  They have a nice pet shop with a good selection of healthy fish.

We started the project by removing an existing walk-in closet in our living room.
You can see the start of a 2" x 6" frame for the aquarium on the wall.

 The door visible on the right exits to our garage.  You can also see the door frame for the walk-in closet.
The frame for the aquarium is complete.  The Aquarium weighs 1,800 pounds when full of water.
We braced the floor joists in the crawl space under the aquarium with floor jacks.

This photo shows the 2" x 6" frame with a piece of plywood on top for the aquarium to sit on.
The lower left-hand side will hold the plumbing and CO2 injection for the aquarium. It will not be visible from the living room.
The lower right-hand side will be visible from the living room and will hold the entertainment center.

This is the result.  Jean designed and built the exterior.  She used birch plywood.  I think the false panel on the lower left was a nice idea; the aquarium plumbing and CO2 system are on the other (closet) side.  The top panel above the aquarium is hinged to allow access from the front, but most of the maintenance is done from the closet side.

Here is a pair of Bolivian Rams guarding their babies in the new aquarium.