Will need
Tools:
- Grinder (angle grinder) with diamond cutting and grinding discs;
- Drill with cutting disc;
- Screwdriver, knife, pliers, tape measure;
- Silicone gun;
- Soldering iron, heat shrink;
- Hot glue gun;
- Gas-burner
- Spatula for mixing and applying cement mortar.
Materials:
- TV with a intact kinescope (no cracks in the glass);
- Sheet glass, thickness 4 mm;
- Aquarium silicone;
- LED backlight with adapter and toggle switch;
- Expanded polystyrene waste;
- Cement-sand mixture with a container for mixing the solution;
- Artificial soil and algae.
Making an aquarium from a TV step by step
From the TV itself, we only need the housing and part of the kinescope.We remove the back cover by unscrewing the fastening bolts from the case, and then free the cathode ray tube from the adjacent cables, anode, boards and take out the kinescope.
We remove the outlet magnetic coils and electrical cables so that only the cleaned glass bulb remains.
Using pliers, carefully break the sealed end of the neck of the tube to let air inside.
Using a grinder (angle grinder), we cut the kinescope bulb to the level of the mounting metal frame.
Having separated the tube screen, remove the shadow mask and wash the glass from the phosphor coating. This can be done with ordinary water and a rag.
Then we trim the cut area on the screen as much as possible with a grinding disc and angle grinder. The smoother the cut, the stronger the glued joints of the aquarium will be.
The plastic body of the TV should be thoroughly washed. A high-pressure washer or a regular hose connected to a water tap is ideal for this.
After drying the plastic thoroughly, we insert the screen into its place, screwing it with self-tapping screws. This way our aquarium will be securely fixed in the TV case.
Now it's time to cut out the remaining parts of the aquarium. We measure and draw the blanks on sheets of glass 4 mm thick. Using a glass cutter and a ruler, we carry out cutting. We should have four glass walls.
For gluing aquariums, craftsmen advise using special aquarium silicone. It is designed for thin-layer seams that can withstand fairly high pressure and tensile loads. For reliability, we glue not only the joints themselves, but also the areas adjacent to them on the outside of the walls.
To compensate for the height of the aquarium relative to the TV body, we glue a small rectangular block to its lower part.
We make a slot on the top cover of the TV case for easy maintenance of the aquarium, cleaning and filling with water. After the silicone has dried, we assemble the TV body by screwing it onto the tie screws. Now it looks like it has been renovated))
The screen will be the only visible wall of the aquarium, so additional lighting will not interfere with it. We will make it from several LED strips connected to an adapter. We solder their contacts to the terminals of the power supply and check the operation.
We use a small toggle switch as a starter. We fix it on one of the TV legs with hot glue so that it works from the TV power button.
Aquarium decorations
An empty glass box can be turned into a piece of a mysterious deep-sea world, with unusual soil, algae and rocks dotted with water. And now we will tell you how you can do it yourself.
We will make rocks from polystyrene foam. Used packaging from household appliances or unnecessary trimmings of sheet material will do. We burn them with a gas torch or lighter. You must work with this material extremely carefully, wearing gloves and a respirator, so as not to get burned or inhale toxic fumes. It melts very easily, even at a distance from an open flame.
We form through holes by melting, and give the workpieces the pointed shape of rocks and crevices. In a separate container, prepare a dry mixture from approximately equal parts of cement and sand, and mix it with water. You should get a solution with the consistency of thin sour cream, slightly dripping from the spatula.
We dip our blanks into a container with a solution and season them well so that the surface takes on the shape of a stone. After this, we set it to dry in the open air, watering it again with the solution.
The algae in our aquarium will be artificial, of different shades and sizes. They are easy to purchase in pet stores or on the market. You can also buy some colored primer there, for example, a light shade. We cover the algae bushes with soil, creating our own compositions. Due to the weight of these pebbles, they will stay firmly on the bottom.
We fill up the soil. The dried “rocks” have acquired a light gray natural shade; they can be used to furnish the background part of the aquarium, and algae can be placed in the foreground.
All that remains is to fill the aquarium with water and place your beloved pet in it!
