Building a 120 gallon aquarium cabinet and canopy step by step: a photo album

For my most recent custom aquarium cabinet commission, I decided to take pictures throughout the design and building process.  The resulting photo album isn't just a great way to keep my clients apprised of their project's progress.  It's also a treasure trove of teaching moments for anybody interested in building their own large aquarium cabinet. 

If you ever wanted to see how something like this is made, take a peek at this Picasa Photo Album - "120 Mafia" (so named because the aquarium will house African cichlids...a "Mafia Tank").  Many of the pics include captions explaining the picture and what's being shown. 

This particular build includes some innovations you won't see in many other cabinets, and information to help you incorporate these innovations into your own designs.  I also address some of the common challenges in designing and building cabinets for large aquariums.

Wine Bars get improved wall bracket

I have been installing more Wine Bars in the past few weeks, and I'm happy to report that all of the installations are doing fine, and they look great!  I have made one design improvement, however: I added a 1/16" thick sheet of fine cork to the back of the wall bracket, where the bracket meets the wall.

This improvement is part of an ongoing pursuit of "heirloom quality" for all of Wine on Deck's products.  While I have seen plenty of wall-mounted products, from mirrors to wine racks to shelves, I haven't seen many products that combine good looks with long-lasting mounting systems.  I'm proud that the Wine Bar has achieved this difficult balance.  But there is always more room for improvement.  After all, heirloom quality might mean a product life of 150 years.  But it could also mean a product that lasts for 1,000 years, or more.  I strive for my creations to last as long as possible.