Oliver Knott / Naturaquarien

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Jbzq5wS3g&feature=related

Tips and tricks for handling plants in the aquarium, Tropica Aquarium Plants

How to handle the plants when planting them into the tank. Produced by Tropica Aquarium Plants in collaboration with aquadesigner Oliver Knott.

Find out more on...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44cDbR2YvK4

PLANT CARE

Live aquarium plants are a worthwhile addition to the fish tank. In a well planted tank, the fish have better colors, live a more natural life, and appear more comfortable than in an unplanted tank. Though they need more care than plastic replicas, live plants can be kept with few problems as long as there is plenty of light and no plant-eating or plant-destroying fish. 

Find out more on.....http://fish.mongabay.com/plant_care.htm

MAKING YOUR OWN ACRYLIC AQUARIUM

Making your own tank out of acrylic is a rewarding, cost saving, do-it-yourself project. It requires only a few essential tools and a good plastic supplier, the rest is up to you & your budget!
Step one is deciding what size tank to build, this will determine the thickness of acrylic sheet required. The height of the tank, not the gallons, determines the thickness required. You can have a huge shallow tank for a lot less money than a taller, smaller tank, something to consider if money is an issue. Expect to pay $60-70 for a 4ftx8ft sheet of 1/4" acrylic, $110-130 for 3/8" sheet, $150-180 for 1/2" sheet. You can see that the price goes up quickly as the acrylic gets thicker.
Since you're on an African Cichlid site, you'll be happy to know that most African Cichlids do just fine in tanks 24" deep or shallower. Anything over 2 feet tall requires acrylic thicker than 1/2", and we won't go into building tanks taller than 24".
Tanks up to 13" tall can be assembled with 1/4" acrylic, from 13"-19" w/ 3/8" acrylic, and tanks over 19" up to 24" require 1/2" acrylic. 

Find out more on....   http://www.duboisi.com/diy/BNdiytank/bndiytank.htm

DIY Aquarium Lighting Canopy

Making a DIY Lighting Canopy (For the beginner)
This How-To details a simple way to make a new lighting canopy for any rectangular fish tank. It is designed with simplicity in mind and easy enough for almost anyone with basic DIY skills to make.

Tools: Hand Saw Hammer Screwdriver Tape Measure Pencil Set Square Electric drill Selection of drill bits Fine sanding sheets Find out more on...http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/sept07/diyaquariumlightcanopy.htm

Materials: 9mm Plywood 25mm x 25mm soft wood batten Piano Hinge Wood Glue 25mm countersunk self-tapping screws 15mm Panel Pins White Undercoat White Gloss paint Varnish 10mm wooden edging trim (If you want to trim the edges!) Lighting unit(s)

Building your own tank

Big tanks

This is a different story. There can be really big money to save here. I paid less for my 2200 litres (581G) tank than I would have to pay for a 900 (238G) litres tank in the shop. Where I live you don't get a quantity discount on litres of water. In fact the cost per litre increases with tank size. This is because big tanks are often custom designs where you hire handcrafters to build, modify or install the tank for you. That just makes the price explode. The market is also totally different. Generally the people who buy large tanks are in a very good situation economically. Price is not a problem. In fact many of them like the fact that it is very expensive, because it makes their systems exclusive. If you build on your own you do get a volume discount. You don't have to hire expensive labour and you can use better and much cheaper materials. 

Find out more on...http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/eng_diy/2200litre/2200litres.html

DIY stand & canopy 220gal tank

I did the main frame with 2x4's used 14 total. main frame was glued and screwed together. some people have asked ,well how do you level your frame in a garage as they all drain towards the road. its quite easy. level your floor. and if every cut on your stand is right on and all is square then when you go to level your stand it should be off just as much as your floor. so when it is time to move it into your house it will be right on. perfectly level.

i did put in a floor and a top, just for myself, it is not needed but if you plan to use a sump i would at least install a floor, i did the deck as well just in case i decided to go with a acrylic tank in the future it was already there. (these two pieces of ply are NOT glued down. in case of water damage) i can remove and replace with ease. also don't forget to decide on what filtration you are going to use as you will want to be able to get it in your stand . so sections of the stand may have to be off from front to back. as mine are wider in the front then they are on the back. allowing for the doors to open wider for a sump.

 http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92507