Turn Your Old CRT Computer Monitor Into A Fish Tank ! ! !
introTurn Your Old CRT Computer Monitor Into A Fish Tank ! ! !
Talk about a great screen saver! I've been wanting to do this build for
a while now. Just about every time I see and old CRT computer monitor by
the side of the road on trash day I think to myself ...that would sure
make a cool looking fish tank. So here is my first attempt at turning
and old computer monitor into a fish tank.

step 1Gather your materials.
Materials An old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) computer monitor Plexiglas (I use 1/8 inch) Two part epoxy Clear bathroom/kitchen grade silicone caulk Paint for the background of t…

step 2Removing the CRT
I began by removing the old speakers attached to the side of the monitor by unscrewing two bolts on each side. I then promptly plugged then into my ipod. They worked great …

step 3Keeping the curve.
WARNING - the Cathode Ray Tube is in vacuum. Breaking the tube can be VERY DANGEROUS. If you are to attempt this please be sure to wear proper safety gear (eye protection/f…

step 4Plexiglas is your friend.
Okay, so I decided to use the front of the glass CRT as the front of the fish tank and make the rest out of Plexiglas. Begin by measuring, measuring, and some more measurin…

step 5Painting a background.
I did not want to look at the dull gray plastic of the inside of a computer monitor, so the next step I did was to paint on the OUTSIDE of the Plexi fish tank. I began by t…

step 6Access panel.
To make the access panel I used a rotary tool with cutting bit and carefully cut along the top edge of the top of the tank. This allowed it to be secured by slipping the, a…

step 7Attaching plastic to glass.
After many test fits, I went ahead and mixed up a batch of two part multipurpose epoxy, spread it on the front edges of the plastic tank, as well as on the glass front, and…

I felt it wise at this point to test fill the tank. Good thing too because it leaked! So now what? Well I first tried hot glue.... It still leaked. Then, after searching my…

For lighting I picked up a small fluorescent bulb that fits into a regular light bulb socket. Also, after searching the basement I found an old heat lamp that I could use f…

Begin by returning the tank to the monitor housing and securing it with the screws you originally removed. Next make sure your lighting and air lines are in place. At this…

Fill your new tank up with water, add gravel, rocks, fish, etc., plug in and enjoy.Extension ideas: Make a clear plastic hood to keep any water from splashing up…
| Thanks I'm building a similar one off of your instructions. The only
creative difference I'm doing is modding the old mouse into the bubbler.
|
| Not to worry folks most newer CRT type monitors have capacitors that
contain discharge resisters or on board discharge. Be careful with the
CRT it in itself can contain residual high voltage. To discharge that
get a set of gator clips from radio shack or make your own discharge rod
with wire gator clips and a really long piece of wire .. Use a flat head
screwdriver preferably a long one and with a good handle. ground the
one end and clip the other to the screwdriver push it under the anode
cap and POP discharged that simple ;]
CRT's can implode thats the only danger i would be worried about
nothing like getting a shard of thick glass flung at you
|
| this is a great hack. I have 5 or 6 CRT's I wasn't sure what to do with.
I have gutted a few for the fly back, but i think I'll do this with at
least a couple.
as for the fools that think that there is radiation or other dangerous
things in there, most of you are wrong. yes there is phosphorous, and a
dangerous (sort of) vacuum. to crush the nipple at the connector is the
safest way to take care of the vacuum, and as for the phosphorous, don't
breath it and you should be fine.
As for the radiation... seriously people. only way you get radiation
from this is if you have it on, if you are doing this, you have no
business being on any DIY site. there is no residual, radiation left
when unit is off. not even inside.
the biggest risk is the capacitors used to charge the deflection
screens inside the tube. those can be extremely painful, and rarely
leathal. just ask a cat I used to have... (long story, jut keep the cats
tail out of things when you have this apart...)
Just use a mask and beware of charged components. Even after months of
no use.
|
| May 30, 2009. 4:03 AMzyxen
says:
Next step: Make Fish Tank from LCD monitor
|
| Sep 12, 2009. 10:00 AMDerin
says:
little girl:look how the fishy is roomy
fish:aghhhhhh let me out of this flat fishtank i cant move in 3d
|
| that would be pretty much possible if you use neon fish!
|
| Lets be honest... This is an extreme waste of time, money and effort. If
you take the amount of money spent + put a price of time it took to
create it... you could have bought a very nice aquarium.
If one still feels compelled to build something like this I would
suggest NOT
to use the CRT and building the tank directly inside the monitor shell
with plexiglass. So that your not risking injury breaking the CRT
cleanup and so forth.
But most importantly is to consider that most fish are very sensitive to
chemical contamination: WD40, Glass Cleaners etc... not to mention the
phosphor and gases + God-knows-what-else. Unless you want to have a
tankfull of goldfish and black mollies... go right ahead. Marine fish
would not survive in such conditions.
|
| Nice instructable. After all that work, SHARP EDGES, HAMMER-TIME and
failed tests, Packard the fish is finally happy and has a house with his
name on it!
|
| Great idea but...
How do you feed
the fish???
|
| A)use a rotary tool or Dremel and make a hole for food and water, and of
course the fish.
B) Many crt's have little holes used as air vents. Food may fit in there.
|
| can i have the speakers that were stuck to the side of the monitor?!
|
| i got a gold fish for 10 cents each.
|
| i went to a rummage sale and they had broken (stuck pixels, etc) CRTs
for F R E E!!!
|
| this would be awsome if the power button controlled the light
|
| just wire the switch mechanism in the button to the light, going around
the tank with the wire.
|
| I've been trying to do the same thing, only with my old 14" tv
since it doesn't work anymore because of the change to digital =P
But I had a little too much fun with my hammer, and when I turned the
crt over, the bottom of the front of the screen was cracked T_T
Now my parents are telling me to take it to this place where you dispose
of things like crts, and I'm hoping someone else brought their tv that I
can use... or if I'm lucky, a tv that's the same size as mine so I can
replace the crt! I want to use my tv's plastic, just because it's been
in my room for years and I want to see the look on people's faces when
they realize it now has fish in it >=D
So yeah, wish me luck!
|
| I've also cracked the front or my screen when smashing it
|
| that poor fish. its probably dead by now from being exposed to all of
the poisionus things inside a crt.
|
| Nope, still going strong :)
|
| Jul 13, 2009. 6:38 AM3r4ndo
says:
Hello there, I hope your fish made it a long after this comment!!
AVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS:
After using wd-40 you have to clean it up even better than you would do
if u were going to drink water from this tank remember,your fish is
going to live in there.
mcanderson76 by now you should know that you cannot use glass with
plexi because you cannot glue it together. Silicone would hold really
strong on glass but cannot glue plastic(plexi), as far as i know there
is no way to combine these two materials.
If you want to use glass try finding silicone suitable for aquariums,
it will make no difference but its not toxic and will not harm your
fish.
if you want to use plexi you can just take the curved glass with u and
ask for a plexi with the same curve, they will make it for u just for
few bucks.
I realy love this idea, hope you dont take this comment wrong.
I believe i know a few things about fish keeping and i have done many
mistakes, there is no need for other people to go through them again.
Thank you for sharing this, it will be one of my next projects!!
Best regards, Alexander.
|
| you know, that suction cup on the side can be removed thus releasing the
vacuum
|
| This is not only untrue, it is VERY DANGEROUS!!! READ BELOW!!!
Once you remove the HV anode cup, YOU MUST GROUND THE METAL IN THAT HOLE
TO RELEASE THE STORED ENERGY!!! Failure to do so could end up in a trip
to the hospital or the morgue. That tube acts like a giant capacitor -
you *must* release the energy to be safe!!!
Take a good length of 12 gauge wire, wrap one stripped end around some
conduit or bend a little back to form a ground pin and plug it into the
ground socket in an outlet, and take the other stripped end and touch
the metal in the hole where you disconnected the HV anode. Hold it there
for a minute. While the energy release should be instantaneous, what's a
minute of time?
Once the minute has passed, you can remove the wire. Take a scratch awl
and place it on that metal in the anode hole. Take a small hammer and
give it a couple of light taps. This will breach the anode and allow air
into the tube. Just smashing a vaccuum tube of this size can be like
pulling the pin on a grenade and dropping at your feet - BAD!
Once you can no longer hear air rushing into the tube, you should be
safe to dispose of the tube.
Be safe - and as always - let common sense rule!!!!!
|
| After the first few words in caps, i just remembered, Yes you need to
ground it.
I would never do it either way, I have no reason why, And i don't want
to risk: Getting Electrocuted to death/Getting Intoxicated with
Chemicals inside the tube/Getting a glass implosion-which results in an
explosion .
|
| I saw this article this morning whilst doing my daily nerdy reading. My
Dad used to work part time in a TV shop, and this is the procedure used
to safely drain away the charge and then dispose of the tube.
We don't want anyone hurt, and if a scrap of knowledge I possess can
help - I post it! Gladly...
If you follow the directions I posted and again - let common sense
prevail - you can quite easily and safely drain the built up charge in
the tube and then dispose of the CRT in an environmentally sound way
(forgot that part above).
|
| very well done i started today getting the monitor apart just have to go
out and get the plexi glass and caulking. I figured this would be a
great end table feeder tank for my 5 piranha. Thanks for the walk
through : )
|
| Jun 21, 2009. 12:29 PMla-main
says:
keep the flybackdriver they are usefull
|
| Warning: TV's and Computer CRTs have some big capacitors in them. Those
things can hold a charge for a long time. They also have enough power to
injure you if you bridge the contacts with your flesh. The label on the
back on one of mine says it can cause death. So be careful when
scavenging them for parts.
|
| How do you safely ensure that these potentially deadly capacitors are
discharged before working with the things insides?
|
| Agreed, I've heard some pretty awful stories about people accidentally
discharging those capacitors. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL when disassembling
CRTs and TVs... sometimes things aren't very well labeled on the inside.
|
| WARNING!
That "dust" is LEAD! POISONOUS! DEADLY! that is whay CTRs
are heavy!!!!
|
| Jun 1, 2009. 9:53 AMfox64
says:
Its actually phosphor, and that's not why it's heavy.
|
| and the crt isnt in vacuum! i was about to open mine when i found out it
had a pressurised gas in it, which would explode with glass
everywhere!!! :S
|
| laugh out loud, Its the opposite of pressurized gas
|
| Jun 1, 2009. 9:59 AMfox64
says:
Its not pressurized, TV's are vacuum sealed. Most of the controversy
comes from the sound the TV makes when it's depressurized. Many mistake
that sound for gas escaping, when really its air going in. As far as
exploding goes, it may shatter due to explosive decompression. However,
this is usually a rare case and usually is not harmful.
|
| No, the dust is phosphorous. When electrons from the gun at the back of
the tube hit the phosphorous, it glows - that's where pixels come from -
same as fluorescent lights.
CRTs are heavy, because the glass tube has to be thick enough to cope
with vacuum inside, and because of the electric components that generate
high voltages.
Yes, you're probably joking, but still...
|
| The phosphorous is on the front of the screen, the lead is embeded in
the glass on the around the back of the screen!
|
| THe Glass has Lead in it to stop you from being exposed to the radation
formed by the Electrons.
|
| Leaded glass? Leaded glass is also found in clear 'stained glass'
settings. I can't imagine any setting where the lead could escape the
glass itself to create anything like 'dust'.
|
| true lets talk ,bout lead
lead is found in TRACE amounts in prop 65 fabled glass ware. prop 65 example;
Warning
Chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer or birth
defects or other reproductive harm may be present in this product.
lead is crt,s but it is only toxic if put in a river or a land fill! so
they should be thorn out properly.
|
| you do realize that crts produce radioactivity that is contained inside
by the lead so by opening the tube you have effectivly iradiated
yourself please report to the nearist hospitable and get checked for
cellular decay
|
| true on 2 points crt,s MAY emit X-rays.
and lead is used to stop them. HOwever you can't get x-rays free by
opening a tv!
|
| Jun 1, 2009. 9:51 AMfox64
says:
The screens on TVs and monitors are covered in phosphor. : - O
If you get any spare, random UV photons or electrons hitting the
phosphor, you have a fat X-ray problem on your hands. A flash bulb, or
any full spectrum bulb, can energize any remaining phosphor to the point
of exhibiting normal x-ray radiation. You may have just aged your vital
organs by a few years.
Since you lit the tank with a florescent bulb, you should be ok since
most bulbs filter out the UV (You may want to check) , but you did take
pictures of the screen and work with it under direct lighting... Next
time I recommend the trash bag-vacuum cleaner method.
|
| you mean hosttpatal? you put something like host a table !
|