40b stand build

[jetajockey]

So I had some display shelving that came out of a closed down LFS sitting in the garage for a while. It was not in the best shape, as it had been used for SW displays for a few decades, so it just sat there along a wall. However I did end up breaking it down and salvaging some of the wood, and with it I thought it'd be a great idea to make a stand for one of my 40b's out of reclaimed wood. I figure that the wood would like to be around fish once again, so why not?

I've never built a stand before on my own, so there was a lot of trial and error. This one is built entirely from reclaimed wood pieces, the only thing new on the stand is the screws and the stain. It's not beautiful and has plenty of rough edges, but I like it so far. Not done yet, but still working on it. I'll upload pics of the wood that I started with, but here it is after I got most of it put together.

Here's another photo after I got some more of the wood in place and the doors on. At this point it's just for looks, although the vertical pieces do help support the tank. It's kinda tall, around 3ft, but the vertical boards were already this length so I figured I'd just roll with it than have to make more cuts (which I am terrible at btw).

I'm currently in the process of staining the stand, I had to remove the doors and knock some of the paint off to get them to stain well. That's my current project, but I hope to be done with it in the next couple of days.

Will update soon, stay tuned!

 

[butterfly_koi]

Yay! Finally some pictures! It looks really good Jeta! I'll be following

 

[Mrc8858]

You have how many tanks and you've never built a stand on your own jeta lol? looking good though, its always nice being able to re use scrap wood.

 

[Saratj1]

Looks good, I'm about to stain my DIY stand also. I'm going to go with a light colored stain to match some of my other furniture, but I like the dark stain, I about said forget matching and just make it the color I like but, I don't know. I'm torn.

 

[jetajockey]

Mrc: Most of my tanks have been prefab, I was in the process of building one with my dad a few years ago but he passed suddenly. I eventually finished it on my own. It already had the internal structure in place, so I just put the sides and back on it. In time, the sides and back seemed to get mostly in the way, so I removed them, but here's a photo of what it looked like when I completed it.

Update on the stand. The doors are still drying, they were a pain because I don't have any sanding implements besides a bench wire wheel, I built a canopy with a lid, and it seems to have turned out pretty well, it'll be the next stain project. My EBJD is getting settled in well, and I'll update with some pics of him sometime soon. My next project is going to be a crazy shaped flatback hex (~60x9x14) that is bottom drilled. I'm going to attempt a concrete block stand for that one, so we'll see how it pans out.

 

[jetajockey]

Finally found the camera, fish pics coming soon. The tank is bare with the exception of a thin layer of black sand. My ebjd is really shy and perfectly content to hide in decor all day so I'm undecided as to what, if anything, to give him.

 

[jetajockey]

Photos as promised. Couldn't get any of the female, she's not too happy. I may move her out if she doesn't stop hiding.

 

[absolutangel04]

Looks awesome! I love that guy. Hopefully his lady comes around.

 

[oscarchic11]

looks great jeta! and beautiful fish! i wish i could start working on my stand already, instead of this cardboard. urs looks great! wish i had 1 for my 40b...

 

[jmarceth5]

How much money did spend on materials . How big ia it . What r the dimensions .

 

[jetajockey]

I didn't spend anything really apart from a few bucks for a new saw blade and a carpenters square. All of the wood came from an old lfs display shelf and the canopy light is an antique t8 fixture I had laying around. It's about 37" x 19" and the stand without the tank is 36.5" . Total stand height with canopy is 54".


I'll update later with another pic, I stained the canopy today.

I'll post soon with another build that involves a really long flatback hex and some cinder blocks.

 

[jetajockey]

Latest pic

 

[oscarchic11]

It looks great!!! Looks like u paid big bucks for it lol. Good job!!

 

[jmarceth5]

Aawesome