Building my first Stand

[ozorowsky]

Well I wasn't confident with the strength/longevity of the stand I have now so I am building my own out of 2x4's and stainless steel screws. Then I am treating all the wood so it will be waterproof like people do for decks. I have most of the skeleton done, hoping to begin wrapping it by this weekend.

Update... Beginning skin today. Will post again after stained and sanded

 

[fouldsy]

Looks pretty solid. I like the door panels! What size tank is this going to be for, looks at least 6ft long?

 

[ozorowsky]

Looks pretty solid. I like the door panels! What size tank is this going to be for, looks at least 6ft long?

yes its 6 feet long and 125 gallons

 

[Buffy]

Nice stand. (I like the bike in the background )

 

[ozorowsky]

Looks pretty solid. I like the door panels! What size tank is this going to be for, looks at least 6ft long?

Thank you. I'm going to mount power strips up on those two center support beams tonight. As far as the bike lol it started raining had to squeeze my work inside.

I used mainly two by fours on this project, using stainless steel screws to avoid rust. Tonight I'm spraying the entire stand with a clear deck spray, then going to wrap plywood around it for a skin. Hoping to stain it by this weekend. More pics to follow

 

[ozorowsky]

Does anyone have any tips for mounting power strips?

I am going to be mounting my power strips to the upper part of my stand to keep the supply out of water in case there is ever a leak or flood or something.

Thank you.

 

[fouldsy]

Most power strips should come with a couple of mounting notches on their underside that you can use with a couple of small screws in to the 2x4. If it's a snug fit, should be able to hang upside down. Failing that, some thick zip ties attached to the 2x4 with some small carpet tacks or similar can they wrap around a power strip and hold if in place.

 

[ozorowsky]

Most power strips should come with a couple of mounting notches on their underside that you can use with a couple of small screws in to the 2x4. If it's a snug fit, should be able to hang upside down. Failing that, some thick zip ties attached to the 2x4 with some small carpet tacks or similar can they wrap around a power strip and hold if in place.

Yeah; I'm thinking this may be bes route as well. Only reason I was avoiding that thought is if I ever had to take the strip down to replace it or something and the tank was full, I wouldn't be able to fit new ties through.

Zip ties it is though I'll post more pics of my build up this weekend.

 

[fouldsy]

Well, you can also get reusable zip ties, they have like a little latch on them where the end pulls through. Little more expensive, but you can then easily unlock them, remove the power strip, and then zip tie it back up later.

 

[ozorowsky]

Here's the skin beginning

 

[ozorowsky]

Just an update; here's my right side finish and left side pre finish. I'll post more pics after I put the doors on and finish staining this puppy

 

[fouldsy]

Looking good I always hate seeing something I've spent hours building after the first coat of stain - amazing how much more finished it looks once the second coat goes on though!

 

[ozorowsky]

Looking good I always hate seeing something I've spent hours building after the first coat of stain - amazing how much more finished it looks once the second coat goes on though!

Going home to do 2nd coat tonight Fiance used 300 grit sandpaper and sanded er down, so hoping to see some real results tonight. Doors should go on tomorrow.

 

[fouldsy]

300 grit - breaking out the big guns ! But yeah, do that between the next couple of coats and it will be pretty smooth! I usually do like 150, 220, then 400 and seems to work well.

 

[ozorowsky]

Second coat is on. I'm debating if I'll do another. If I do a third coat, will I need to sand again?

 

[zparticle]

Very pretty, great job.

 

[fouldsy]

Yeah, I'd sand down with the 300 grit again, ideally 400, before putting on a third coat.

 

[ozorowsky]

Yeah, I'd sand down with the 300 grit again, ideally 400, before putting on a third coat.

Got it Sanding with 400 tomorrow

 

[ozorowsky]

***UPDATES***

Here is my stand with tank on it completed (minus one door for now)

Do you think I should get more live rock? What do you think of the rock layout that is in there?

 

[ozorowsky]

Forgot to hit upload on the pictures