build your own stand/canopy?

[ditchdoctor81]

I've been looking around at new aquariums & stands & I started looking for home made stands. Has anyone made one for themselves or know someone that has? I found a couple of sites that have plans & stuff. My dad has a full shop behind their house & he can build pretty much anything, & I have some experience, but he would be helping.

I've found http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diystandscabinets/DIY_Cabinet_Stand_Plans.htm and http://www.garf.org/stand.html

I'm going to talk to my dad with it & see what he thinks. If I can save money by building my own stand/canopy I can get a little bit bigger aquarium & better equipment.

 

[tropicalfish]

about how big are you planning for the aquarium to be?

 

[ditchdoctor81]

around a 125...a 72x18x21 is 125 gallons & one of the plans I found is for a stand that holds a 72"x18" frame.

 

[redswi]

A stand could be as simple as a plywood cube or as complicated as a fine piece of furniture....IMO most plans I have seen online are a bit overbuilt the garf plan is nothing more than a well constructed workbench with a plywood skin...This is not a bad thing...I'm not taking a shot...This is a very strong stand, easy the beginner to build with even the most basic tools,and the open design allows plenty of storage...it is how you skin the frame that could make it a great stand...
For example ,you could use 1/2 furniture grade plywood for the skin(1/4" is light but just a little hollow...mitre all the outside corners,or use an outside corner molding....keep all plywood seams to a minimum....solid wood base molding along the bottom...solid wood trim around the top...doors could be 3/4 plywood with a molding on the edge, or try a custom cabinet shop for some raised panel doors(we usually sell our mistakes cheap LOL)...for a more comtempory look you could use all 3/4 plywood and cover the edges with veneer tape...the possibilities are endless.
Check out "I'm building a corian tank"in the diy forum the stand is a lot simpler than it appears

 

[ditchdoctor81]

i'll check it out

thanks

 

[Idealconcepts]

ditchdoctor81 – I made a stand for my 55gal (non-display tank) that was over sized because I would place a 20L or 40breeder under it, as well as replace the 55gal with a 70 or 90gal tank. It was a very simple stand I just used 2x4 and 3/4in plywood, painted it black, and didn’t put doors, just called it done. Has worked well so far and don’t see any problems. I’m currently building a stand for a 180gal that will be 2x4 structure and will be covered by ¼ or ½ in ply wood and I am going to attempt to build a canopy as well. The stand and canopy will be more finished than the first stand I made, it will have doors and look more like a piece of furniture. I don’t have a wood working background but its not too difficult to do, so for your dad is should be a piece of cake. Check out the DIY sections at Monsterfishkeepers and Waterwloves. They have tons of DIY stands with plans and pictures. I basically look at a bunch and came up with my own incorporating what I saw. One thing you want to make sure is you are not supporting the weight of the tank with screws. You want the wood to support the tank all you want the screws and glue to do is hold things together, this is explained in a lot of the post in the DIY sections of the other forums. I’ll try to get a pic of my stand I’m currently building.

 

[fvalbr2l]

anyone ever used this site for plans DIY Aquarium Stand Plans - Woodworking Plans for Aquarium Stands