Tank Hood/Stand Ideas

[Liquid_Pyro]

So I have been searching the forum for hours and constantly staring at my own tank, and have decided I need a show stand and hood for it. However I am stuck for inspiration so thats where you come in...

I am looking for pics of your own stands, or random pictures from the web, advice, ideas, things you would like to see or would have done differently on your own stands and or hoods.

Once I have my idea sketched out I would gladly post my pics along the way.

Just so you know I have a 48" x 12.5" x 21" high tank with two over hanging filters, I could switch to a canister filter if need be but didn't want to go to that expense if I didn't have too. Plus I dont really know the difference other than one hangs on the back while the other is under the tank.

What really got me going about doing this was seeing some of the blue LED tanks at night, I thought a tall hood would be perfect to have a couple LED hidden up there aimed down, spot lighting certain parts of the tank, with everything on timers so the night lights shut off when the day lights kick in...

I included a few pictures of tanks I have found so far for inspiration

[Liquid_Pyro]

Thanks....

[dadeon]

How much space have you got? Is it against a wall or freestanding. If you add the high lid you can incorporate some awesome lighting. I like the more clean stands like those on the RedSea tanks - they are very slick and seamless. Maybe you can use one of them for a stand?

[Liquid_Pyro]

That is still undecided really...as of right now though I am going to assume its going to be against the wall,

and yes I would like to do some cool lighting for sure, although I dont know what yet either, still kinda a noob, I like the idea of the blue LED's for the night though.

Some inspirational pictures would be great though, either of your tanks or others from web sites w/e!

[dadeon]

If you are thinking of something with wood, then maybe this will inspire:
Aqueon » Products » Modern Series Stands & Canopies

Have a look around - but I think these are complete kits and you can't just buy the furniture. Still, you can use it as an idea. Could look really cool.

[Liquid_Pyro]

Thanks

[gooyferret]

Heres some pictures of the DIY stand and canopy im building HTH
This I built in 1 day although i do alot of DIY projects i still have to paint and put the doors on.

[dadeon]

COOL - I like it. Did it really just take a day? Impressive. This will probably take me a month

How big is it and how much did it cost?

How much do you think someone will charge to make something similar?

[gooyferret]

It costed me around $200 or so and about 11 hours to complete. Its for a 125gallon tank 6' long! Where do you live at?

[Liquid_Pyro]

thats not bad at all, for something that looks better than most store bought stands that r more expensive

[gooyferret]

Store bought stands are very cheaply made. That is my cost in material is $200 that dont include someone building it for you.

[dadeon]

I agree. Looks way better than those bland ones you get at the stores. That's abig tank and I think it will be quite spectacular. Very good price, but it probably still needs to add filters, lights and the works - even after that it will be cheaper than even a 60 gallon kit (which is what I've got)

[gooyferret]

Well i have all the lights and everything mostly for the tank just need to get heaters and a few pumps...Once the stand is done its setup time just got the coat of primer on there last night

[Liquid_Pyro]

Thats awesome...I cant wait to get this thing going too!! Then I cant wait for my convicts to get bigger so I can have some babies to watch in the big tank!! its as good as TV

[Gomer4378]

It took me a whole weekend to build mine, but I only have about $80 into it.
I really didnt look around at plans first, the idea just popped into my head so I went and got the lumber and started building.
Mines a 120gal 6' long also.
I love the night lights also

[Liquid_Pyro]

what did you use for the night/moon lights? I was kinda looking at the LEDs as they act more like a spot light and can highlight certain parts of the tank, but not having seen any type of night lighting setup I wouldn't know which one I prefered...

[dadeon]

That's an amazing tank!!!

Just love the lights. Well done dude.

[nanpat]

here is a few pics of the stand that i built... took about a week to build . alot of work but very rewarding..hope they give you a few ideas... if you need more details of the construction check out my album....

[dadeon]

COOL! that looks really professional...and big.

Certainly has the wow factor.

I found these guys online custom aquarium gallery in Edmonton Alberta Canada - they build custom tanks mostly for public buildings like libraries and shopping malls. It's a great place to get some ideas. They build custom tanks for private clients, but they are based in Canada.

Worth a snoop to "steal" some ideas

[Liquid_Pyro]

Well I am from Canada...lol...but yes thank you very much for the link!

and I am not stealing per say, just looking for inspiration...