Fixing my homemade wood stand?

[underwater]

I have an extra tall stand that a guy built out of wood for my 125g. I would like suggestions on improving it.

Right now the front is one huge piece of wood, then the sides are big pieces of wood. Nicer than plywood but kind of bothersome.

I like the height a lot, but wish I had cabinets and wish it looked nicer. Sort of considering spending the time and money to get a different typical (used) stand, but it is a lot of hassle, and I shouldn't spend the money.

Anyway, are there other good options besides paint/stain/varnish? I am thinking that black would be nice. I would love if I could remove these pieces of wood and put some kind of black lacquered looking stuff. But I can't afford that anyway. Seems tacky to just nail some water resistant fabric up there... could work though?

Also, the stand is holding my tank uneven. What do I put underneath to level it out? I think I would have to just guess and put it underneath the stand (above the carpet).

Thanks.

[joy13]

A tank that size that isn't level could cause some twisting and either break your tank or cause it to leak. I wouldn't even know how to begin to fix that problem with a tank that big.

You might be able to get some trim and dress the stand up a little bit, depending on the grade of wood used staining and then a few coats of clear varnish would be my choice. If the wood isn't a higher grade then paint it.

[AMDPhenomX4]

What color is the tank trim? You dont want to end up with a black stand and a red trim. IMO you cant go wrong with cherry.

[underwater]

About the level problem -- I read online that if it's less than about 1/4 inch then don't worry about it. Even more. The guy said that trying to level it was difficult and for a big tank it was less necessary. But I will maybe put at least one little thin piece of wood to help even things out.

I plan to go shop for paint/stain/varnish stuff today and hopefully get it painted tomorrow. The three pieces of wood (which is everything you can see unless you peek around the back) unscrew. If I could find some kind of inexpensive thin board to put instead of the wood that would be cool, but I think painting will be nice.

I love dark cherry color and am going to aim for that. The trim of the tank is the typical basic black plastic. I think that if I made the stand black it would be overkill on the black especially if I put a black bkg and/or sand. And black seems strange for wood. So I am thinking just a dark brown/mahogany or more towards cherry preferrably.

I wish the one panel of wood wasn't bend a little -- but there is probably not a lot to do about that... will see about maybe screwing it in differently. The panel being a piece that does not actually support weight, it's just to cover up the stand.

If I remember, I will take before and after pics.

[underwater]

Success! A few days ago I stained/coated the stand, and it looks much better. It looks like it was expensive or at least normal cost. Before it was okay, but looked like it was homemade. Before it was a 7.1 out of 10, now I rate it 9.1 out of 10 for appearance.

[thincat]

Great, glad you could make it happen.

[WhiteDevil]

I used "wobble stoppers" basicaly a small hard plastic shim, however I am on ceramic flooring not carpet. but to repair the stand the tank has to come down, you remove piece of the stand under the weight of a full tank and the stand will collapse and have a HUGE mess.

If you can get the tank off thats the best way to level on carpet, if not drain out alot of water and put a level on top, whichever side the bubble is on shim the opposite side.