20gal long tank stand (with a place for the cat)

[strokinbyeu]

so my girlfriend moved into her apartment for vet school at OSU and she took her 20gal long tank with her but she needed a stand. i wanted to get her a stand that looked cool and little differnt but couldnt find one that i thought was good enuff. SO i figured i would build her one. (lol in not a carpnter im a metal fab kinda guy) so this is what i come up with.

 

[strokinbyeu]

started off with a cabint that hangs above a counter

 

[strokinbyeu]

i used shelf boards from lowes as a base and a top there r 20in wide and 48in long wich will give me around 8in around the tank to give the cat a place to sit and watch the fish



edit: i rounded the corners off to make it little more of what i was thinking in my head what the stand should look like

 

[strokinbyeu]

under the top board i braced it with a few peices of 1.5x .75 pine board to help suport it if some1 would happen to set on it or somthing fall on it

 

[strokinbyeu]

here is what it will look like i just have it set together

 

[strokinbyeu]

i moved the cabint forward 3in to help clear outlets and cable conection that will behind the stand so to help suport the top i put 2 2x4s in and used L-brackets to hold them in place

 

[strokinbyeu]

tonite i sanded every thing down and sprayed on a coat of wood sealer. tomoro im gona sand it again and put another coat on. after that drys and i sand it again ill start putting on the black paint. prob 2 lite coats and sand it down and then another 2. im hoping that the finish will be smoth and glossy i dont want to be able to see the grain of the wood alot because its two diff woods and not sure that will look good.

 

[JOMA]

looks cool

 

[BigJim]

Looks good. Just make sure to center the tank on the stand. You could possibly flip the stand if the tank is too close to one side.

 

[Etunes]

Looks nice, using the cabinets makes it quick and easy too.

 

[strokinbyeu]

yea the tank is gona be centered left to rite and about 2in from the back to allow cords and air hoses. yes the cabinet saved me alot of time and frustration bc im not a wood kinda guy(cant weld wood) the front is solid oak but the back is particle board so i put 2 2x4s in to suport the weight in the back. my only fear is if some1 sets on the front of the top board its going to break. its 4 peices glued together and plained down. i hope its dowl pinned. going to finish sanding the sealer tonite and hopfully get the 1st coat of paint on 2nite also

 

[Etunes]

BTW you title says "place for a cat" what do you mean. I saw no place for a cat.

 

[strokinbyeu]

well the tank is 30in long and 12in wide and the top is 48in long and 20in wide that will give the cat (margie) around 8 in of setting space to watch the fish and act like she is stalking them. lol its actuly around 9in an the sides.

 

[strokinbyeu]

got the 1st coat of black sprayed on tonite. looks good from about 5 foot. oh BTW, if u ever sand sealer make sure that you sand with the grain and dont leave scatches, lol u get closer than 5 foot and some sand scratches start standing out. so im going to sand on it tomoro and hopfully get most of them out and give it a 2nd coat.
im thinking about painting the raised part of the doors a dark grey to help break up the solid black. (the frame of the door will be grey and the resesed pannel will be black) what do you think?

 

[strokinbyeu]

note to self: dont treat pine boards with a sandable sealer if u intend on painting it. had to sand all the paint off the pine peices and take it down to bare wood. the paint just balled up and wouldnt stick to the pine. it looks great on the oak tho. got me some zinthers bit tintable primer and got the stand all primed tonite. guy at lowes(was very good with paint) said to wait 24 hours to dry complely bc its very humid around here the last few days. going to rub it down with steel wool and try and get a coat of black on it tomoro. ill get a pic after i make it black

 

[strokinbyeu]

ok so i steel wooled the primer down after work today and it looked great. i gave the stand the 1st coat of black (again) and it still looks good, had some dirt settle out in it so 2moro im gona have to paint with the shop doors shut. heres what it looked like after the 1st coat today

 

[Etunes]

wow, looks awesome. Cant wait to see the tank on it.

 

[JOMA]

nice stand

 

[strokinbyeu]

nice stand, can you help me?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/will-this-bookshelf-hold-a-5-gallon-tank-134544.html

man im not a carpenter at all. i could try and give you some pointers but dought it will help that much.

 

[kimsmarkin]

I compressed Lowes as a base and the top one, there r 20 inches wide and 48 inches long will give me about 8 inches around the tank to give the cat a place to sit and watch the fish.