Has anyone out there made a counter around a fish tank? I have a 135 gallon fish tank. I want to take a 2 ft counter on each side of tank, and make it so that you can sit at tank on either side, and eat and enjoy the fish. How would you accomplish this though? Any writeups? I have a nice stand that came with the tank. I assume the backside will have some kind of access cabinets. Thoughts?
Counter top?
- Thread starter ozorowsky
- Start date
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jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
Seen one in a resturant in LA ... Very simple ... you have your tank & cabinet in the middle (it was a drilled tank so all plumbling goes directly down), then you just put counters around the tank. Far as I can tell, the counters are self supporting & not attached to the tank cabinet (has legs on all 4 corners), then you sit on bar stools & eat your lunch while watching the fishies.
55gallons
Aquarium Advice Regular
You could build it the same way as making a L shaped counter for your kitchen .. use the same hardware for it - to attacht the pcs and buy 4 - sheets of laminate for the top ( counter material ) - particle board i think comes in 49x 60 sheets so your lookin at 4 sheets of that to be safe.. . You could make it this counter in 4 sectons with the hardware but apply the laminate to the particle board before assembly incase you ever move you can disemble it in a jiffy .
if you have access to a lathe get some nice legs made up- You might have to build a sub frame free standing around the base to suport any weight if you say have to get into the tank and or need to put alot of good on the table for guests etc . if you have ability you might want to get a electrical (gfi) put in the location where your tank is going (under neath where you can access it under the stand ) So you don't have plugs running on the floor across the room to the outlet . ETC .
As for design get a note pad out and draw measure- remember the wood workers rule of thumb !! measure twice or 3 times cut once ! DON'T FORGET pics !! dyi pics from start to finish - you'll be the envy of the block when the word gets out your doing this table tank setup.
if you have access to a lathe get some nice legs made up- You might have to build a sub frame free standing around the base to suport any weight if you say have to get into the tank and or need to put alot of good on the table for guests etc . if you have ability you might want to get a electrical (gfi) put in the location where your tank is going (under neath where you can access it under the stand ) So you don't have plugs running on the floor across the room to the outlet . ETC .
As for design get a note pad out and draw measure- remember the wood workers rule of thumb !! measure twice or 3 times cut once ! DON'T FORGET pics !! dyi pics from start to finish - you'll be the envy of the block when the word gets out your doing this table tank setup.
mr funktastic
Aquarium Advice Addict
u can use plywood(nice stuff like oak or maple venier) then do 3 or 4 coats of varnish. use the diamond finish. really nice stuff and will have a clean shiny waterproof top. u can also stain the ply to any colour u desire or paint it. ply comes in many different appearance so it should be easy to fine one u like. i suggest getting something nicer for the legs though. H sells spindle legs that u could buy and cut to the proper height. make sure u get trim for the ply though casue if u dont all the edges will look like crap. i am also only suggesting plywood since it is cheaper. if u have the money for solid wood go for it.
Sicklid
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would not use plywood with a clearcoat, I would use one of the many choices available for countertops that exist today, like formica, granite, corian, concrete, etc... They are plenty waterproof as-is. Evaporation? Always present when there is an aquarium, but it usually evaporates ummm, upwards? So, unless your countertop is above the lip of the tank, why would this be a problem? I would go with a steel/iron tank stand, with the support for the countertop welded in as part of the frame of the stand, then you could just sit the countertop on that, and have it appear as if it "floats" with no legs. You could shroud the bottom with anything you want at that point: aluminum, wood, whatever...
