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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Custom fish tank stand


justin43

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I’m getting back into saltwater tanks. I’m currently in a rental property and there is 0 good spots to put a tank and for a small tank all the stands are too big- so I decided to start making my own.

 

it’s a work in progress but the box is built as of 1/21/23. I’ll update with photos as I keep working.


 

 

Joinery-cabinet box is glued and screwed together with dado joints. I used TITEBOND 3 as it’s waterproof.

 

photo#1 I Used leftover melamine for the box material using the joinery above. Overall size is 12” wide x 25-21/4” deep x 36” tall (ground to top of granite).

 

photo#2 I put a screw on the side to hold a net for quick access and so it can air dry. 


photo#3 I made a 3” deep open section in the back of the cabinet so the cords can be hidden and a surge protector can be mounted in there. I wanted to run this section up the entire height of the fish tank to fully hide the cords- I could do this I just worry it’ll be in the way when working on the back of the tank. I just like the idea of hiding the cords.
 

photo#4&6&7&8 I made this a 4” high toe kick so that we can mount the nailer boards. The nailer board is 1-1/2” thick hardwood laminated together for strength. The nailer board was fully assembled so all i had to do is screw the nailer board to your floor, set the stand over the nailer boards and then screw from the side of the cabinet to the nailer board. (I am going to add a base moulding to cover up the nail holes)
 

Photo#5 I did adjustable shelving holes so the single shelf can be moved as needed. (I think 1 shelf is fine but I’m wondering if 2 is helpful or not?)

 

photo#9&10 I used DAP Kwik seal Ultra to secure the granite top. Follow the outside& inside perimeter where the cabinet intersects with the granite. NOTE: I made the upper stretcher boards large- 6” deep each. This was to help support the granite top even more. (Stretcher boards are marked with an X in photo ten.

 

 

still needs a lot of work - need to make a door, make the base moulding trim and fine tune the electrical layout.

 

what other things can I do better?

 

(the Carpet is being ripped out lol)

 

 

 

 

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Nice project!!

 

Between the weight of granite top and the tank itself, do you think the base is a bit narrow?  Seems like it could be top-heavy or tippy.  Hard to be sure from pics tho – how does it seem in person?  (edit:  is this part of the reason for the "nailer board"?)

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Good question/concern - since I am securing the base to the floor with floor anchors it’s feeling very stable so far haha (photo 8). Time will tell one I work on this weekend

 

Entire cabinet is made with all 3/4 thick material too which helps and I used with 6” nailers and stretcher 

 

 

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