selch Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 I've been planning on building myself a real tank stand for a while now and have finally put together some preliminary drawings. I'd like to hear people's opinions on this design, especially if you can point out major problems with it. The idea, like most stands I guess, is to make room for and put all of my gear in one box. This should also make it possible to swap out for larger tanks, assuming they'll fit on the top surface. (Currently running a 12g and looking to go to the Oceanic 30g cube one of these days.) So here goes: This is the front with the doors and drawers closed. The two largest areas on the front would be doors, while the others are drawers and a panel to hide switches. This image shows the doors, drawers and panels removed. All of my filtering gear (Fluval & Sump/Fuge), chiller/heater combo and skimmer should fit nicely. The right side will hold a custom built top off tank and its pump. The top area that has all the colored boxes would be a recessed area hidden behind a panel that will hinge down. This area would contain my digital thermometer readout, timers, switches to be able to turn off any piece of equipment and either 2 or 4 outlets for those times when you need to plug in your egg beater for some quick aeration. And above that panel would be a pull out breadboard for extra surface area for doing maintenance on the tank. Here's the foot print of the two main areas of the stand. Its pretty obvious where things will go. The dark gray areas are grommets, or holes, from the top surface, to pass various power cords and hoses down below. The red power center boxes are where I envision wiring all my outlets in a unified box(es) that's tied to the front switches and timers. I believe I'll also have room to spare to wire in a UPS for those times when I need to run a powerhead and heater when the power goes out. The entire stand will be on wheels and power will come from a single outlet. So on my hardwood floors, I could conceivably move my tank anywhere by just unplugging one cord. The interior will be built out of melamine (plywood with a plastic surface - like they use in cabinetry) to help with water spillage. The top surface will also be made of a similar material (probably plywood that I'll laminate myself to suit the decor) with a lip on the edges, also to help with water. Oh, and the skimmer will be a AquaC Urchin that will sit in the custom sump/fuge to save space. Each side of the stand will have a 4" computer fan built into it to help with temps and the back of the stand will be either vented, open or a combo of both, maybe with a fan or two as well. I think that's everything. I've already began purchasing supplies and construction is scheduled to begin this fall. Estimated cost: More than I'm willing to tell my wife. Thoughts? Link to comment
Rmcm2424 Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Pictures aren't working for me...don't know about anyone else. Link to comment
selch Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 For some reason pics off of my web server don't always come through on the site. Check my gallery, they're in there as well. Link to comment
Xytrix01 Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 wow. hope you have some good woodworking equiptment. Looks like a chalange to build, and I wish you the best of luck. Just be sure that the casters you get are ready to hold all that weight. aka don't use the plastic chair rollers from the hardware store, get some real casters for that bad boy! Edit: if you plan to put a 30 on there some day, you may want to include some 2x4 supports in there somewheres. Water and rock are heavy, and melomaine(sp?) is just laminated particle board. Better safe than sorry with you tank if you know what I mean! Link to comment
Blind Tree Frog Posted June 13, 2005 Share Posted June 13, 2005 I've learned that 3/4 inch Birch Plywood will hold a 30gallon cube fine. Link to comment
selch Posted June 13, 2005 Author Share Posted June 13, 2005 Yeah, I've thought about the weight too. I'll definately be using some heavy duty casters. I didn't however think about a 2x4 frame and I think you're right - I'll have too. I'm used to building furniture (dressers and such) and those frames are usually pretty light weight. I'll have to work something beefier into the design. Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Well gang, its been a very long and busy summer but I managed to get the ball rolling on this project. I'd say I'm about 80% done. The other 20% being the plumbing, doors and some trim work on the stand. I put in three timers and 9 switches. All the outlets in back are controlled independently by the switches. The idea on high number of switches was to be able to turn off any piece of equipment at any time without ever having to go behind or under the stand. There's some plexy in front of the outlets on the one side and soon to be on the other as well to protect from splashes. The sump is a little 11.5g with my Urchin skimmer in it. The sumps not quite done yet. I've also managed to fit my chiller, UPS, and not pictured fluval in there as well. The right side will have a drawer for whatever (you can see its frame in the pics). And the 4 fans (also switch controlled) run off of a Micro ATX computer power supply that you can see in the pic of the back. The colored fan wires will be clipped to the under side of the top. I'll be putting my 12g on here for now. Sometime this winter I plan on having a custom ~40g made to take its place. Thoughts? Link to comment
shao-lin nano Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Very well planned! Looks so professional. Link to comment
gbhil Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 wow. Damn good job on that man. Fine furniture look and very functional as well. Link to comment
NEVER SATISFIED REFFER Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 man too sweet...i've been wanting to do something similar , but didnt think up anything as nice. I was thinking of putting everything inside of somekind of metal box or something, which I could never find. I love those digital timers, but they wanted 35 a piece for them at home depot. Link to comment
Wetline Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 So ah.... How much power will that thing take with most everything running at once? The design and craftsmanship is awesome! Was just curious if it was going to take like a special outlet (like a clothes dryer) for the amps or am I just being paranoid? Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Originally posted by Wetline So ah.... How much power will that thing take with most everything running at once? The design and craftsmanship is awesome! Was just curious if it was going to take like a special outlet (like a clothes dryer) for the amps or am I just being paranoid? I'm not quite sure of the total electrical load but I do know that I'm running all the same equipment now on my tank through one 110v outlet without issue. I do have two cords coming off the tank to power the outlets on either side. That way I can plug each side into separate outlets/circuits if neccessary. I think the only thing I may change is to add a GFI outlet either in the stand or on the wall where it plugs in for safety. Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Originally posted by NEVER SATISFIED REFFER man too sweet...i've been wanting to do something similar , but didnt think up anything as nice. I was thinking of putting everything inside of somekind of metal box or something, which I could never find. I love those digital timers, but they wanted 35 a piece for them at home depot. Yeah, the timers were a bit spendy. I'd say I have a few hundred dollars in this stand - easily. Link to comment
proraptor Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Wow nice stand! Im actually building a stand this weekend...I bought the oak plywood so it should look pretty nice...Im still trying to figure out if Im going to stain it or not...What are you going to do? Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm either going to just put poly on it and keep it the same color it is now or use a dark stain. I'm leaning towards just the poly. I haven't decided yet. Link to comment
BigBlue Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Verrry nice. I stain everything I make but that's just me. I like dark colored wood. Link to comment
proraptor Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Do I see your fans connected to a computer power supply? Thats a really smart idea....I also have an extra power supply laying around... Link to comment
Cellenzweig Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Selch! Your stand kicks A$$! I'm definately going to try to incorporate something similar to your electrical into the stand I'm working on. Thanks for the idea and great work! Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Originally posted by proraptor Do I see your fans connected to a computer power supply? Thats a really smart idea....I also have an extra power supply laying around... Yeah, that's a little 200w Micro ATX power supply in there that I bought for $30. Its small, relatively cool and quiet. It was the easiest way I could think of to power the fans. Link to comment
selch Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Originally posted by Cellenzweig Selch! Your stand kicks A$$! I'm definately going to try to incorporate something similar to your electrical into the stand I'm working on. Thanks for the idea and great work! Thanks. Link to comment
Milamber Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 How much did it cost to build just the stand part without all the accessories? Link to comment
selch Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 Lumber wise? Maybe $100 - $150 Link to comment
Xytrix01 Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 WOW! That turned out really nice! I hope you don't mind, I've somewhat copied you, although mine dosn't look nearly that nice. Very clean over all, and I like the computer power supply for a 12vdc source. I LOVE IT! Link to comment
selch Posted September 26, 2005 Author Share Posted September 26, 2005 Nope, don't mind at all. Thanks for the complements. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the inside clean as well when I run all my power cords. I've purchased some cable clips to help with that endeavor. I'll take some more pics when I get closer to having this running with my tank on it - probably a couple of weeks or so. A tip on the power supply: computer power supplies turn on by recieving a signal from the motherboard. Without a motherboard you'll need to use a paperclip to jump two connectors on the motherboard jack on the powersupply to give it that signal. Its really easy and you won't get electrocuted - just lookup the type of supply you have on Google and find what two you need to jump. If you use a Micro ATX like I did, email/pm me and I can tell you what you need to do. Link to comment
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