its not what ya know, but who ya know :)

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

well i've finally got around to building a new stand for my tank in the back room (not my main reef)

 

i have a friend that puts down flooring for a living. he saved all the endcuts and extra wood from his last job for me. almost an entire box (which is way more than i need )

 

my last stand was done the same way, with free flooring from the same guy

the first was 3/4" flooring and i didnt have quite enough. (so i got creative and gave it a racing stripe )

 

this time the flooring is 3/8s. but i thought i'd walk you through the process as i go.

 

i started by taking measurments of my tank and sump. then i laid out the hardwood flooring

im doing this backwards to limit the amount of cutting required and simplfing the job at hand.

after i had the front and both sides layed out/cut to size, i took measurements and built the frame to support it all.

youll notice the flooring is higher than the frame. the top still needs a 3/4" of ply but the flooring will hide the plastic trim on the tank.

my stand has a footprint of 18x36" my tank is only 12x36" but this will allow me to upgrade to a 65tall. (18x36) it also allow extra room for my skimmer on the back of my 25g sump.

plan ahead, it will save ya in the long run.

i need to pick up plywood for the tanks to sit on, so i've proceeded with skinning the stand with hardwood floor.

you can glue/nail these to the frame, but with the prospect of 65gs of water ontop of the stand, i've used screws to add extra support. the bottom holes are drilled every board, and will be covered by a strip of trim/flashing. the top holes every other board and will be filled with wood finish buttons to hide the screws.

 

i dont have alot of tools around the house as far as saws go. but trim is your friend a corner trim will hide the fact we used hardwood floorintg when were done. however if i had a table saw i'd miter the edges.

 

so far home depot cut all my lumber, and a jig saw and simple jig, allowed me to cut the hardwood floor square.

just slide in you flooring and using it as a guide for the jigsaw.

if you make all your cuts at the bottom of your stand, you can hide it with trim, so dont fret if it chips alittle. if you want to take the time to tape each cut, this will prevent any splintering.

 

btw im not cutting wood on my coffee table, its just there for the pic.lol

 

i'll use more glue and less screws on the front. these pieces are just set inplace, but its starting to look like an aquarium stand

 

well back to the grind, stay tuned for part 2

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

i like to display items in my sump/ref and light escaping is a real issue when leaving enough room to work in the sump.

 

so heres what i did.

i started by cutting 4 strips of flooring alittle longer than the opening for my sump.

i used a screw driver to remove the bottom of the groove in 3 of the 4 pieces . very easy to do, because the bottom part of the groove (in tounge and groove) is thinner than the top. (you could do it with a saw, but it is very fast and easy to do with a screw driver)

starting at the bottom (using the piece with the full groove) i fit the 4 pieces together. finished surface down.

 

i raided the girlfriends fabric and found a piece big enough to cover the wood. (if your gonna follow my lead go for the ugliest fabric, she'll never miss it )

 

coated the wood in glue, avoiding the edges and applied enough to soak through the fabric.

dont try trimming the extra faberic until its dry.

looks kinda like a role top desk.

 

i havent fitted it in place yet, but you get the idea. i wont actually mount it until i have the trim on. a couple eyelets on the bottom peice and the frame will allow me to raise it like a blind. (sort of)

[ZooGirl]

That's pretty clever! You did a great job. I like the racing stripe. Tank is pretty too!

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

thanks zoo girl.

here it is with the tanks. im in the process of making the canopy. still have to trim it up, and add a door. so far so good.

[brent-konieczny]

That is one of the first stands I have seen that allows the sump/fuge to be displayed. I like it

[travisurfer]

ya, the fuge display is pretty neat.

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

i'm in the process of staining the trim, but both windows will be framed with outside corner .

 

heres my fav. part of the sump display. i added a couple small pulleys to the frame, and an eyelette to the "role top" (for lack of a better word) and heres the result

[halfpint]

That's pretty cool. You're very resourceful. My brother installs wood floors, so I'm considering doing the same thing.