sonaps

Last year I moved from Utah to Alaska. My 75 gallon tank has sat empty since the move, waiting for me to finish a few DIY projects on it. Since my tank and stand are empty I figure it’s a good time to take pictures of some of the DIY projects I have done over the years as well as what I’ve been working on lately. If someone can get some good ideas from what I have done then it is worth the effort. It also may inspire me to finally finish my projects and get this tank running again.

To start off I thought I would show you my stand. It’s the first project I started on this setup. I originally planed this stand for a 90 gallon tank that I was going to build from acrylic. But I later found a 75 gallon at a steal ($25) and bought it to save money. This means that my stand is a little bit bigger than my tank in the back. The extra space proved to be very useful in my next project of building a canopy – more to come on that later.



The stand is pulled away from the wall so I can work in the back of it. It isn’t normally on an angle in the room like this.




This project took me a long time to make since I was a student and living in an apartment when I made it. I had to take it out on the porch every time I wanted to work on it. The design is basic, like others we have seen here. The frame is made from 2x4’s and wrapped in plywood with an oak finish. I used two different router bits to get the fancy edge on the molding. The molding on both the stand, and later you will see on the canopy, is made to cover the plastic rim of the aquarium (my aquarium is the basic glass type with a 2”wide plastic rim on the top and bottom that are so common). That way you only see the nice oak trim of the stand, while the not so nice looking plastic is hidden behind it. I am really pleased with how this stand turned out. I think at some point I will add small oak corner pieces to hide the poor silicone job and make the tank look all framed in.


Close-up of the moulding that hides the plastic rim.