[panaque]

Buying pre-made furniture can be one of the most costly aspects of setting up a new aquarium. Anyone who has seen the prices of an oak or cherry stand and canopy can relate...they are usually twice or more the price of the tank! So this is where a bit of DIY resourcefulness comes into play. Lets see that furniture! Beautiful or just effective, it dosent matter!

 

[Steve Pituch]

You can see my DIY $100 stand for my 125 gallon tank at:
http://users.ev1.net/~spituch/Steve's Page/Aquarium/hardware/Stand/stand1.html
Here's a photo:

I hate spending lots of money on a tank only to find the stand will cost more than the tank.
Steve Pituch

 

[Wheeler]

Wow, that's nice Steve!

I wish I had the room to try and build stands-- it can't be that hard to build a wooden frame. The reason I don't have more tanks is because of the cost of stands...

 

[ryuken168]

65 gal. DIY canopy and cabinet.

This project was done 2 summers ago. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.

 

[panaque]

Wow, nice woodworking folks! I like the resourcefulness of the $100 stand as well. I think furniture looks best black, unless it is a really nice wood like cherry. Then a dark finish is nice as well. Hey Ken, do you remember what your set-up cost to build?

 

[Geo]

I spent about a total of $25 for my DIY hood for my 2.5 gallon.

Might go up to $30 if I decide to stain it, we'll see. It's not nearly a work of art, but it keeps the lights off the floor!

 

[guppygirly]

I "special ordered" a tank stand to hold my two 10 gallons. My dad is making it for me for under $100. (He is a carpenter.) It will be cherry wood to match my other furniture..I am so excited!!

 

[ryuken168]

My cost

Hey Ken, do you remember what your set-up cost to build?

As I remember, it cost me around $180 from Home Depot. The paint and trim added to the high cost.

 

[cS]

Re: My cost

Before I befriended a handyman, I frequent garage/yard sales for bargain furnitures (i.e. night stands for small tanks). I can build hinged hoods and other relatively simple contraptions, but I definitely do not trust my woodworking skills enough to build a stand that would hold a hazardous glass tank full of water. It's a disaster just waiting to happen. 8-[

IME, ritzy neighborhoods tend to have better garage/yard sales, with many high quality pieces for very low prices. They are easier to hackle with also. :mrgreen:

 

[AV8TOR]

Re: 65 gal. DIY canopy and cabinet.

This project was done 2 summers ago. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.

ryuken168 is the black a stain or paint? I just finished a new stand for the wife yesterday and she wants black is why I ask. Thanks

 

[ryuken168]

I used black stain on the project and than high gloss polyurethane. I first try using the polyurethane spray but turn out to be uneven. I also did this while in mid summer so it dry too fast. I switch over to the brush on type of finish.
The black stain I brought from Kmart and the minwax polyurethane came from Home depot.
Good luck with the project, hope to see some pictures.

Ken

 

[Steve Pituch]

I just finished a stand made from 2x4s for a 20 gallon tank. I used Minwax american walnut water based stain for the first time. I was surprised that it was very easy to get a very dark stain with this stuff.

Steve Pituch

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

Very nice!

 

[hubbahubbahehe]

man! you guys are so handy. i feel so inadequate as man. I gotta go do some more bicep curls!


:lol:

 

[techjak]

My tank stand

This is the stand I built for my 46 gallon bow front tank. I orignally designed it for a 40 gal breeder, but got the bowfront instead (dumpster find!)

The shell is 3/4" x 3" marine plywood biscuit jointed at all joints, and glued up with gorilla glue. The two sides are 1/4" birch plywood and the top and inside shelf are 1/2" pine plywood. There are leg levelers on all four corners and the slab doors are made up of white pine and routed. DIY is the best way to go IMO, you save money, have something that looks better than you can buy for the same price and is fun in the process!

 

[JanS]

What a great post! The Mr. recently promised to build me a new stand for one of the tanks, so these tips will be helpful. I already had an idea, but this will answer the rest of the questions.

Nice job everyone!

 

[Daemonfly]

I always make all my own stuff, aside form the tank itself (so far... ).

My 20g long:

Many people liked the design, so I wrote up an article for PlantGeek, and also avail on my "website" - http://daemonfly.com/articles/hood/hood.html Needs updated, as I found a flaw in the design - you have to put a "lip" on the inside, over the plastic trim, otherwise water can land on plastic trim, then slip between the outside of the trim and the wood, getting outside of the tank. Only a problem if you have bad aim when pouring water into the tank.

Made a similar design for my 15g high, as well as a simple one for over my 2.5g with 13w AHS kit.