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DIY Stand. What do you think?

Tomorrow morning first thing is Wickes! I'll go for pine panels with dark oak varnish 😀 Try to finish it by next weekend!
Is the varnish itself enough protection against water spillages?
 
Nice start, haven't read all the comments but just wanted to add my experience of making a diy stand. For the frame I copied the structure from the diy stand on this webpage:
http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-aquarium-stand/56.asp
I glued the pieces of wood together, fixing them with screws, then removing the screws to use again. It is very rigid.
For the exterior, I glued on 4mm oak veneer ply (bit more pricey but looks better in my opinion), I had to go to a lumbar yard to get this. I also made door frames from left overs of the top and used the same ply for the door panels.
I've got some photos of the result here:
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=2156
A word of warning, don't make the stand too tall and have to cut the top off as I did. Easy to underestimate the height when you don't have the tank on top. Also normal varnish should be fine as long as spills aren't left to linger for too long.
Also when connecting up the pipework avoid tight elbows - you'll get more out of your filter.
 
I would let the wood settle flat in your room for a week or so!! When I di my pine hood I put it together ans was varnishing 24 hours after the pieces were cut and therefore they got onto the tank before they had acclimitised!! The 'flap' now bends upward a little at the front from resting on the little cork pads I used to stop it banging if it fell.

I used clear yacht varnish on the inside of the hood and plain dye on the outside. No problems really but you may want to use a silk/satin varnish on the outside. My hood does have a few water stain rings on it where I put the bucket when syphoning water back in. I call it character though. lol 😉

AC
 
I think if I ever redo mine I will think about using some of that black marble/granite gloss effect worksurface fr the sides and top. A bit like a marble plinth (green machine style.) Have to improvise with the doors though or they're gonna be heavy. he, he.

AC
 
Thanks guys, I really appreciate your comments!

Willjones -
Beautiful stand, well done!! 😀 I was gonna build mine low but at the end it will be as high as a normal Juwel stand. A bit worried about the width though! I have thick carpet in the room which I'm afraid will make it a bit wobbly! You don't want to hear the wobbly and the stand in the same sentence! :lol: If I did it again I added extra 10cm just to make it more stable. Once it's all in one and painted I'll make a friend to sit on the top while I'll try to knock over!! :twisted:

SuperColey1 -
The character makes it special. lol I don't know about the green machine style cabinets, but found this ADA style the other day: http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b95/A ... urnal3.jpg

I really like it! (full journal: http://aquariumlife.com.au/archive/inde ... -2064.html )
Work keeps me busy so can't go to buy anything for another few days, but at least I have time to figure out the final style 😉
 
I don't think they sell cabinets in this style, but I mean the plinths that they use for their disaply tanks like this one (hope they don't mind me using their pics):

marble.jpg

I was thinking more of a black gloss marble effect rather than this pink/red style and would probably have to buy some of the laminate/veneer on it's own rather than actual worktop for the doors.

AC
 
Use feet to make it stable on the carpet. You'll create high-pressure points which will resist the wobble. Make sure they're as near to the edge as possible and located within the main structural lines of the cabinet (i.e. your tank will transfer the weight down through the verticals - put the feet under the verticals to ensure you don't introduce any stresses in your structure.
 
SuperColey1 said:
I used clear yacht varnish on the inside of the hood and plain dye on the outside. No problems really but you may want to use a silk/satin varnish on the outside. My hood does have a few water stain rings on it where I put the bucket when syphoning water back in. I call it character though. lol 😉
Click to expand...

Be careful buying yacht varnish. Most "yacht" varnish is just clear polyeurathane(sp?) but you can also get "proper" yacht varnish that includes a chemical to stop barnacles attaching themselves and is generally not a good idea around fuana (I don't think it just affects barnacles!)
 
99.5% done! 🙂 Took much longer than I thought, though! I'm on holiday so can't show any pics atm. Will be back next year only, I'll upload some photos than!

Thanks for asking!
 
Finally an update!Sorry for being late!!
First the pics:









At the end I decided to go black. The tank is black so this seemed the best colour for me. I used exterior plywood to cover the sides and the top and pre-made doors from Wickes. Painted all with matt black wood paint. I'm quite pleased with the look of the cabinet, but something went wrong and the top is not 100% flat!! When I first put the tank on, the front left corner wasn't even touching the wood (first picture)!! Still don't know what happened, I guess the wood dried out and deformed a bit after everything was glued and screwed together. I purchased a protector mat from AE and placed underneath the tank, REALLY hope it will be fine!! :?
On the inside I used teak dye, got it for free.
I plan to place a sump on the left side on that little shelf that's why there is no back panel there jet. The support timber at the back is not exactly on the middle so I can push the sump in.

Still want to fix an edge on, so the mat wont be visible underneath the tank. Hopefully tomorrow!
Thx for looking!!!!
 
Thank you James!! Yes, I'm very pleased! 😀 😀
No, the hood is original (Rio 180 2x45w T5). Was thinking about removing the top frame and make a new hood and frame, but don't want to spend more money on it. Now just can't wait to fill it up and plant it! :lol:
 
Final product looks great 🙂 thanks for sharing the DIY with us, great work 5*
 
Well done, great job. I love the finish!

I notice you didn't go with the cross bracing i n the end, or is there something hidden on the sides?
 
simondoherty1 said:
Well done, great job. I love the finish!

I notice you didn't go with the cross bracing i n the end, or is there something hidden on the sides?
Click to expand...
You're right, there is no cross bracing. I used 9mm thick plywood on the sides, after screwing and glueing them on it feels indestructible!!! 😀

Thanks very much for all the advice and comments guys, really appreciate it!!!
😉
 
Looks a top job that!!!! i never did 45's on my old tank i did the cladding held it all together nice and strong. I used pine flooring for mine and it all clicked together to add strength.

That does look solid on yours !!!
 
Where abouts in the world are you? Fancy making me one? I'm very impressed indeed!
 
Garuf said:
Where abouts in the world are you? Fancy making me one? I'm very impressed indeed!
Click to expand...
:lol:
London mate! Can help you out if you live near by!
If I had to make another one I used only plywood, no timbers. But I have an even better idea. The other day I was wasting my time in Ikea and had a great idea! For my next stand I'm gonna use kitchen cabinets!!! You can by them in various sizes, I think from 30cm to 60cm wide and same the depth. For doors you can choose from about 20 colours!
It's easy, you just glue 2-3 together, a cross brace at the back, get some plywood for the top (or kitchen worktop), fix the doors and you're done! Can't be more than £100 and a half a day! 😉
 
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