Aquarium Stand Construction 29 55 75 Gallon Tank

8/10/2019 Aquarium Stand Construction 29 55 75 Gallon Tank

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DIY Aquarium Stand

Just an intro more detailed plans follow Stands follow the same basic philosophy as hoods do; their designs are mostly personalpreference. Regardless of the aesthetic appeal though, the stand must be capable of hold largeamounts of weight, and therefore, must be very well build. Figure 5.0.0 shows some basic standdesigns and a migration pattern. Model is simple, basic and Spartan. Model ! builds on byadding a solid top and shelf. " adds doors and # is the complete enclosure. $arious levels ofornateness can be had for the doors and moldings. %nly your imagination limits you.

&he stand should be constructed of at least '()s. '() side bars and )() legs is good, but usuallynot needed for most applications. lso, screwing the wood together offers greater stability in thelong run and allows the stand to be disassembled with little effort.

&he most critical element in the stand construction is that it is sturdy and this can not be stressedenough. *owever, the stand must be level as well. +f the tan rests on an uneven surface,pressure points will build and a crac most liely will develop. ny solid top stand can beenhanced by placing cardboard or some moderately fle(ible material under the tan. &his willallow the tan to -settle- into place once it is filled. +f something is placed under the tan, it shouldbe under the entire tan body not ust one side or corner, thus reducing the stress on the tan.

Model is regularly offered in pet shops for /50 or more when in actually it costs about /0 tobuild. %ne final note on the construction, the wood should be dried. +f the wood is damp duringconstruction, it will dry and warp leading to uneven surfaces.





They're all pretty much dead y now. Also, the guy at the /ega <ardware

-epot isn't going to cut the wood as e+actly as you should want it.

@ractice cutting on the same S0-* of your pencil mark. 9eah, it should

e that e+act. ememer what we said aout getting the thing level

@lease e very careful with power tools and wear protective goggles.

=) -on't e afraid to start over. 0f it isn't going well, use what you

have learned on the ne+t try. Cood isn't that e+pensive. Think aout

that weight.

13) 9ou asolutely can uild a stronger, etter looking stand than the

ones they sell at the local pet storeD



29 Gallon or similar tank

List of materials for a basic 29gal stand

2 - 8" 2x4s (if you get a 2x6 you only need 2x4! - 8" 2x6 (if you want to you can #ust use 2x4s! - $t stain and - $t polyuret%ane &arnis%or paint'ox of exterior wood screws or ails (not recommended for load bearing 2x4s- but youcould nail plywood or trim on!

)ptional*2 - 8" x6s - 4x8 s%eet +2" plywood (good one side!2 - pairs of %inges (for doors!

2se the #+3 directions on page 5 but you can simplify a lot4 you dont need to support the standwith cross '()s unless you get close to a 50 gallon tan, then + would.

2se e(terior wood screws, pre4drill the holes with a little smaller drill bit and counter sin theholes with a larger bit or countersin so the wood screws dont stic up.

&he measurements for a standard rectangle '6 gallon tan are ' 7 wide by 80 9 long by 6high. So you add 8: to inch to the width and length to mae the top and bottom frames, !2&subtract the width of ' '()s <appro(. ) inches= for the cross pieces. + forgot to do this but you can

ust cut them again but it wastes time and a little bit of your '()s. See below on page 5 ,./0tand 1ro#ect3

>ith my '64gallon tan + dropped the bottom '() to the ground and actually added another '()on the outside to increase the footprint and mae it more stable since + didnt wrap it or add doors.3ou dont need a top because the outer part of the tan is elevated and that is where all of theweight rests. + then painted it with oil based blac paint and it loos nice.

+ actually ended up using some M#F on non weight bearing sections, which + painted to sealwhen + ran out of '()s. &his stand cost me /0 because + used all leftovers from my pantryproect.

%is depends on personal preference5+8 will gi&e you a flus% stand inc% will gi&e you approx3 a 7 ofstand wider t%an t%e tan3 .f you plan on wraping t%e top 2x4 wit% plywood (again personal preference! gowit% t%e smaller measurement of +83



DIY 55 or 75 gal Tank Stand Project -ost* :bout ;6< -

)ne of t%e big money sa&ing ./ (o .t /ourself! pro#ects is t%e tan stand33 %e standfor a reef tan needs to support alot of weig%t so don=t cut corners on t%e materialsneeded for a sturdy tan stand33 %e stand also needs to be large enoug% to %ouse yoursump and external pump (if applicable!33 . use %alf t%e storage under my stand for mysump and pump and t%e ot%er %alf for storing salt alwasser buffer calcium c%loridereef carbon p%osp%ate sponge bac-up power%eads and test its33 >y wife lies most oft%is stuff stored out of sig%t *-!

"?ood drawings are wort% a t%ousand words"



"List of materials for a 55 or 75 gal stand"6 - 8" 2x4s2 - 8" 2x6s2 - 8" x6s

- 4x8 s%eet +2" plywood (good one side!2 - pairs of %inges (for doors!

- $t stain - $t polyuret%ane &arnis%

'ox of exterior wood screws or ails

Hint: @%en using a circular saw cut your wood wit% t%e good side down to pre&entsplintering3 %en sand and stain eac% piece before assembly3



DIY Aquarium Canopies Most beginning a?uarists are content with using the everyday @erfecto hood or no hood at all.*owever, as interest grows and you want to eep live plants or invertebrates, the need for a high?uality hood and lighting system is greatly accented.

*ood designs boil down to personal preference in many cases and most all designs arefunctional for their needs. &he re?uirements for a hood are that it can house the lighting of choice,withstand the environment <e.g., water, salt=, it can be cooled if re?uired, and be moved:openedon a regular basis. lso. the construction must be sturdybecause the hood will most liely beopened on a daily basis for tan maintenance. !ecause the design of a hood is so personal<different lighting systems, different re?uirements for space and siAe=, a detailed design wal4through wonBt be given here. Rather, various designs will be given and one detailed design will bepresented. &he detailed design is of a fluorescent hood with a flip top. &he design can be alteredto include metal halide lamps and fan cooling if desired.

!elow is depicted various designs that + have seen and heard about from other a?uarists. &heseare not the only designs and certainly should not be thought of as the only approach to a hooddesign.

#esign is the basic flip top model. +t has a base unit and the lights are attached to the top whichopens for maintenance. Model ! is similar to , e(cept it is split in two vertically and half of thehood flips open. +n this case, the front half may be opened and rested on the bac half. &his hasgreat advantages over model , which needs to be supported while it is open. Model " and # arevariations on commercial hoods. Model " is simply a piece of glass with two strip lights resting ontop. +t is simple and cheap, but offers little aesthetic appeal and it maes it very difficult to domaintenance. Model # is an illustration of the basic plastic commercial hood. Model C is similar to

, e(cept the front panel flips forward instead of the top. &his has the distinct advantage that thelamps do not have to be moved for daily maintenance <Model # also has this advantage=.



DIY Canopy Project -ost* :bout ;A -

)ne of t%e big money sa&ing ./ (o .t /ourself! pro#ects is t%e lig%ting canopy33 .fyou=&e priced ready made %oods for a reef tan you=&e seen prices from ;<< to upwardsof ;6<<33 .f you %a&e ) (ormal )utput! flourescents you can easily build t%is %oodfrom x6s and use " fan in place of t%e 2 4" fans33 .f you=re using BC) (Bery Cig%)utput! or 1 (1ower ompact! lig%ts you s%ould build t%e %ood out of x8s and use 2" fans for cooling33 .f using >C (>etal Calide! lig%ting you s%ould build t%e canopyfrom x2s to allow room for t%e 2 4" fans and eep t%e >etal Calide bulbs 8" abo&e t%esurface of t%e water33

": ?ood rawing is @ort% a %ousand @ords"

"List of materials for a 55 or 75 gal hood" - 8= x2 (front and bot% sides!

- A= x8 (for bac!2 - A= x<s (for top lid!

2 - 8= x2s (top trim and inside support!



2 - pairs of %inges (for t%e lid! - $t @%ite epoxy paint (for inside %ood!

- pint stain - pint polyuret%ane &arnis%

Hints: @%en using a circular saw cut your wood wit% t%e good side down to pre&entsplintering33%en sand and stain eac% piece before assembly33

Making the Lid: %e lengt% of t%e x<s used for t%e lid s%ould be cut to A +2" (or +2" longer t%an t%e rest of t%e %ood! and you lay t%ese out and screw -4 strips of x2(inside or outside (your preference!! to mae a one piece lid33 %en set t%e lid on t%e %oodand lea&e a +4" o&er%ang for t%e front and bot% sides and mar t%e bac and rip cut t%eexcess off t%e bac33 %en add your %inges33

Wrapping things up: ow you add t%e top x2 trim boards to t%e top of t%e %ood (frontand sides! under t%e o&er%ang of t%e lid33@%en assembled apply t%e epoxy paint to t%e inside and allow it to cure o&ernig%t33 %enapply 4 or A coats of polyuret%ane (inside and outside!33>ount your lig%ts and fire it up33 en#oy *-!





: 0imple 'uild-.t-/ourself :$uarium

anopy

3 'uild a rectangular box

slig%tly larger t%an your tan top (so t%at it will slip o&ert%e tan! using +4" x 4" boards (A and B!3 ote t%atB is %oriDontal3 %is pro&ides space in t%e bacfor %ang-on filters and forwater and air %oses to passt%roug%3

23 :ttac% s%ort +4" x +4"s$uare rods (C! to t%e inside

of t%e box about +4" abo&et%e bottom of t%e A boards and &ertically from t%e B board so t%at t%e bottom oft%is rod reac%es down to t%e same le&el as t%e bottom surfaces of t%e ot%er rods3%ese rods will support t%e canopy on t%e tan top3 (/ou may need to &ary t%edistance from t%e bottom of t%e box to t%ese rods or add additional molding to t%e bottom of t%e box to %ide t%e waterline3!

3 ut a lid out of A+8" plywood (D! slig%tly larger t%an t%e outside dimension of t%e box3 :ttac% " molding (E! to t%e front and two sides of t%e t%e lid to bloc lig%tleaage3

43 1aint t%e inside of t%e box and bottom of t%e lid w%ite to maximiDe lig%t reflection(w%ite paint is &ery close to a perfect reflector and is muc% simpler to apply t%an

mirrored reflectors!3 Einis% t%e ot%er surfaces to your taste3A3 :ttac% lid to box wit% %inges3 :ttac% bulb clips (F! to t%e inside of t%e lid (two

locing clips or four non-locing clips per bulb!3 1lace canopy on a$uarium andadd lig%t bulbs and prewired waterproof end caps (G!F3

FNote: Prewired waterproof endcaps can be purchased from your local aquarium stores, or from

Pet Warehouse.

http://www.petwarehouse.com/

http://www.petwarehouse.com/

Documents

Aquarium Stand Construction 29 55 75 Gallon Tank