DIY Tank Stand (36"L x 18"D x 30") for 40 Gallon Breeder Tank

[aya7med]

awesome

thank you excellant

 

[ct-death]

GeoPappas, Very impressive! I'd be curious what your time and cost investments are once done.

Very, very nice craftsmanship man! :bow:

 

[AnDr3w]

Yes I am too. This is turning out to be great. Good luck finishing the rest! :thumbsup:

 

[j_chicago]

Just a tidbit that my Grandpa, who was a great woodworker, told me as a kid, when cutting the angles for molding, shaving the inside edges of 45 degree cuts helps get the corners snugger.

 

[GeoPappas]

I'm sorry for the long delay and had no idea that this thread had become active again. It seems that I wasn't subscribed to my own thread! Well, I subscribed to the thread now, so if anyone replies I will at least know about it.

Thanks to everyone for all of the compliments. I am certainly no master craftsman, but I am happy with the way it turned out. My wife said that she was pleasantly surprised (which made me very happy).

Anyways, I was able to finish the stand (without the doors) and get it installed. I am currently cycling the water and plan to purchase my first fish next week (3 Long-Finned Leopard Danios and 3 Long-Finned Zebra Danios).

Here is a picutre of the stand in our room with gravel, two large stones,a fake hollowed-out log, and a piece of driftwood:

I am currently working on the cabinet doors and hope to have them finished in the next week or so. I'll post some more pictures as things progress.

 

[irishspy]

I've been looking at stands and considering DIY -- this is a great piece of work! :clap:

I know this is an old thread, but have you done any more with the stand and tank since the last entry?

 

[GeoPappas]

I've been looking at stands and considering DIY -- this is a great piece of work! :clap:

Thanks for the wonderful comment.

...have you done any more with the stand and tank since the last entry?

Just a little bit. Unfortunately, I still haven't finished everything yet, but I am close. I was able to make the doors, but I still have a little bit left to do (trim/route the door edges, stain, varnish, and attach).

It's winter around here and I don't have anyplace inside to do work work (without getting sawdust everywhere). So I am waiting for it to warm up a little (should be another few weeks) before I get back to finishing the stand.

But that didn't stop me from getting fish. The structural part of the cabinet is done. I have some fish and have started to add some plants (see image below).

Here are some images of the cabinet doors...

Outside view

Inside view:

Closeup of inside corner view (note pocket screw holes that attach pieces together):

Finally, here is the aquarium as it stands today:

 

[irishspy]

Thanks for the update. I was wondering how pieces of a door get screwed together.

And the tank looks great.

 

[GeoPappas]

Thanks for the update.

No problem. It's nice to know that others enjoy the writeup.

I was wondering how pieces of a door get screwed together.

From what I understand, there are lots of different ways to make doors. I used a technique which uses "pocket hole screws". Basically, a tool drills holes at an angle into the corner pieces, and then screws are used to hold the two pieces together. The tool I used can be seen here:

And the tank looks great.

Thanks. It's a work in progress. It will probably never be done, but I'm having fun learning.

 

[BoredAgain]

It definitely looks good, and definitely a great way to learn new things...that's the best part of DIY projects. I'll be diving into some DIY lighting here in the next few days, so that should be fun...but nothing as involved as your project.