carpentry

[slyforestfire]

not really loving my wrought iron stand that came with my 70 gal tank. would love to build a custom stand myself with the basic tools i posess. would i be able to make a sturdy enough piece of furniture @ home and still have it look respectable? what kind of joints would be best, dove-tail, biscuits, dowels?

 

[rako1]

This might help you How to Build a DIY Aquarium Stand

 

[KoleTang]

Yes you can make a great stand at home. A DIY stand if built well is much stronger than the wood stand you would have purchased from whatever company.

You need to make the frame, then put a kind of wood over it. I used 3/4 solid oak plywood from menards. You will also need doors which you can find at menards. Make sure to find the doors, then make the designs to fit the doors.

I can give you the designs I made if you want.

I just used about 4" screws to build it.

Tools you will need:

Miter Saw
Table Saw
Circular Saw for whatever the table saw cannot do
Screw gun
Drill for pilot holes
Pocket screw thing
Nailgun (for attaching the plywood to the frame, I'm sure you can use something else, but this works the best)
Hammer
Lots of clamps

Materials:

"Nice" Plywood (like oak or whatever wood you want)
2x4s
Maybe 2x6s if you want to be really structurally sound
Not "nice" plywood (not a solid oak or anything. The cheap stuff) for the bottom of the stand where you will put the sump
Screws
Paint (outdoor waterproof)
Silicone or Caulking (to seal the stand)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1169964

 

[slyforestfire]

thank you rako. that article is extremely helpful. now to figure out how to do a matching canopy.