Diy stand inspiration

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Im looking to upgrade tanks in the future. Lots of planning this time around. That said, i'm trying to decide between buying a stand, or building a stand. I'm handy capable but i'm no fine cabinet maker. Let's see some home made diy stand inspiration! Bonus points it its for a larger tank!

 

[UncommonSense]

Im looking to upgrade tanks in the future. Lots of planning this time around. That said, i'm trying to decide between buying a stand, or building a stand. I'm handy capable but i'm no fine cabinet maker. Let's see some home made diy stand inspiration! Bonus points it its for a larger tank!

Here’s a fun one! — the rolling coffee table under my hexagon…

Originally designed to house a 40g breeder sump (pictured), I’ve since scaled it down ~27% to fit a 20g long sump instead! (Fits better in the center of a small fish room/man cave)

(The cute little corner brackets are primarily there to mount polycarbonate sheeting over non-access areas, the center of the span is supported by 1/4” wall, 1.5” steel angle.)

FTS as of tonight:

 

[Ef4life]

Here’s a fun one! — the rolling coffee table under my hexagon…

Originally designed to house a 40g breeder sump (pictured), I’ve since scaled it down ~27% to fit a 20g long sump instead! (Fits better in the center of a small fish room/man cave)

(The cute little corner brackets are primarily there to mount polycarbonate sheeting over non-access areas, the center of the span is supported by 1/4” wall, 1.5” steel angle.)

FTS as of tonight:

How do you like those leveling casters? I just bought some like that for a project but haven’t received them yet.

 

[UncommonSense]

How do you like those leveling casters? I just bought some like that for a project but haven’t received them yet.

They’re pretty awesome, honestly! These particular ones are rated for 450lbs/ea!

I’ve read a few reviews that say you can actually break them by completely maxing out their adjustment height, but I’ve not experienced this phenomenon…

— They function by actuating the ratchet type handle; it has a forward/reverse just like a socket wrench! (The handle on these had a 1/4”-20 threaded base to screw an extension rod into)

— This ratchet mechanism turns a ball screw, raising or lowering a rubber “foot” when you adjust it…

— you position the heavy item where you want it in “castor mode”, then ratchet the rubber feet down to lift the castor wheels off the ground! (Perfect for heavy furniture)

— I’m around 10 months in on this build, and they show no sign of rusting after several saltwater drenches; likely all the grease on moving parts!

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Here’s a fun one! — the rolling coffee table under my hexagon…

Originally designed to house a 40g breeder sump (pictured), I’ve since scaled it down ~27% to fit a 20g long sump instead! (Fits better in the center of a small fish room/man cave)

(The cute little corner brackets are primarily there to mount polycarbonate sheeting over non-access areas, the center of the span is supported by 1/4” wall, 1.5” steel angle.)

FTS as of tonight:

Pretty friggin sweet! I'm really torn, I'm sure i could save myself a lot of cash, but idk if i can make it clean enough looking to not regret it later. Momma doesn't want it to look tricky diy if that makes sense

 

[UncommonSense]

Pretty friggin sweet! I'm really torn, I'm sure i could save myself a lot of cash, but idk if i can make it clean enough looking to not regret it later. Momma doesn't want it to look tricky diy if that makes sense

I’ve been toying with material ideas to help with this very problem!

The stand that came with my R450 isn’t particularly well done, and I’m thinking of building a new one with a similar finish…

Build Thread - The FrankenReefer 450

Well, the time has finally come to start documenting the build process of this abomination… Backstory (abridged): I had taken a few years off the hobby, letting my tanks sit idle. I already had a 180g drilled and sumped freshwater tank, plus a little 35G hexagon saltwater tank… but I knew I...

www.reef2reef.com

— it’s a 5ft tank, with a 4ft sump; so I’m leaning towards double doors on the stand…

— everyone does wood doors, and it doesn’t always fit a stand’s finish unless you paint everything…

— so, why not use the likes of marble or porcelain wall tiles on a plywood/etc backing for doors? — the tiles are rarely over 3/8” thick, thus weight per-door would likely be <20lbs!

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I’ve been toying with material ideas to help with this very problem!

The stand that came with my R450 isn’t particularly well done, and I’m thinking of building a new one with a similar finish…

Build Thread - The FrankenReefer 450

Well, the time has finally come to start documenting the build process of this abomination… Backstory (abridged): I had taken a few years off the hobby, letting my tanks sit idle. I already had a 180g drilled and sumped freshwater tank, plus a little 35G hexagon saltwater tank… but I knew I...

www.reef2reef.com

— it’s a 5ft tank, with a 4ft sump; so I’m leaning towards double doors on the stand…

— everyone does wood doors, and it doesn’t always fit a stand’s finish unless you paint everything…

— so, why not use the likes of marble or porcelain wall tiles on a plywood/etc backing for doors? — the tiles are rarely over 3/8” thick, thus weight per-door would likely be <20lbs!

That would be very interesting! I feel like something like that would be hit or miss, it has the potential to look amazing, or cheesy. I definitely think it could be pulled off though! I think material choice would play a big factor in making it look nice!
II'd assume it would need to be sealed really well, otherwise the plywood might expand enough to lose its adhesion. Unless you make some sort of bracket to attach it with. Similar to how the center panel goes into the rail and stile of a cabinet door

 

[mfinn]

I know I'll probably catch some heat from this. But I've made 8-9 different stands over the years.
The one under my current 240 is approx. 26 years old and is holding up through 3 tanks so far.
I went pretty simple.
I built a box out of 3/4" oak veneer plywood. For me making a perfectly square box was easy. Then framed in the interior supports.
Everything was glued and screwed.
I cut out panels for doors and used the cutouts as the doors. I used 3/4" quarter round molding to frame in the doors. I decided to use my sander to 45 the corners instead of cutting them on my miter saw.
I cut doors in both ends for ease of moving in the sump.

 

[mfinn]

Second tank on the stand maybe 16-17 years ago

 

[X-37B]

Second tank on the stand maybe 16-17 years ago

That old school hood brings back alot of memories. Very nice.

 

[X-37B]

Have you considered an 8020 aluminum stand? You can skin it in anything you want.
I have 3 behind the stand cabinets made from 8020.
If my systems did not come with a stand I would make one from 8020.

 

[W31Olds]

You don't need to be a cabinet maker to make a nice stand. One thing that can help is to order pre-assembled cabinet doors. Plenty of places on-line make them in any size you want and you can get them pre-drilled for euro hinges so you wouldn't need a drill press.

 

[mfinn]

That old school hood brings back alot of memories. Very nice.

Thanks.
Clam shell style hood with mh and vho lighting.

 

[fishyjoes]

I wanted to practice hand tool woodworking so I made my stand using mortise and tenon carved by chisel and hand saw using 2x3 boards. It took much longer than other methods but quickness wasn't the goal.

 

[X-37B]

Thanks.
Clam shell style hood with mh and vho lighting.

Yea I missed the look of my halides so much after saying, " I will never go back", I set up a 400 watt halide system right across from my led system so I can compare the 2 systems side by side.
10K with edge bars to balance the yellowing effect of the 10K.
I have 20k radiums but I will start with the 10k.
Just need some live rock now!

 

[Bear22]

You don't need a cabinet grade table saw or track saw (though they are handy). I made this ADA style stand years ago for a planted tank project using a crappy saw guide and circular saw. The finish is formica where the individual surfaces were laid down (oversized), glued into place and then routed off using a decent palm router and edge bit. The best starting place is finding decent lumber that's reasonably straight and un-warped.

 

[ScottD]

For my 135 gallon cube I used extruded aluminum to form a skeleton and then skinned it with plywood. On 3 sides I left access panels that were plywood with window molding for trim.

 

[MushroomMan101]

A plus one for building a stand is having a custom height, I am a tall person and didn’t find viewing at the stock stand height comfortable. As others have mentioned l used extruded aluminum to form a skeleton and then skinned it with plywood (and applied a black walnut veneer). Another pro is being able to make a matching hood and that the extruded aluminum keeps more workable space in your stand verse using wood.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I know I'll probably catch some heat from this. But I've made 8-9 different stands over the years.
The one under my current 240 is approx. 26 years old and is holding up through 3 tanks so far.
I went pretty simple.
I built a box out of 3/4" oak veneer plywood. For me making a perfectly square box was easy. Then framed in the interior supports.
Everything was glued and screwed.
I cut out panels for doors and used the cutouts as the doors. I used 3/4" quarter round molding to frame in the doors. I decided to use my sander to 45 the corners instead of cutting them on my miter saw.
I cut doors in both ends for ease of moving in the sump.

That looks really good. I'd be happy with something like this I suppose if I did more planning ahead I could definitely make it look way better than my current setup. I'm also recently purchasing some better wood working tools so theoretically by the time I start, i'd be much better at semi fine woodworking lol

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

Have you considered an 8020 aluminum stand? You can skin it in anything you want.
I have 3 behind the stand cabinets made from 8020.
If my systems did not come with a stand I would make one from 8020.

I was considering going that route, and still might. But if I end up wrapping it thats half the cost of a full wood stand, and the aluminum itself is more expensive than if I built my own stand. I ain't looking for overly cheap, but if I can save myself some money, and maybe give myself a project this spring/summer to keep my hands busy then i'd call that a win win. I do love how clean the IM stands look. Unfortunately they wont work for me because where my tanks going, I wont have side access and I want 200+ gallons. IM's tanks all require side action for sunp removal in that size. Not that I assume the sump will fail, but I dont want to have to figure that issue out if for some reason something happens.