Features for an Aquarium Stand?

TerraFerma

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I like bar top epoxy on the bottom and that white appliance enamel paint everywhere else on in the inside. Looks clean, humidity doesn't hurt anything, and if you have a spill the water stays in the bottom of your stand.

If there is room and it doesn't make getting around in the stand hard I also like some strategically placed shelving for supps, dosing pumps, etc
 
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I like bar top epoxy on the bottom and that white appliance enamel paint everywhere else on in the inside. Looks clean, humidity doesn't hurt anything, and if you have a spill the water stays in the bottom of your stand.

If there is room and it doesn't make getting around in the stand hard I also like some strategically placed shelving for supps, dosing pumps, etc
This is cool, I was just thinking about what to put on the bottom to guard against spills. I may design in shelve inside the removable panel on one end. I could make it so that the shelf unit can be removed if needed. Thanks for the input.
 
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I've thought a lot about the slide out for the sump. It's too risky. It would become a lever to tip the tank over. Like Shwareefer said, it would likely have to have casters on the floor and not drawer slides. I'll keep thinking about it though. As a retired mechanical engineer I love a challenge. :)
 

MadeForThat

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In regards to a slide out sump, you are exactly right that it will cause the tank to want to tip IF it is attached to the stand. Take a look at my build thread to see how I got around that. I agree that it complicates things, but if you don't intend to slide it in and out very often, just having some PVC unions to disconnect it will allow you to slide it out and not mess with the challenges that come with the slide. I think you should make it slide, your previous work is beautiful and I think you would make it work.
 
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In regards to a slide out sump, you are exactly right that it will cause the tank to want to tip IF it is attached to the stand. Take a look at my build thread to see how I got around that. I agree that it complicates things, but if you don't intend to slide it in and out very often, just having some PVC unions to disconnect it will allow you to slide it out and not mess with the challenges that come with the slide. I think you should make it slide, your previous work is beautiful and I think you would make it work.
I really like what you did. Especially the frame and how it slides out on casters. I think your frame made the slide out possible. The wood I use needs to be tied together at the bottom. I'm going to give it some though.

My new design is close to being done. It is for a 75 gallon tank. I think I can have the sump slide out on one end using casters like you did. I'm going to look at making a "Plank" that opens down from the top to provide a surface connected to the stand for the slide out. Thanks loads for you suggestion.
 

n2585722

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I was in the hobby in the early 90's and back then the thing I disliked the most was minor leaks that would become a big problem before they were noticed. I decided to get back into it and was going to use the smaller of my two tanks. It happened to be a 42 gallon Oceanic hex tank. When I started building I started with the canopy since I wanted to experiment with LED lighting. At that time were were just a couple of fixtures on the market so I went DIY. Anyway after finishing the canopy it did not match the stand at all so I decided to make the stand to match. I decided I would try and minimize leaks making it to the floor by funneling any small leaks to the bottom of the stand which can hold a small amount of water ( around a gallon ) with the sump in place before it spills out to the floor. There are leak sensors that will trip once the water level goes above a certain level. This will stop all pumps and hopefully stop the leak before it spill out to the floor. In 6 years of running it has only went that far once's and that was my fault. I was a beta tester for the aquarium controller I was using at the time and a beta release of software disabled the alarms. I thought about turning off the skimmer while I waited for a fix but it had been running without any issue so I let it run. That was my mistake It started overflowing and there was no alarms to stop it. I also made separate compartments in the stand for the electronics from the sump. I also did the same for the canopy. The fans for circulation push air into the electronics areas and pull air from the area where water is present in the stand and canopy. That gives the electronics areas some positive air pressure compared to the areas with water. So far I have had no issues with corrosion in the electronics. It might be a good idea to keep this in mind when designing a stand and canopy for a saltwater aquarium. The hex tank I am referring to is in my build thread here on R2R.
 
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I wanted to follow up with everyone who gave me inputs on the aquarium stand design. I have spent a couple of months working on design (I'm not as sharp as I use to be). I have finished design phase and I'm almost finished building the prototype. It is for a 110 gallon tank with a Tideline 36 (41.7 gal) sump. This sump is large and may be removed through the front double doors. A smaller sump can be inserted through either end and the front. I've added a screen shot of the solid model design and a few pictures of the in-process build. When I'm finished it will have Curley White Maple front and front doors, Hard White Maple sides, Walnut corner trim, no front center support, a door on each end, and a shelf set that may be placed on either side. Thanks to everyone for their inputs. I'll post a picture when it is finished.
 

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TheOldSalt

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I'm really late to this party, but you know those little shelves inside your refrigerator doors?
A stand with little inside door shelves like those would be very handy sometimes.
 

Tenecor Aquariums

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For everyone asking about removable side panels, I suggest looking into these little guys. We make our stands and canopies 100% wood free, usually aluminum profile skinned or decked with high pressure resin composites, acrylics or other finishes. Sometimes we use these for removable access attached to the aluminum skeleton. But they will work on any type of panel system including wood. They are a patented product called "button fix". Amazon probably sells them.

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sumtingbig

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I wanted to follow up with everyone who gave me inputs on the aquarium stand design. I have spent a couple of months working on design (I'm not as sharp as I use to be). I have finished design phase and I'm almost finished building the prototype. It is for a 110 gallon tank with a Tideline 36 (41.7 gal) sump. This sump is large and may be removed through the front double doors. A smaller sump can be inserted through either end and the front. I've added a screen shot of the solid model design and a few pictures of the in-process build. When I'm finished it will have Curley White Maple front and front doors, Hard White Maple sides, Walnut corner trim, no front center support, a door on each end, and a shelf set that may be placed on either side. Thanks to everyone for their inputs. I'll post a picture when it is finished.
Really nice workmanship. The price of wood i feel your pain and holy clamp collection lol.
 
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GrampsReef

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For everyone asking about removable side panels, I suggest looking into these little guys. We make our stands and canopies 100% wood free, usually aluminum profile skinned or decked with high pressure resin composites, acrylics or other finishes. Sometimes we use these for removable access attached to the aluminum skeleton. But they will work on any type of panel system including wood. They are a patented product called "button fix". Amazon probably sells them.

D2D4F611-28D3-45F0-B888-ABCCD024A711.jpeg 2F9902BA-88E9-4E8C-B756-1991E54A5AAC.jpeg
D2D4F611-28D3-45F0-B888-ABCCD024A711.jpeg
2F9902BA-88E9-4E8C-B756-1991E54A5AAC.jpeg
60DDC9D8-89F7-4479-AFD4-A893C3185E47.jpeg
01E6975C-AF6B-42A3-BA8A-BDB781825E4D.jpeg
1B6093C1-772B-4FD7-9784-097C54923726.jpeg
Love the idea of an aluminum frame.
 

malacoda

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I love the look of hardwood furniture rather than plywood.

But a question I'm very curious about...

With the weight of a large tank on it, say 120g or larger, will a hardwood top panel still be able to 'float' on the stand enough to avoid checking or splitting as it seasonally expands and contracts ... in the same way a table top needs to float on its apron ... or a door panel needs to 'float' in the stiles and rails?

***Am still curious about this ... but just noticed that you decided to go the plywood top route, so it wouldn't be an issue. ***
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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