Sleepingtiger
Well-Known Member
So I wanted to build a stand for a used 90g cube I acquired. I hated the original because the stand was a 24" tall. Add in the aquarium, it stood about 50". I don't like bending over to look at my aquarium. The build quality of the stand was decent, but it was just a plain stand with no features. I also hate many stands as many of the metal components tend to rust over time. So I set out plans to build a new stand. These are the features I would like
Red Sea stands are some of the prettiest stands out there. They are modern, sleek and just gorgeous. My design would be very similar to theirs. However, I didn't realize they had an issue with their stand. More on that later.
I see so many hobbyist display their equipment like controllers and dosers. I would like that as well. I also see them displaying the DJ outlet switch. I need to have that. But I wanted the control panel in the stand and not outside of the stand. So the display panel will sit in front of the sump. The display panel will be on a hinge so I can gain access to sump for maintenance. During the build, I thought it would be a waste to hide the control panel behind the main door. So I scrapped the front door and made a new door with a glass insert to display the control panel.
One negative on the Red Sea stands is that you have to use shims to level the stand. Not good, I wanted adjustable feet. Not just for leveling, but to get the wood off the floor. I saw many stands that sit on the floor that will get wet because of water spilling. After time, you can see the bottom of the stand warping.
I always used the Red Sea stands as my standard for the structural strength and design. So if plywood works for them, it works for me. Of course, in the middle of my build I ran across a thread talking about how Red Sea stands were warping and bowing. what the heck. Now it was their longer tanks that were failing, not their cubes. I have already build the main body, so I had to incorporate ways to prevent warping and bowing just in case. I used red oak, ran on the sides and as a cross brace.
I also saw many stands and Red Sea stands with rusting. So everything was to be stainless steel. Door handles, screws, hinges all had to be stainless steel. The only thing that wasn't stainless steel was the drawer slide. Around $70-100 for 304 stainless steel with anti corrosion features, it wasn't really in my budget. I have a bunch of drawer slides already from my DIY project that if they ever rusted, I would just replace them if I must.
On my other aquarium stands, sometimes the cabinet door will close to fast and send vibrations up to the aquarium scaring the fish. So the cabinet door must feature a soft close. Like the Blu Motion door hinges
Spilling of water in the sump section is something that happens. Over flows will happen in the sump will happen. Not a question of "if", but "when". So I wanted to do something to seal in the water in case of a leak or overflow. I added a 1" section to contain some water incase of a leak. Now, if your sump busted at the seems, the 1" depth wont do much. This is mainly for accidental spills and occasional over flow of a ATO container.
The build itself uses biscuit joints. I hate pocket holes. They are weak and ugly. I will caulk all seems to prevent water getting into the seems and warp the wood. A layer of Killz to seal in the wood. Rust-Oleum high gloss topcoat will be the paint of choice. It was designed for a marine environment.
- Must be tall (40")
- Modern with straight and square edges. No curves
- Ability display equipment like controllers and dosers
- Has adjustable feet for leveling
- Features a drawer for storage
- All hardware must be stainless steel to slow down corrosion.
- Main body is to be comprised of 3/4" furniture grade plywood.
Red Sea stands are some of the prettiest stands out there. They are modern, sleek and just gorgeous. My design would be very similar to theirs. However, I didn't realize they had an issue with their stand. More on that later.
I see so many hobbyist display their equipment like controllers and dosers. I would like that as well. I also see them displaying the DJ outlet switch. I need to have that. But I wanted the control panel in the stand and not outside of the stand. So the display panel will sit in front of the sump. The display panel will be on a hinge so I can gain access to sump for maintenance. During the build, I thought it would be a waste to hide the control panel behind the main door. So I scrapped the front door and made a new door with a glass insert to display the control panel.
One negative on the Red Sea stands is that you have to use shims to level the stand. Not good, I wanted adjustable feet. Not just for leveling, but to get the wood off the floor. I saw many stands that sit on the floor that will get wet because of water spilling. After time, you can see the bottom of the stand warping.
I always used the Red Sea stands as my standard for the structural strength and design. So if plywood works for them, it works for me. Of course, in the middle of my build I ran across a thread talking about how Red Sea stands were warping and bowing. what the heck. Now it was their longer tanks that were failing, not their cubes. I have already build the main body, so I had to incorporate ways to prevent warping and bowing just in case. I used red oak, ran on the sides and as a cross brace.
I really like the idea of a drawer to store stuff. I have never seen this before and think it would be a great idea. Because of the height of the stand, I can incorporate a drawer with little issue (so I thought). I understand why nobody ever had a drawer. What a PITA. The issue was further magnified because of the warping/bowing. Another issue was the main cabinet door. To make it sleek, the door had to use a full overlay hinge. I didn't realize the full overlay hinge would position the cabinet door to be inside of the face of the cabinet when the door was open. Now the drawer can't slide out. So I had to modify the drawer quite a bit to make it work.
I also saw many stands and Red Sea stands with rusting. So everything was to be stainless steel. Door handles, screws, hinges all had to be stainless steel. The only thing that wasn't stainless steel was the drawer slide. Around $70-100 for 304 stainless steel with anti corrosion features, it wasn't really in my budget. I have a bunch of drawer slides already from my DIY project that if they ever rusted, I would just replace them if I must.
On my other aquarium stands, sometimes the cabinet door will close to fast and send vibrations up to the aquarium scaring the fish. So the cabinet door must feature a soft close. Like the Blu Motion door hinges
Spilling of water in the sump section is something that happens. Over flows will happen in the sump will happen. Not a question of "if", but "when". So I wanted to do something to seal in the water in case of a leak or overflow. I added a 1" section to contain some water incase of a leak. Now, if your sump busted at the seems, the 1" depth wont do much. This is mainly for accidental spills and occasional over flow of a ATO container.
The build itself uses biscuit joints. I hate pocket holes. They are weak and ugly. I will caulk all seems to prevent water getting into the seems and warp the wood. A layer of Killz to seal in the wood. Rust-Oleum high gloss topcoat will be the paint of choice. It was designed for a marine environment.
