ReeferMadness80G
Valuable Member
We started with a pretty standard 2x6 frame for plenty of support for good sleep at night
Cutting the floor out, thanks to a buddy who helped me it fit like a glove!
See! Like a glove! So I decided to go with a 47" tall stand so if you add the 16" aquarium depth you're left with 63" to the top..I know what you're thinking..that's pretty high..at almost 4 ft tall to the top of the stand and over 5 ft to the top of the tank it really took away from the appeal of a "shallow" tank! I had spent almost 6 hours and a couple hundred dollars building a stand that was TOO TALL, as soon as everyone saw it they said " wow that's pretty high up", it didn't have the wow factor of a shallow tank anymore, what was I gonna do?!? My girlfriend stands at 5'2" and my kids at about 4 ft, and they wouldn't get the effect at all, I thought on it for a weeks and lost sleep over it every night.
So I did what I had to do and took it back to the shop and tore it down (carefully) and took 7 inches out of it!
This time when I put the top on I cut the hole out for the overflow and return lines. I did more of a triangle than a hole, a hole saw was not available at the time and I got impatient. Also, in this picture you can see the window I put down on the end of the stand if I decide to set it up in a peninsula style position, mainly for controllers or just a different view of the sump and equipment etc.
The height was now around 40 inches, 56 at the top of the glass, it was perfect! Not only could I now access everything in the display tank without bending over but my kids and girlfriend loved the new height as well.As you can see on the right side of this pic, I used that wheel cart to move the stand as it weighs probably 200+ lbs.
After staring at the tank for a few days it was clear I needed a bar top- of course right??
I did some more research at lowes and snagged a damaged piece of sheet laminate for around 50 bucks for a 4'x8' sheet. I picked up some more 3/4 inch pre finished plywood at the local cabinet shop and with more help from a friend made the top. I'll explain it in detail since I forgot to take pics of the process. I knew the dimensions of my tank were 48.5"x 24.5" so I just decided to bump that up by 10"inches all around to give me an overhang of about 5 inches. The edges are doubled up to give an 1.5" (inch and a half) lip. The lip is doubled up only about 4 inches in, it's NOT two whole 58x34 pieces of plywood. Anyway, this is how far I am on it as of today. Next up is finishing the stand with paint and trim, maybe some nice doors. I'm open to all questions and critics! FOLLOW ALONG
Cutting the floor out, thanks to a buddy who helped me it fit like a glove!
See! Like a glove! So I decided to go with a 47" tall stand so if you add the 16" aquarium depth you're left with 63" to the top..I know what you're thinking..that's pretty high..at almost 4 ft tall to the top of the stand and over 5 ft to the top of the tank it really took away from the appeal of a "shallow" tank! I had spent almost 6 hours and a couple hundred dollars building a stand that was TOO TALL, as soon as everyone saw it they said " wow that's pretty high up", it didn't have the wow factor of a shallow tank anymore, what was I gonna do?!? My girlfriend stands at 5'2" and my kids at about 4 ft, and they wouldn't get the effect at all, I thought on it for a weeks and lost sleep over it every night.
So I did what I had to do and took it back to the shop and tore it down (carefully) and took 7 inches out of it! This time when I put the top on I cut the hole out for the overflow and return lines. I did more of a triangle than a hole, a hole saw was not available at the time and I got impatient. Also, in this picture you can see the window I put down on the end of the stand if I decide to set it up in a peninsula style position, mainly for controllers or just a different view of the sump and equipment etc.
The height was now around 40 inches, 56 at the top of the glass, it was perfect! Not only could I now access everything in the display tank without bending over but my kids and girlfriend loved the new height as well.As you can see on the right side of this pic, I used that wheel cart to move the stand as it weighs probably 200+ lbs.
After staring at the tank for a few days it was clear I needed a bar top- of course right??
I did some more research at lowes and snagged a damaged piece of sheet laminate for around 50 bucks for a 4'x8' sheet. I picked up some more 3/4 inch pre finished plywood at the local cabinet shop and with more help from a friend made the top. I'll explain it in detail since I forgot to take pics of the process. I knew the dimensions of my tank were 48.5"x 24.5" so I just decided to bump that up by 10"inches all around to give me an overhang of about 5 inches. The edges are doubled up to give an 1.5" (inch and a half) lip. The lip is doubled up only about 4 inches in, it's NOT two whole 58x34 pieces of plywood. Anyway, this is how far I am on it as of today. Next up is finishing the stand with paint and trim, maybe some nice doors. I'm open to all questions and critics! FOLLOW ALONG
