The perfect stand - Some Ideas and Yours?

[NEFFx]

So, maybe this is obvious, though I have a built a few stands in my day and seen a good bit of them over the years. That said they all look rather similar.
I was building a stand for my 240g and wanted to try something a little different, and came up with the below. I thought it was a good idea that I haven't seen so thought I would share. Also would like to know what others have done?

For me I wanted to keep all my equipment under my stand... I do have a 72x30 footprint on the 240g but its never enough and its a peninsula. so what I did is expand the size of the base of the stand but kept the supports of the stand the same. the base is 96x38" but the supports are still 72x30.

Then I was able to add these awesome shelf covers around the outside. They are not attached but rest on an L bracket. They are great for drinks, frags, food, and test kits. plus i have them in 4ft pieces so I can stack them if i want to work on a section with little space lost. the sheet of 1/4" wood/melamine board are supported by 1x3 trim border. which also looks nice IMO. The shelf is quite simple - the 2x4 is attached to the melamine board with regular screws every foot. then laid the 1x3 over the screw holes and sank in shallow 1/2" screws every 8" to sandwich the board between the 2x4 and 1x3. then there's a 1x5 and thin quarter round on top to finish the shelf. this also hides the black trim of the tank. Very clean look.

Here you can see how easy it is to access everything and cover up, plus use the shelf and extra space on the supports to hang things which often dont have the space since they are covered by wood siding etc.

Below pic trying to use every inch of space. you can see its very easy to work or modify anything. The barren tank below is before I cut them in half.

The other item I found that was great and cheap is the 1.4 white vinyl sheet at Lowes which I used on the bottom to put everything on top of. Spill proof and malleable. easy to cut and clean. cheap.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Is that MDF under the white stuff? For my new 72 x 24 x 24 tank I am using spacer to lift the sump off the base of the stand, then I build a false bottom, I use 5 layer Marine Plywood thank God I bought it all prior to COVID, that way if I get a spill I place a fan under there so it will dry better.

 

[NEFFx]

Is that MDF under the white stuff? For my new 72 x 24 x 24 tank I am using spacer to lift the sump off the base of the stand, then I build a false bottom, I use 5 layer Marine Plywood thank God I bought it all prior to COVID, that way if I get a spill I place a fan under there so it will dry better.

re MDF - To be honest, I have had very little issue with the laminated panels in snake tanks and other reptiles. also on reef tanks I have seen them remain much the same over the years with very slight, if any, expansion only at the edges. I have left pieces outside and even those are not bad after getting rained on. "TDL panels are particleboard laminated with a thermally fused paper/resin coating to provide a durable hard surface" is what it is.

And yes higher grade plywood is great too. Covid prices were nuts. Managing spills would be better if I had a vent built in the bottom bit but the wood supports act as baffles so not easy anyway.

 

[las]

Nice craftsmanship

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I am sure the MDF will be fine I think my Crystal Dynamic stand is probably the same stuff. Yeah the post COVID prices for wood is crazy, I was fortunate to buy all of my stuff prior to COVID but it is still in the garage.