New stand build.

A friend of mine bought an 150G star fire front glass reef tank. Came with the tank, canopy and a stand.
The stand on the right was ok but there were a few issues in my eyes. I'm not sure who built it and it did work for them for over a year I was told. However, some items I should of took pictures of that were questionable. The first issue for me was that in was on small caster wheels. Each wheel had two screws holding it on a piece of 1x2 that was wood glued to the bottom plywood. The other main issue was that it was built with 4x4 posts and the corner overflow would sit directly on the 4x4 so a slice was cut out for plumbing. I think that would make it difficult to tighten a bulkhead. The majority of the stand was glued together.

My friend's wife wanted the stand sanded and stained instead of grey. I felt it would be easier to rebuild it from scratch that way the finished product would be much more sturdy, and visually pleasing. I decided on a 2x4 skeleton frame wrapped in oak plywood and oak trim.

This is the inspiration and plans for the build.


At this point I was at 95 dollars in material including the 3/4" oak Plywood, 2x4's, stain and poly. The price in all would be close to 250.00 for all the materials. I first started by cutting all the 2x4's and assembling the frame.



This Frame alone is capable of holding the tank with no issues.

 

On the bottom I put a piece of 3/4" Plywood to prevent any rot in the future. The top and front of the stand was also 3/4" Plywood. The sides were made with just 1/4" Oak Plywood. Then I will frame the rest with 1x3 solid oak. I bought 26' of 1x6 oak ripped it in half and cut it all to size. I plan on painting the inside of the stand a bright white. and the rest will be stained red oak and a few coats of poly. I also made the top a few inches larger so you have a spot to lean on the stand and enjoy the view. It stands 41 inches tall and the tank is also 31 inches high for a total of 6' the canopy will add another 14 inches. It will be simple and made of the 1x3 oak and inset with 1/4" oak plywood.

This is where I'm at at this point.

 

looking good. can't wait to see it finished.

 

Got the doors and knobs on. This week is sanding and staining. Looking for a 10" wood Bishop chess pice to cut in half and put them on the doors. My buddies last name is Bishop I figured it would be a cool surprise. However went all over and can't find one.


Perhaps maybe even a smaller Bishop Piece. Something perhaps just done in stain. Or an actual wood piece cut in half and put on each door.
Stain art Example.


wood cut in half example.

 

looking good!

 

Stained the cabinet a nice red oak color. Should I stain or paint the inside?

 

nice

 

Wwoooooooheeeee. Nice and shinny! Can't wait to see a tank on this thing. Any thoughts on what to do on the inside? Paint it? Stain it? If painting it, black or white? Personally leaning towards black. Need some advise.

 

Get marine grade poly - use the primer and top coat. Not cheap but is like a layer of glass. Chaulk all the corners first it will bascally be waterproof.

 

very nice stuff