Homemade stand

[mbierzyc]

I built a stand to hold a 29gallon inside, and a 75gallon on top.

here are a few pictures. First the framing, then the finished product.


I'm new here and not sure if the pictures that i attached will show up in the post.

[DeLgAdO]

KICK A$$ STAND DUDE!! :thumbsup:

[jenBLKAROWANA]

WOW....BUILD ME ONE!!! KICK ASS!!! :headbang2


Jen

[mbierzyc]

those were some fast responses....


thanks for all the kind words. It wasn't very hard to build at all. I built a smaller, much less detailed stand for 2 ten gallon tanks, and that one only took about 3 hours to build. The stand is very high, but I think it looks pretty good. I still have no idea what to put in that 75 gallon tank on top, any ideas? a snakehead of a smaller variety would be idea, but i need to find one first.

[rayman45]

is it hard to get to the 29

great idea

i have seen the same thing.. bith with a reef 46 bow front

[bluedempsey]

for some reason i thought the 30 gal was a sump?
nice stand though. craftsman!

[managuense-fury]

cool stand I knew some one that made there own stand too but compared to yours it puts his to shame. :thumbsup:

[snogard]

oh very nice, very impressive.

[shoefreak03]

that is a very nice stand. :thumbsup:

[PhullTank57]

Outstanding stand!! :thumbsup: Sensational job building... looks great. Thanks for sharing. :)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4649&stc=1

[guppy]

Very nice job, also welcome to MFK

[mbierzyc]

it's very easy to get to the 29 gallon for feedings. However, I put the tank in through the back so I'm not sure how easy it would be to remove the entire tank, but I can't see a reason for doing that. The door that you can see in the pictures opens upwards so that I can open the lid of the 29gallon.

thanks again for the kind words.

[jenBLKAROWANA]

those were some fast responses....


thanks for all the kind words. It wasn't very hard to build at all. I built a smaller, much less detailed stand for 2 ten gallon tanks, and that one only took about 3 hours to build. The stand is very high, but I think it looks pretty good. I still have no idea what to put in that 75 gallon tank on top, any ideas? a snakehead of a smaller variety would be idea, but i need to find one first.


Snake heads are illegal...sorry...but you can get some BICHIRS or you could do a really cool african chiclid tank! OR you could do 2 Oscars...The 75 has endless possiblities....
Where in Illinois are you located? I could get some numbers of the local fish stores in your area.....I work for a pet supply distributer in milwaukee, and I have some good contacts down there... PM me and I will get back to you tommorw with some numbers!

Jen

[ShadowVengance]

Very Clever

[joeytoe]

Kick@ss stand/s there, I wish I thought of that when I didnt my 120gal stand. Who knows maybe my next stand I'll do something Similar, I still have my 75Gal to do a stand for.

Great Job. :thumbsup: :clap

[fishyboi]

NICE STAND!!! :D

[freeform]

cool stuff dude. thumbs up for ya. :thumbsup:

[lizardfishman]

nice stand. how did you do the background on the 29? how much did it cost to build it?

[mbierzyc]

the stand probably cost me around $100.

Just 4 or 5 2x4's
maybe a dozen 1x6 I think
hinges, the handle, then stain and poly.


the background on the 29 is a "habiscapes" background. I lost all of my bookmarks, but I bought it from a place online called something like "herpsupplies.com" that may not be the correct link though. I had to cut it down a bit and silicone it to the wall, it's made of hard styrofoam and looks pretty cool. If you really want a link, get back to me and I can search for you. They don't come in huge sizes though.

[cabouta1]

unique looking stand indeed. way to go. gave me several ideas.

[MossOnGrass]

awesome job dude

[MossOnGrass]

your stand is real cool , I would like to do it with my two tanks the only problem is I have a 72 bowfront to go under my 125 Im pretty good with my hands just the math part is what i hate ....if you can design it ,I can build it

[mbierzyc]

the way i planned mine was to have the 29gallon appear to be just a glass panel below the 75gallon tank, none of the black is shown, and the glass is nearly flush with the front.

with a bowfront tank, that won't be possible.

I'm not sure of the dimensions of a 72bowfront vs a 125, but if the 125 is much deeper, you could just build the stand deep enough for the 125, and then the outermost point of your 125 can be flush with the front of your stand, and the rest of it could be set back in your stand a little.

I think the whole thing would work much better with a flat front tank really.


unless you want to nearly steal my design, and have access to a jigsaw.

cause here's an idea, have the back and side walls of your stand flat, but then cut the top for your stand to a size that will fit the 125gal tank, but then in the front of it, you'll have to have it come out in the style of the bowfront tank. then you can use 1x6" like i did, so you won't really have to bend any wood, and make the entire front of the stand bowed in the same way as your 72gal tank?

make sense?

i'll draw a quick sketch then upload it here

[mbierzyc]

alright here are a few quick sketches. get back at me directly with any questions.

the one thing that i would have to think of more is how to build something to anchor the 1x6's to. There would have to be something with the bow shape built into the top and bottom frame. could be a flat board, but has to be thick enough to nail into.

on the far right of my drawing i show how i made my top and bottom frame, and the circled areas are where i would put my vertical support beam, i would put the beams in place so that they cover both the horizontal and vertical boards below them.

[MossOnGrass]

wow thanks thats just about all I need

[Waldo]

Mind you will have to have your tank on a stand from the manufacturer to keep the guarentee valid on the tank. I'd trust an expert craftsman though.

[mbierzyc]

I buy my tanks used, they don't come with guarantees and I make sure to overbuild.

[mbierzyc]

i just did some aquascaping to the 75 this afternoon, the water still has to settle, i built a diy undergravel filter for the tank (i know many people don't like them, but it suits my purpose very well.)

I may move some of the plants a little, but I think once the water clears up it should look pretty nice.

[jenBLKAROWANA]

Looks great!!!
Jen

[lizardfishman]

what are you gona put in the bottom tank?

[mbierzyc]

the bottom tank has a gold spilo piranha in it, i'll attach a picture here. the tank on top is much brighter than the lower tank, that's why it always looks so dark in the photos.

here are 2 pictures actuall, and i believe i posted them in a thread a while back, hopefully nobody minds.. oh and if anyone in IL wants him, i may get rid of him because he's getting kinda big for the tank, and I don't think I have any new tanks in my near future...

[astronatus]

That truly is a nice and innovative stand for those tanks. You should make some and sell them on ebay or here at MFK.

[wickedworm76]

WOW!!!! that is one beautioful stand!

[waylon]

For a homemade it looks just as good as one you buy or better.

[mbierzyc]

selling them wouldn't make too much sense unless they were for local people, because the thing is extremely heavy.

I had to bring it down into my basement from my garage, and it was nearly impossible. i should have just built it down here.

[cockroach]

heavens above i think I'm in love

[mbierzyc]

i traded the gold spilo tonight for 3 shortbodied albino bichirs, very cool fish.