20-37 gallon extra high stand.

[m1ste2tea]

Currently I am using a narrow 42 inch bookcase as both a stand for my 10 gallon grow out tank, and as a holding compartment for my two oversized canister filters for my 2 55 gallon tanks. in the nooks and crannies between the filters is all of the fish food, and aquarium maintenance products.

It is all quite a sore sight and despite me wanting to always keep this a low cost hobby, I have decided to build a tank stand that is 30 inches long(so that I can later get a bigger grow-out tank) and tall enough to accommodate 2 shelves for my canister filters and a drawer at the top for all of the accessories.

here is my plan...

~46 inches high
~30 inches wide
~12 inches deep




I rendered it in brown to try to not drown out the details, but I will stain it ebony in actuality.


outer wall construction done in low grade 3/4" white pine. Spent $37 on the wood at home depot.


all glue, no screws, inner corner has a support brace which provides more surface area, for sheer resistance.


upside down... note the lack of power tools


front end vertical sections...


thats all for now, I'll get to work on it in a few hours, will have more updates later tonight. I am quite handy with carpentry but have never built my own stand so feedback and suggestions are most welcome. thanks.

 

[bob965]

That is going to be massively topheavy. I know it's only a 10g, but that's still alot of weight to put 4 feet off the ground on top of what is essentially an empty box. The fact that it's 12" front to back doesn't help matters either. If any kids are around, it would only take about 3 seconds for them to grab the top edge and put just a little of their weight on it and get crushed. I would reconsider this design.

 

[FuzzyHead]

Easy solution to the top heaviness, screw it into the wall. Leave yourself a small spot on the back of the stand that can be screwed in. Once that takes place, it's a lot less likely to tip.

 

[m1ste2tea]

good point. The depth of the stand was largely dictated by the selection of wood at home depot. I'll make sure to include a wall anchor.

 

[m1ste2tea]

didn't get much work done tonight... thinking about going with one big hinged door and skipping the drawer...

 

[m1ste2tea]

I have decided to ditch the drawer concept and go with a full door because I couldn't find any drawer rails 12" long, the shortest was 16"


here are the door materials, .25" birch plywood, 2.5x.75" molding, and a 1.5x.25 strip to hide the edge of the plywood from the sides of the door... This is a compromise that I had to make due to not having a router





the 1.5" strip glued to the edge of the 2.5" strip, with the vertical piece used spread the clamp force evenly





this is the end result, the plywood sits in the recessed part.



gluing the previous piece onto the plywood. Using the scrap wood again in the back




the slack will be cut off and hand planed with the molding for a flush finish

 

[m1ste2tea]

Okay, here's another belated update. I have done quite a bit of work... all it needs now is a stain and a few coats of poly.

here is a continuation of the door, I planed the excess wood and have sanded it down flush with the frame of the door


the door frame seams came out well after I put some stain-able wood filler and sanded it down.


I chiseled out the cavities for the door hinges. I chose concealed door hinges to give a clean look to the front, they are harder to intall, but look better IMO and keep the door closed.


closed position


open position


I had to cut out an indentation in the stand face in order for the hinge to attach in the right position, this was dictated by the allowed clearance and overlap that the door required.


front of the stand




mock fitting of the door

 

[bob965]

I know it's a little late now, but a 1 3/8" forstner bit would have made cutting those hinge holes much easier and neater. They are only about $10 bucks or so. They work best in a drill press, but I've used them in a handheld cordless drill to cut hinge pockets with no problem.

 

[m1ste2tea]

I know it's a little late now, but a 1 3/8" forstner bit would have made cutting those hinge holes much easier and neater. They are only about $10 bucks or so. They work best in a drill press, but I've used them in a handheld cordless drill to cut hinge pockets with no problem.

yeah... I spent a lot of energy chiseling out those holes... I was on a roll, worked non stop on it all day on my last day off so I just did with what I had. here are some other detail


here is the top of the stand, where the tank should sit. with the molding, the top is 31.25 inches across.


back of the tank will be left opened for the tubing and wiring


top corner detail from the back, I'm not concerned with the look here because nobody will see it.


middle shelf from the back detail. again not concerned with the look.


bottom shelf from the back detail.


a view of the inside of the top shelf.


the underside of the middle shelf. I used a 6" wide piece of 3/4" plywood glued for support, Its mounted along the shelf, horizontally so that it won't obstruct the tubes for the filter.


front of the middle shelf.



I am currently staining everything, and hope to have it all finished by wednesday night. Expect updates then.

 

[m1ste2tea]

so here is the finished product. I used minwax ebony stain, applied quickly and brushed off with a rag so as to not let it get too dark. I then used one coat of oil based polyurethane, ran out of that one and switched to a water based polyurethane, which is the best one I have used so far, it dries so fast!

here it is with the 10 gallon fry tank on top and a beer for size reference


door swings open to the right. revealing the two shelves. it houses the canister filters for the two tanks on the left of the stand.


3/4 view


front view. I am particularly pleased with the way the grains on the knots stand out.


bottom shelf. I put down linoleum tiles on the shelf over the poly for added waterproofing. they were 72 cents at home depot, and I used 5 of them. very easy to install.


middle shelf, the edge of the tile is shown but that does not bother me.


top hinge


bottom hinge


front wood grain detail


side wood grain detail