DIY 100 long stand

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

dawnmarie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 21, 2009
864
1
0
California Delta
www.eddosharbor.com
Hi. group. I thought I'd share my Saturday project.
I needed a stand for a 100 long to house my fish temporarily while I replumb my 240. I built a 60 1/4"L x 18 1/4"W x 30" H yesterday and here's the design I used. Note: I haven't decided on a door design yet.
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Base assembled with 1/2" ply rear panel and floor glued and fastened with finish nails.
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Rear framing and bottom cleats installed with glue and finish nails.
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End panels glued and fastened. (Hint: If your plywood is cut square and parallel all you have to do to keep everything plumb is to align the framing with the edges of each plywood sheet.)
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Some may have noticed the framing is unconventional compared to most designs. You are basically biulding a series interconnected of box beams. Ie. Dimensional lumber sandwiched between sheets of plywood with every joint carefully glued with Titebond Plus Glue and fastened with finish nails.
This shot gives a better Idea of how it all works together.
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The top and interior panels are all 1/4" AC pplywood. The rear and bottom panels are 1/2" AC
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Face frame is 1x Poplar. All materials bought at Home Depot for $150.I could have done it for under $100 if I had opted not to use the Poplar and Sandply(stain grade plywood/smoother finish).
Ready for finish.
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Careful and accurate cuts are the secret to ease of assembly and and less finish prep.
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This project is a lot easier if you have access to a table saw but I have done similar projects with a circular saw, a strait edge and two C clamps
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The project to this point took 6 hours of labor over the course of a 12 hour day. It weighs 120 Lbs and is very rigid. It is slightly over built and could have been built at under 100 lbs. The design could be scaled to fit any tank.
 
Holy crap you got some skills ! That looks awesome. Let me know if you need to borrow any aquarium supplies etc for the move. I got an eheim canister and countless other stuff DE filter 4 foot light strip I just replaced.

Best of luck and keep me posted !
 
I was gonna paint the whole thing but I couldn't help myself (spar varnish and latex paint). Haven't decided on a door style yet.
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Looks like it's nicely built, not a fan of the different wood being used on the vertical ver. the horizontal. Still a very nice stand and will work out great i'm sure. Fixing to start on a dual stand for two 110 highs myself :)
 
All of the face frame is poplar , unfortunately , the verts didn't take the stain as evenly. I darn near painted the whole thing because of that. that will teach me to look closer at the grain when buying in the future
 
The natural variability in the grain and the way it takes stain is one of the things I like about wood :). You never really quite know exactly what its going to turn out like.

Very nice stand. I like the stained front with the black inside. Does it really need doors?
 
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