DIY Stand for my 200 (1st day)

[wattheconheo]

Last week I picked up my tank.

Not feeling the stand at all. I starting reading different fourms about DIY projects. Still having some questions about structural strength. I went to my Dad's house and picked his brain for a good couple of hours yesterday.


Today was my 1st day at an attempt to make my own stand. I would like to say that it is the worst thing to ever do for the 1st time. It was a big learning process and I'm not even done. Thank god my friend has experience and every single tool (power tools, saws, screws, etc.) needed. The day started out early at AM with a trip to Lowe's for the lumber. I just got finish (7ish) and we are still missing a door (mis calculation). I'll let the pictures do the talking and tell me what ya think.


This is the base and everything was built from it.

The doors were made flush, along with the front of the stand. Instead of using screws, that will eventually fall apart. We counter sunk a screw with washer and nut, through the front and patched it up with puddy.

Next step will be to finish up the remaining door. Primer and than paint

 

[mr.reef24]

great start, going to look real sweet when your finished.

mr.reef24

 

[dkht25]

I would question the side to side stability of the stand without much being there in the way of internal framework.

 

[bdog]

^^^^ Agreed, there's almost no triangulation. Even making the back solid would help a lot.

It looks great though, nice job.

 

[wattheconheo]

Yesterday I had a couple of hours after work, to work on the stand. The stand didn’t have much work left on it, from the last time we touched it. The front left door had to be cut, routed and put on. I also added a back bracing that ran the length of the backside.
After that was started, making the canopy was a piece of cake. Cut out the front panel, which has the front access doors. Like the stand these doors are flushed and swing out. Glued and nailed all the pieces together but we didn’t have enough time to mount the front access doors. I routed parts of the canopy and that was the last thing I could do. It was getting late and I didn’t want to bother the neighbors. So all that is left on the canopy before primer and paint, is: doors and inside mounts for the top of aquarium.

 

[wattheconheo]

Day 3
On day 3, we went ahead and finish the canopy. We added the inside legs that would sit on the aquarium, giving a 1” lip all around. Today was also the day, for installing the doors for the canopy.

After the canopy was completed, I went ahead and did some finally touch up of the stand. I added some 2x4s to support the stands standing legs.

With everything ready for primer, I sanded the whole stand with a palm sander. I cleaned the stand with a wet sponge, to get any debris and fine particles off. I didn’t have the “proper OSHA” mask, so this had to do for the day. Now the primer application begins!

So the first coat is applied and man does the MDF material suck it up!

 

[wattheconheo]

Day 4
So with the miscalculation of primer (I brought 1 quart) yesterday, I had to stop by the local Home Depot and picked up 1 gallon. The first coat on the stand sucked up so much of it, I had to apply another coat so that we could get a smooth finish. Got back to my buddy’s house and with the correct OSHA respirator (I came home and my nostrils looked like I was a sniffing coke addict), started spraying the second coat of primer.

After applying 3 coats of primer onto the stand, I let it dry for about an hour. Had a couple of drinks and watched my buddy teach his wife SCUBA in the pool. So with the primer dry and the surface correctly covered the way I wanted, we were ready for paint. Before painting the black coat, I wet sanded the entire stand once again with 600. I chose to go with Behr premium plus interior flat matte black suede. I wanted the stand to have a modern look, instead of the typical gloss black you usually see.

We were only able to apply one coat of the black suede today. I’m going to let it dry as this part is the most crucial part of your final look of the stand. I will hit the stand tomorrow with 1000 grade sandpaper before the next coat. Than depending on how it looks, I might need to sand it again and apply another coat. Hopefully it doesn’t take many coats until the desire coat and texture is achieved. After that I will start to primer and paint the canopy. Almost there people, I’m so excited to see the final product.

I will also be working on building my own Wet/Dry filter. I was able to score a free 60 gallon tank on Craigslist today, after an entire week of waiting and searching. I will buy some GE 1 silicone from Home Depot and pick up some glass to create the compartments. I will also be drilling 2” return holes into the glass of the tank, to give a cleaner look. This will be the first tank that everything is DIY (besides the making of the tank), so it’s pretty awesome to see things come together.

 

[fishfobia]

nice build those paper mask suck

 

[tamzor]

what kind of plywood or board did you use and what was the total you spent at the end? i have to build a tank for my 100gallon and trying to get ideas

 

[wattheconheo]

what kind of plywood or board did you use

I used MDF Board from Home Depot, 4x8 for $31. I had to buy 3 boards, for the stand and canopy.

- Primer
- Paint
- Door Stoppers
- Wood Puddy
- Wood Glue
- 2x4s

what was the total you spent at the end?

I probably spent about $150 - $175