I figured, what better way to make my first real post here, than to share the buildup of the custom stand and hood that I built for my first aquarium; a 71gal, 3'x2x19" tank which will be the permanent home to somewhere between 4-7 Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum). Hope you guys enjoy the thread as much as I enjoyed the build........well, more actually, this totally killed my back for about 2 weeks 
The Stand:
I've included some pics of the frame design, so if anyone else wants to use it they are welcome to. The entire thing will be shrouded in plywood, which will be stained a very deep brown, and the 3' face will have 2 cabinet doors on it.
DAY 1:
Google Sketchup design:
and parts list:
2x4 Cut List
1@2x4x12' = ( 6@22.5" ),
6@2'x4'x84" = ( 37.5"+25.25"+18.25" )x4, ( 3@18.25"+21.75" )x2
Which correlates to the picture:
6@22.5" - Yellow
4@37.5" - Red
4@25.25" - Green
10@18.25" - Blue
2@21.75" - Purple
2@4'x8'x3/4" Sheet Plywood
1@27"*39" (Top)
2@25.25"*39" (Front & Back)
2@25.5"*25.25" (Sides)
2@14"*18.75" (cabinet doors)
Sheet 1:
Rip @ 39",discard 9"strip, vert cut 2@25.25", 1@27"
Sheet 2:
Rip @ 14", cut 2@18.75"
Rip @ 25.5", cut 2@25.25"
This is what I have waiting for me to put together:
(there is more here than what I need, I screwed up on my 2x4 lengths that I needed at first, but fixed it while I was cutting. Adjustments have been corrected and all dimensions currently listed above are the correct board lengths needed)
One more shot before I get to work (only materials that will be used in the build, scrap set aside):
-Countersink Bit
-Black Paint for tank and foam
-2.75" Deck Screws
-1&5/8" Gold Screws
-Multipak of drillbits for pilot holes (for when I inevitably snap some)
-41"x29"x1" Pink Foam (will be trimmed to exact tank base once tank is placed on top, I just had to cut it down to get it in my car and get it home)
-Stain for the plywood (I used exterior deck stain)
-Foam Rollers
-Hinges for cabinet doors
-New razor blade for knife
-GFCI plugin
-Multitap
2x4 Cut List
6@22.5" - Yellow
4@37.5" - Red
4@25.25" - Green
10@18.25" - Blue
2@21.75" - Purple
Sheet Ply
1@27"*39" (TOP)
2@25.25"*39" (F&B)
2@25.5"*25.25" (Sides)
2@14"*18.75" (cabinet doors)
Top and bottom put together:
Test Fit (no screws yet):
Supporting frame complete:
Flipped on the side so I could attach the surround panels:
Ready to cut the holes for the door faces (If anybody is reading this as an instructional, keep in mind that it is easier to flip over the face panel and trace your cutout from the INSIDE of the frame, then do your door cutouts BEFORE you attach it to the frame permanently. I just had a new toy and wanted to try something different) :
DAY 2:
Spent about 2 hours sanding:
Holes for the doors cut out:
Doesn't look like much has changed, but, the entire top piece is trimmed, and one cabinet door is trimmed out:
Cutting the exact right length piece on a 45 angle for trim is a PAIN! One stick chipped on me (I'm not using a finish blade like I should be), so I'll have to pick up another stick and finish the second door tomorrow. Then, the doors get sanded, and everything gets a first coat of stain.
DAY 3:Got a lot done tonight, although it doesn't look like much, trim takes FOR-EV-ER! I also pulled the top off, and evened out the shroud so it is perfectly level with the skeleton, that way the top rests perfectly flat and makes contact with every point of the frame underneath, so weight is transferred evenly. Ear plugs and 45 minutes with a dremel multimax, and the top was ready to go back on.
I had to pick up extra trim anyway because of the stick I broke, so I just picked up enough to finish ALL the exposed edges of the cabinet. At $0.36/ft it doesn't add any significant cost, and it will make it look much cleaner in the end.
All the trim finally on, all the trim nail holes plugged and sanded:
First cabinet door done:
Used the T-square to make sure that the cabinets were level with each other, and equidistant from the edges:
Both doors secured to the frame:
I was hoping to stain tonight, but it doesn't look like that will happen. My back has had enough for the night, and I need to blow off all the dust before I stain. Considering it is 1:15am, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me opening the garage and firing up the compressor
DAY 4:
Moving it out to the garage to stain. There is MAYBE 1" clearance on either side. Glad I accounted for that in my design. If it was any bigger, it would have to have been built inside the room it was destined for:
Door pulls on. Just went with basic wood ones because they match, and they were only $0.94. The stand is up on 2x4's so it is not sitting directly on the blanket. This serves both to allow me to paint all the way down to the bottom without gunking up my brushes with dirt from the floor, or painting the floor, and it also has the added benefit of keeping me from getting hollered at by my father when I show him the pictures later (as it's his blanket).:
First coat of stain on. I don't know what that blob is at the top of the screen, maybe sawdust or stain. At any rate, I love the color. It looks darker in the picture than it actually is due to crappy low lighting and my only camera being my cell phone, so just.....imagine it lighter
:
This pic shows the color a little better, although it is still just a hair lighter in person. As far as I can tell just by eyeballing and walking back and forth between rooms, it actually matches the rest of my furniture almost exactly, which is what I was shooting for.
Now, to paint the tank and the foam while the stain dries. After that, a quick light sand to fix my mistakes while staining (Always go WITH the grain of the wood, never across. Watch for drips, as they turn into blobs that will need to be sanded and fixed if not smoothed before they dry and crust. It's not like painting a wall, where you go back and forth....wipe in one direction, like you are wiping crumbs off a table into your hand....this removes excess stain, smooths it down so you don't see any transition, and makes it looks much more natural). After sanding, another quick touch-up with the stain, a clear seal cote for the interior, and it should be ready to go!
DAY 5:
-Finished painting the tank, got the trim tape pulled off, looks good (picture isn't even worth uploading)
-Put a clear seal coat on the entire inside of the cabinet to help with moisture issues
-Got my top foam board cut to size and painted
I am also doing a foam piece in the base as well, which will get painted black. This will just serve as a lightweight base for the cabinet, that is waterproof, and will also insulate from the ground:
I set the cabinet on top of a sheet of foam that it was slightly larger than, and grabbed a giant knife
Using the knife, I cut along the inside perimeter of the base, just enough to give me a guide so that I could cut through it once I took the cabinet off
Pretty solid fit
Test fit of the painted top foam sheet. There will be a 1.5" lip all around between the cabinet and the foam, and a 1.5" between the tank and the foam, so once the tank is on, it will all stair step up evenly to the base of the tank:
DAY 7:
Front view:
View from my recliner:
A better shot of the tank and stand all together:
First fill, 27 hours elapsed, currently housing 3 goldfish on loan from my sister to get my tank cycling:
The HOB filters are temporary, as well as the desk lamp on top. I will be building a proper top for it with lights, and running the cords through a cutout in the side of the stand. You will only see, at most, 2 tubes going into the back of the tank by the time everything is completely finalized.
[YT]wb78Y6pGpEI[/YT]
And now, onto the hood!
The Stand:
I've included some pics of the frame design, so if anyone else wants to use it they are welcome to. The entire thing will be shrouded in plywood, which will be stained a very deep brown, and the 3' face will have 2 cabinet doors on it.
DAY 1:
Google Sketchup design:
and parts list:
2x4 Cut List
1@2x4x12' = ( 6@22.5" ),
6@2'x4'x84" = ( 37.5"+25.25"+18.25" )x4, ( 3@18.25"+21.75" )x2
Which correlates to the picture:
6@22.5" - Yellow
4@37.5" - Red
4@25.25" - Green
10@18.25" - Blue
2@21.75" - Purple
2@4'x8'x3/4" Sheet Plywood
1@27"*39" (Top)
2@25.25"*39" (Front & Back)
2@25.5"*25.25" (Sides)
2@14"*18.75" (cabinet doors)
Sheet 1:
Rip @ 39",discard 9"strip, vert cut 2@25.25", 1@27"
Sheet 2:
Rip @ 14", cut 2@18.75"
Rip @ 25.5", cut 2@25.25"
This is what I have waiting for me to put together:
(there is more here than what I need, I screwed up on my 2x4 lengths that I needed at first, but fixed it while I was cutting. Adjustments have been corrected and all dimensions currently listed above are the correct board lengths needed)
One more shot before I get to work (only materials that will be used in the build, scrap set aside):
-Countersink Bit
-Black Paint for tank and foam
-2.75" Deck Screws
-1&5/8" Gold Screws
-Multipak of drillbits for pilot holes (for when I inevitably snap some)
-41"x29"x1" Pink Foam (will be trimmed to exact tank base once tank is placed on top, I just had to cut it down to get it in my car and get it home)
-Stain for the plywood (I used exterior deck stain)
-Foam Rollers
-Hinges for cabinet doors
-New razor blade for knife
-GFCI plugin
-Multitap
2x4 Cut List
6@22.5" - Yellow
4@37.5" - Red
4@25.25" - Green
10@18.25" - Blue
2@21.75" - Purple
Sheet Ply
1@27"*39" (TOP)
2@25.25"*39" (F&B)
2@25.5"*25.25" (Sides)
2@14"*18.75" (cabinet doors)
Top and bottom put together:
Test Fit (no screws yet):
Supporting frame complete:
Flipped on the side so I could attach the surround panels:
Ready to cut the holes for the door faces (If anybody is reading this as an instructional, keep in mind that it is easier to flip over the face panel and trace your cutout from the INSIDE of the frame, then do your door cutouts BEFORE you attach it to the frame permanently. I just had a new toy and wanted to try something different) :
DAY 2:
Spent about 2 hours sanding:
Holes for the doors cut out:
Doesn't look like much has changed, but, the entire top piece is trimmed, and one cabinet door is trimmed out:
Cutting the exact right length piece on a 45 angle for trim is a PAIN! One stick chipped on me (I'm not using a finish blade like I should be), so I'll have to pick up another stick and finish the second door tomorrow. Then, the doors get sanded, and everything gets a first coat of stain.
DAY 3:Got a lot done tonight, although it doesn't look like much, trim takes FOR-EV-ER! I also pulled the top off, and evened out the shroud so it is perfectly level with the skeleton, that way the top rests perfectly flat and makes contact with every point of the frame underneath, so weight is transferred evenly. Ear plugs and 45 minutes with a dremel multimax, and the top was ready to go back on.
I had to pick up extra trim anyway because of the stick I broke, so I just picked up enough to finish ALL the exposed edges of the cabinet. At $0.36/ft it doesn't add any significant cost, and it will make it look much cleaner in the end.
All the trim finally on, all the trim nail holes plugged and sanded:
First cabinet door done:
Used the T-square to make sure that the cabinets were level with each other, and equidistant from the edges:
Both doors secured to the frame:
I was hoping to stain tonight, but it doesn't look like that will happen. My back has had enough for the night, and I need to blow off all the dust before I stain. Considering it is 1:15am, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me opening the garage and firing up the compressor
DAY 4:
Moving it out to the garage to stain. There is MAYBE 1" clearance on either side. Glad I accounted for that in my design. If it was any bigger, it would have to have been built inside the room it was destined for:
Door pulls on. Just went with basic wood ones because they match, and they were only $0.94. The stand is up on 2x4's so it is not sitting directly on the blanket. This serves both to allow me to paint all the way down to the bottom without gunking up my brushes with dirt from the floor, or painting the floor, and it also has the added benefit of keeping me from getting hollered at by my father when I show him the pictures later (as it's his blanket).:
First coat of stain on. I don't know what that blob is at the top of the screen, maybe sawdust or stain. At any rate, I love the color. It looks darker in the picture than it actually is due to crappy low lighting and my only camera being my cell phone, so just.....imagine it lighter
:
This pic shows the color a little better, although it is still just a hair lighter in person. As far as I can tell just by eyeballing and walking back and forth between rooms, it actually matches the rest of my furniture almost exactly, which is what I was shooting for.
Now, to paint the tank and the foam while the stain dries. After that, a quick light sand to fix my mistakes while staining (Always go WITH the grain of the wood, never across. Watch for drips, as they turn into blobs that will need to be sanded and fixed if not smoothed before they dry and crust. It's not like painting a wall, where you go back and forth....wipe in one direction, like you are wiping crumbs off a table into your hand....this removes excess stain, smooths it down so you don't see any transition, and makes it looks much more natural). After sanding, another quick touch-up with the stain, a clear seal cote for the interior, and it should be ready to go!
DAY 5:
-Finished painting the tank, got the trim tape pulled off, looks good (picture isn't even worth uploading)
-Put a clear seal coat on the entire inside of the cabinet to help with moisture issues
-Got my top foam board cut to size and painted
I am also doing a foam piece in the base as well, which will get painted black. This will just serve as a lightweight base for the cabinet, that is waterproof, and will also insulate from the ground:
I set the cabinet on top of a sheet of foam that it was slightly larger than, and grabbed a giant knife
Using the knife, I cut along the inside perimeter of the base, just enough to give me a guide so that I could cut through it once I took the cabinet off
Pretty solid fit
Test fit of the painted top foam sheet. There will be a 1.5" lip all around between the cabinet and the foam, and a 1.5" between the tank and the foam, so once the tank is on, it will all stair step up evenly to the base of the tank:
DAY 7:
Front view:
View from my recliner:
A better shot of the tank and stand all together:
First fill, 27 hours elapsed, currently housing 3 goldfish on loan from my sister to get my tank cycling:
The HOB filters are temporary, as well as the desk lamp on top. I will be building a proper top for it with lights, and running the cords through a cutout in the side of the stand. You will only see, at most, 2 tubes going into the back of the tank by the time everything is completely finalized.
[YT]wb78Y6pGpEI[/YT]
And now, onto the hood!
)
