5.5 gal. pico stand and canopy build.

[picoreefguy]

well its been almost 1.5 years since i took down my last pico and i feel like its time to do another (not really i just happened to pick up the tank for 5 bucks so i figured why the H*** not). so my first step is to build the stand and canopy. i picked up tools and materials friday night and started work on saturday. i measured cut all the wood and realized i left one out so i had to go back to lowes and grabbed some hinges while i was there. this project is rather small so i couldnt use normal plywood to make anything because it would just look silly. i ended up getting some 1/4" craft board to use. and since its so small i cant use screws or nails so its all held together with wood glue. i used several 2.5 inch wide pieces for all of the outer surfaces and got some 1" pieces and ripped them lengthwise to use for the interior supports. its not done yet but its to a point i feel comfortable shareing. i still have to sand down some parts that are sticking out too far and fix a gap in the lid. next ill get some L brackets for support since i dont want the thing to fall apart with a bump. then sand and paint. but enough babbling here are some pics.

test fit at my buddies house where i cut the wood.

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clamping the stand together

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first interior support that the tank will sit on.

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stand assembled

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starting canopy

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glueing the panels together to form the lid

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that dang gap.

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progress so far.

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please keep in mind this is the first wood working project ive done since i was a teen and im not a pro so it may not be the best quality but im just trying to make it presentable.

Edit: also note that im working on my bed because its way way too cold to be working in the garage.

 

[redstang]

Rest assured that I will never judge anyone else on their wood working skill! Looking good!

 

[picoreefguy]

thanks jason!

 

[curtismaximus]

Looks really cool man! How much do you think you have spent on the set up so far? Also what kind of clamps are those?
Nice work bench BTW!

 

[sewer urchin]

Hey Brijesh

I always love a good build.
If you want, I've got some stuff over here that you are welcome to use ( tablesaw, mitersaws, nail gun... that sorta stuff) and some oak and heart pine as well.

oh and some... ahem ( clearing throat)... squares if you need them.

 

[picoreefguy]

Curtismaximus;924630 wrote: Looks really cool man! How much do you think you have spent on the set up so far? Also what kind of clamps are those?
Nice work bench BTW!

in wood ive probably got maybe 20-25 bucks in it but including the glue and clamps probably around 70 or 80. and the clamps are called pipe clamps theyre made to work with standard metal pipe so you can change the size of the clamp you need with normal bar clamps you're set to the size of the bar but these you can just unscrew the pipe and throw on a longer or shorter one depending on the project you're working on.

Sewer Urchin;924634 wrote: Hey Brijesh

I always love a good build.
If you want, I've got some stuff over here that you are welcome to use ( tablesaw, mitersaws, nail gun... that sorta stuff) and some oak and heart pine as well.

oh and some... ahem ( clearing throat)... squares if you need them.

you think im falling for that ben? i know you just want your ac3 back lol. thanks for the offer man but ive got all the cuts done but i may take you up on it when i build the stand for my 40 breeder, also do you have a pocket hold jig? i dont feel like dropping a hundred bucks to drill some nice holes lol. my buddy said he was most likely going to get one sometime soon but if he doesn't by the time i start the build ill have to raid your house lol

 

[Reefplumber13]

Tagging so I csn read later

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[rdnelson]

Looking good man.

 

[picoreefguy]

thanks guys. and as i was reading the post over again i realized i made a mistake and posted a pic twice. this is the picture that should be under the label "glueing the panels together to form the lid"

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[sewer urchin]

i may take you up on it when i build the stand for my 40 breeder, also do you have a pocket hold jig?

Sounds good. Yeah I do have a kreg ( not the cool one like Giuliano but the cheapie from Home Depot)

you think im falling for that ben? i know you just want your ac3 back lol.

Not at all... I just want to try the hole saw out on the windows of the car to see if they are tempered
;-)

 

[picoreefguy]

Sewer Urchin;924674 wrote:
Not at all... I just want to try the hole saw out on the windows of the car to see if they are tempered
;-)

you can test all the windows on it you want when i take it to the junk yard in 5 or so years lol

 

[giulianom]

Sewer Urchin;924674 wrote: Sounds good. Yeah I do have a kreg ( not the cool one like Giuliano but the cheapie from Home Depot)

The mini one for $20?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Mini-Jig-Pocket-Hole-Kit-MKJKIT/100375609#.Us2H_bRFa_g">http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Mini-Jig-Pocket-Hole-Kit-MKJKIT/100375609#.Us2H_bRFa_g</a>


I just used my kreg jig yesterday to make a 20" square box to put my 3d printer in, to use as an enclosure... I used some 1/2" plywood, and the short 1" screws.. worked great!

 

[picoreefguy]

sweet i may just pick one of those up instead of risking ben drilling my windows lol. heres some more progress i made yesterday and today

glued some metal braces in the stand using gorilla glue because i didnt think the wood glue would play nice with the metal and i clamped each one on both sides for an hour to make sure they were nice and snug. so its 10 times stronger now than before

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glued some bracing on the inside of the lid. its functions are 3 fold.
1. is obvious it acts as bracing to help keep it from breaking
2. it makes the lid nice and flat (had a slight curve in it before from front to back)
3. it gives me a place to mount led strips off of the wood so they can cool a little better
also i have a funny story about this. my clamps wouldnt allow me to clamp the full length of the braces so i layed a sheet of half inch acrylic over it and stood on top...... for 30 mins lol. luckily i had my ipad to keep me occupied. if not i wouldnt have made it the full half hour.

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and if you havent noticed the project has moved. im working in the back of the local pet shop that my friend owns because my bed was a total mess after just one night of working on it. i also sanded the edges that were sticking out flush with the rest of the stand but i forgot before and after pics. still have lots to do though ill glue in the braces for the canopy soon and then fix that dang gap in the lid

 

[sewer urchin]

The mini one for $20?

Naw, it's this one, with the 2 holes...

 

[giulianom]

Sewer Urchin;925066 wrote: Naw, it's this one, with the 2 holes...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Jig-HD-Pocket-Hole-Jig-KJHD/204614706#">http://www.homedepot.com/p/Kreg-Jig-HD-Pocket-Hole-Jig-KJHD/204614706#</a>[/QUOTE]



That's for stock 1.5" and thicker - 2x4's and larger.



Have you used it yet?

 

[picoreefguy]

ive done a little more work and come pretty close to finishing this part of the tank build. when i put the canopy frame together the first time it was a l little crooked so i had to rip it apart and re glue it to be square and it still didn't come out right so i ripped it apart again and started over this time i used the tank as a support structure during clamping so basically the canopy sat under the tank upside down like it would normally right side up while it was being clamped so it would stay square and it worked. its a tight fit but its sturdy and square. i sanded and painted the both the stand and the canopy frame. i added a small sliver of wood to the lid and sanded it to fit just right into the canopy. then i screwed some hinges in and it works great.now i just need to figure out a way to open it without having to take the canopy off (got a few ideas in my head).

painted up. although the tank inhabitants dont look too hot. theyre all laying down. maybe the trates are creepin up??

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gap be gone! its a snug fit

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little more sanding and itll be ready for paint.

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hinged up. i was originally going to only use 2 hinges but decided to throw in the third one at the last minute which is why the spacing is weird. also i drilled pilot holes for the screws because tho wood is so thin and i didnt want it to crack. i didnt paint the back side because i planned on gluing the hinges on but the screws were small enough to use without damaging the wood so i went that route.

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and while i was working i started on the filter setup since this is going to be an AIO

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Edit: oh and once i got the canopy square i put in the same metal brackets that i used on the stand for extra sturdiness

 

[j_b_]

Cool build! These little nanos are fun setups. I made a stand/canopy for a 5½gal I had a while back. I built a pedestal stand for mine so I didn't have to set it on something. The pedestal is three sided, because I had planned a small canister filter to be tucked in the back, as it was originally a FW setup. It has a wide base on it to keep it steady. Have you given any thought to doing that? Here's a couple quick pics of it.

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[picoreefguy]

J.B.;926840 wrote: Cool build! These little nanos are fun setups. I made a stand/canopy for a 5½gal I had a while back. I built a pedestal stand for mine so I didn't have to set it on something. The pedestal is three sided, because I had planned a small canister filter to be tucked in the back, as it was originally a FW setup. It has a wide base on it to keep it steady. Have you given any thought to doing that? Here's a couple quick pics of it.

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no not really i had always intended to put this on something. im still not sure where its going to go either itll be on the counter at work, on the counter at my friends pet store or on the speaker next to my bed. but in any case all those locations dont really require a tall stand. the only reason i built one is because i wanted to cover the trim and i saw a nice setup similar to mine that a guy put on his desk at work and i really liked the way it looked so i figured id do it like that. but i like yours it turned out nice. is it still a fresh water setup or did you switch over to salt?

 

[rdnelson]

Dude!!! That tank is way overstocked. Everyone knows you can't keep an Elmer's in a tank that size!! I mean look at the front of it. It looks like a cow!!!

Coming together nicely.


I know you all think I have no heart but now I have an ultrasound to prove it.

 

[picoreefguy]

rdnelson99;926901 wrote: Dude!!! That tank is way overstocked. Everyone knows you can't keep an Elmer's in a tank that size!! I mean look at the front of it. It looks like a cow!!!

Coming together nicely.


I know you all think I have no heart but now I have an ultrasound to prove it.

actually thats not an elmers its a tightbond but they're both in the glue family and both get huge. i know i gotta get rid of it but i just love the **** thing ya know... lol