Hi Guys,
So i'm officially jumping back into the fish tank world. Just a warning up front, this will not be a quick build. Right now, The goal is to have my first fish in the tank by May 1, 2015.
Anyway, let's start with the stand. I wanted something nice that would fit in with the rest of my living room, and after seeing the cost of buying a good looking stand, I decided I would just build it myself. In terms of furniture, this would be my first go, but what the heck right?
I did some basic math and figured out what kind of weight I would need to support, and then came up with a design that would fit what I needed. Forgive me on some of the strange angles for the photos. I'm doing a majority of this build in my garage, so space is a premium.
The beginning
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The 4 legs measured and cut. I took measurements from my armpit down so the tank wouldn't be so tall that I wouldn't be able to work on it without a stool. I'm really proud of how even these cuts are.
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Here is one of the legs standing up.
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Attaching the legs to the bottom. I used rabbit holes so I could get a more uniform angle on all of the legs and then added metal bracing for lateral reinforcement.
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Here is a closer look at the bracing. You wouldn't believe how much of a difference these make.
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The stand is starting to take shape.
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I added 2 lateral braces to create additional support. My design as far as supporting the weight of the tank is almost entirely wood sitting on wood. This is much more structurally sound than relying on all of the weight to sit on screws. My biggest concern was lateral movement, which the metal braces and lateral cross beams address.
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Here I put in the "floor" of the stand and then covered everything in a sealant. After that dried I painted with a second sealant, oil paint.
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I got as far as I could without having the actual tank to measure precisely, so I went and got the tank. I still haven't gone over and painted the inside of the shell, but it's on my to do.
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Here is the tank passing the leak test and the stand passing the "I can hold this up" test. I'm not sure why I was nervous. This stand could probably support 5,000lbs. I know this last picture is dark, but I got the tank the night before going on a long vacation and couldn't resist filling it up.
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So this is as far as I've gotten in terms of the build as well as my furniture skills. I'd like to finish the stand with doors in the front and some sort of mold/trim and then a stain, but I don't quite know how to do that. Could I bribe any of the expert stand builders on here to help me out or at least give me some tips? I can pay in alcohol or dollars if needed.
Let me know what you think!
So i'm officially jumping back into the fish tank world. Just a warning up front, this will not be a quick build. Right now, The goal is to have my first fish in the tank by May 1, 2015.
Anyway, let's start with the stand. I wanted something nice that would fit in with the rest of my living room, and after seeing the cost of buying a good looking stand, I decided I would just build it myself. In terms of furniture, this would be my first go, but what the heck right?
I did some basic math and figured out what kind of weight I would need to support, and then came up with a design that would fit what I needed. Forgive me on some of the strange angles for the photos. I'm doing a majority of this build in my garage, so space is a premium.
The beginning
The 4 legs measured and cut. I took measurements from my armpit down so the tank wouldn't be so tall that I wouldn't be able to work on it without a stool. I'm really proud of how even these cuts are.
Here is one of the legs standing up.
Attaching the legs to the bottom. I used rabbit holes so I could get a more uniform angle on all of the legs and then added metal bracing for lateral reinforcement.
Here is a closer look at the bracing. You wouldn't believe how much of a difference these make.
The stand is starting to take shape.
I added 2 lateral braces to create additional support. My design as far as supporting the weight of the tank is almost entirely wood sitting on wood. This is much more structurally sound than relying on all of the weight to sit on screws. My biggest concern was lateral movement, which the metal braces and lateral cross beams address.
Here I put in the "floor" of the stand and then covered everything in a sealant. After that dried I painted with a second sealant, oil paint.
I got as far as I could without having the actual tank to measure precisely, so I went and got the tank. I still haven't gone over and painted the inside of the shell, but it's on my to do.
Here is the tank passing the leak test and the stand passing the "I can hold this up" test. I'm not sure why I was nervous. This stand could probably support 5,000lbs. I know this last picture is dark, but I got the tank the night before going on a long vacation and couldn't resist filling it up.
So this is as far as I've gotten in terms of the build as well as my furniture skills. I'd like to finish the stand with doors in the front and some sort of mold/trim and then a stain, but I don't quite know how to do that. Could I bribe any of the expert stand builders on here to help me out or at least give me some tips? I can pay in alcohol or dollars if needed.
Let me know what you think!
but I'm still glad I got it. Are you going with just one for now?
I've seen some people go nuts.
