metalhasrisen
Member
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 4
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Welcome to my build thread. The plan for this build was to build a custom stand to accommodate a new Oceanic 90 gallon Tech tank. In order to gain the wife’s acceptance, the stand had to look more like a piece of furniture than an aquarium stand. I have a background in building furniture so this was a fun challenge for me. I was considering selling this newly completed stand. However, I’m so happy with the way it turned out that as of now I plan to just continue the build as slow as necessary to allow me to keep up with my additional workload. </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">On to the build and the Pics! BTW, the lamps are not permanent. Just keeping the wife happy until the project is complete. I will be adding trim/canopy at the top. I need to settle on a light fixture before moving forward with the design.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">The stand consists of three pods built from cabinet grade birch plywood. The interior is designed to be as open as possible to allow equipment connections between the three sections. The stand height is 42”. I wanted the stand to be taller than the back of a couch and easily visible without having to bend over. The bottom is a single piece of plywood that ties everything together and helps distribute the load. There are three service lights integrated into the stand and wired with a switch and a plug. All screws are stainless steel to resist corrosion. This part of the stand is finished with an oil based primer and paint. The first primer coat went on at half strength and the second coat is full strength. The top coat consists of 2 coats of a durable oil based paint. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The exterior of the stand is solid hardwood, quarter sawn white oak to be specific. The trim around the bottom is designed to appear like feet on a piece of furniture. I’ve always felt like most stands look too heavy. This really helps “lighten” it up. The doors are raised panels and are inset into the frames. You will notice that the interior opening of each door is smaller by ½” all the way around. This is to keep light from escaping the inside of the stand when a fuge light is on. The top panels of each side are removable for access to the equipment below. These panels as well as the top piece of trim around the base of the tank include a Wenge inlay to provide some additional detail. The side compartments are not as deep as the main opening to provide some additional visual interest.</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The right compartment is planned for the electronics. I have a new Neptune Apex and have mounted the controller display flush with the right door. Behind that door is a removable tray that will hold the rest of the Apex components as well as a couple of Vortecs and a battery backup.</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This finish is designed provide an antiqued look and bring out the natural qualities of quarter sawn white oak. The finish consists of a wipe down with distilled water to raise the grain. Once dry the stand was again sanded and a blend of wood dye was applied to achieve the base color. Then the stand was rubbed with boiled linseed oil, which adds depth to the finish. This portion of the finish was then sealed in with two coats of a wax-free shellac. The next step was to apply a dark walnut glaze to accentuate the grain of the wood. A final step was to apply 6 coats of a high performance polyurethane sanding with progressively finer grits between each coat. The inside face of all of the oak is finished as well for stability. The same 6 coats of HP poly was applied over a less labor intensive finish process since it is only visible in one area of the inside of the stand. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope you enjoyed my build. As I said in the introduction, it may take a long while to actually get this system fully setup. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">John</span></span>
mailto:John@johnniewoodpeckers.com">John@johnniewoodpeckers.com</a>
<fieldset class="gc-fieldset">
<legend> Attached files </legend> [IMG]http://atlantareefclub.org/boards/data/uploads/attachments/532307=25125-040308_3967.jpg>
class="gc-images" title="040308_3967.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="040308_3977.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="040308_3989.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="040308_3994.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="040308_3998.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="DSC04688.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="DSC_0051.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
>
class="gc-images" title="Side open.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a> </fieldset>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">On to the build and the Pics! BTW, the lamps are not permanent. Just keeping the wife happy until the project is complete. I will be adding trim/canopy at the top. I need to settle on a light fixture before moving forward with the design.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">The stand consists of three pods built from cabinet grade birch plywood. The interior is designed to be as open as possible to allow equipment connections between the three sections. The stand height is 42”. I wanted the stand to be taller than the back of a couch and easily visible without having to bend over. The bottom is a single piece of plywood that ties everything together and helps distribute the load. There are three service lights integrated into the stand and wired with a switch and a plug. All screws are stainless steel to resist corrosion. This part of the stand is finished with an oil based primer and paint. The first primer coat went on at half strength and the second coat is full strength. The top coat consists of 2 coats of a durable oil based paint. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The exterior of the stand is solid hardwood, quarter sawn white oak to be specific. The trim around the bottom is designed to appear like feet on a piece of furniture. I’ve always felt like most stands look too heavy. This really helps “lighten” it up. The doors are raised panels and are inset into the frames. You will notice that the interior opening of each door is smaller by ½” all the way around. This is to keep light from escaping the inside of the stand when a fuge light is on. The top panels of each side are removable for access to the equipment below. These panels as well as the top piece of trim around the base of the tank include a Wenge inlay to provide some additional detail. The side compartments are not as deep as the main opening to provide some additional visual interest.</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The right compartment is planned for the electronics. I have a new Neptune Apex and have mounted the controller display flush with the right door. Behind that door is a removable tray that will hold the rest of the Apex components as well as a couple of Vortecs and a battery backup.</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This finish is designed provide an antiqued look and bring out the natural qualities of quarter sawn white oak. The finish consists of a wipe down with distilled water to raise the grain. Once dry the stand was again sanded and a blend of wood dye was applied to achieve the base color. Then the stand was rubbed with boiled linseed oil, which adds depth to the finish. This portion of the finish was then sealed in with two coats of a wax-free shellac. The next step was to apply a dark walnut glaze to accentuate the grain of the wood. A final step was to apply 6 coats of a high performance polyurethane sanding with progressively finer grits between each coat. The inside face of all of the oak is finished as well for stability. The same 6 coats of HP poly was applied over a less labor intensive finish process since it is only visible in one area of the inside of the stand. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope you enjoyed my build. As I said in the introduction, it may take a long while to actually get this system fully setup. </span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks</span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">John</span></span>
mailto:John@johnniewoodpeckers.com">John@johnniewoodpeckers.com</a>
<fieldset class="gc-fieldset">
<legend> Attached files </legend> [IMG]http://atlantareefclub.org/boards/data/uploads/attachments/532307=25125-040308_3967.jpg>
