Hi guys I've been working on a stand for my 55G, and just posted what I have so far. Again this is a simple stand I've seem really nice looking stands from many members here but I'm not that good or a wood worker.
You can see the page here or:
http://www.celticland.com/diystand.htm
DIY 55/65 Gallon Aquarium Stand in Progress...
I wanted to build a stand for my 55G tank that could also fit a 65G, the stand that I currently have was made for a fresh water tank and it doesn't have the necessary room for a sump. I'm not really good at working with wood so this is definitely a beginner DIY and there are tons of other DIY stands that are better than this, but at least you can get an idea so you can start building your own.
This are the plans I made you can download as a PDFÂ here:
http://www.celticland.com/SW/DIY Stand plans.pdf
After I figured out the dimensions I wanted I bought the 7 2x4x8 and started cutting them to size
I cut all the pieces by first taping the 2x4s together to insure they would be the same size, I used a
table saw which helped getting straight cuts.
In this picture I aligned the front face of the stand and used 2x4s to align and leave space for
other pieces I would use later.
Here the same pieces screwed, I also used wood glue.
Once the frame was completed I used 3/4" plywood to cover both the top and bottom of the stand, The top piece on ply wood was the exact size of the frame and was screwed/glued in the bottom was a trickier since I had to cut around the 2x4's.
I used 1x4 to wrap the front and sides of the top/bottom of the stand they cover the 2x4's.
On the sides I used 1/4" plywood, the right side panel is removable so I could fit the sump.
I made the doors from 1/4" plywood and the edges from 1x2x1/4 cut at 45 degree angles. I cut them again while taped to make sure they were the same size.
I'm still working on this and will post more pictures once I'm finished.
TIPS:
Use the same type of wood, I used poplar for the 1x4s, door edges and the two vertical strips that you can see on the front and tried staining it but it came out really horrible the color didn't match the plywood top or sides. It was blotchy and just ugly I almost broke the thing down and gave up. I decided to paint the stand a wood color and by giving it a very thin coat a achieved the color that you can see on the picture I'm happy with it and will only clear coat it.
You can see the page here or:
http://www.celticland.com/diystand.htm
DIY 55/65 Gallon Aquarium Stand in Progress...
I wanted to build a stand for my 55G tank that could also fit a 65G, the stand that I currently have was made for a fresh water tank and it doesn't have the necessary room for a sump. I'm not really good at working with wood so this is definitely a beginner DIY and there are tons of other DIY stands that are better than this, but at least you can get an idea so you can start building your own.
This are the plans I made you can download as a PDFÂ here:
http://www.celticland.com/SW/DIY Stand plans.pdf
After I figured out the dimensions I wanted I bought the 7 2x4x8 and started cutting them to size
I cut all the pieces by first taping the 2x4s together to insure they would be the same size, I used a
table saw which helped getting straight cuts.
In this picture I aligned the front face of the stand and used 2x4s to align and leave space for
other pieces I would use later.
Here the same pieces screwed, I also used wood glue.
Once the frame was completed I used 3/4" plywood to cover both the top and bottom of the stand, The top piece on ply wood was the exact size of the frame and was screwed/glued in the bottom was a trickier since I had to cut around the 2x4's.
I used 1x4 to wrap the front and sides of the top/bottom of the stand they cover the 2x4's.
On the sides I used 1/4" plywood, the right side panel is removable so I could fit the sump.
I made the doors from 1/4" plywood and the edges from 1x2x1/4 cut at 45 degree angles. I cut them again while taped to make sure they were the same size.
I'm still working on this and will post more pictures once I'm finished.
TIPS:
Use the same type of wood, I used poplar for the 1x4s, door edges and the two vertical strips that you can see on the front and tried staining it but it came out really horrible the color didn't match the plywood top or sides. It was blotchy and just ugly I almost broke the thing down and gave up. I decided to paint the stand a wood color and by giving it a very thin coat a achieved the color that you can see on the picture I'm happy with it and will only clear coat it.
