# ADA style 100 Gallon aquarium cabinet.



## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

Hey everyone

Today i'm going to be showing you how to make an ADA style aquarium cabinet. as of now it's about 75% complete. just waiting on the Formica to come in at my local counter top store.

Materials

3/4" Oakwood Plywood
Titebond III Ultimate wood glue
1.25" Wood screws (#8)
2.5" Wood screws (#8)
Euro hinges (Doors)
Lepage Contact Cement (3.75L)
High density foam roller (For contact cement)
Laminate (I chose formica)
Wood stain (I used Minwax Rosewood)
#20 Biscuits (2 packs)

TOOLS
Drill
Pilot hole bit
#8 Square head Drill bit
Biscuit Joiner
Laminate Trimmer
Jigsaw
Hole saw
J Roller





Measure the dimensions of your stand. In total you will have 5 sides and 1 Middle brace in total. Each piece will consist two 3/4" Oak wood plywood pieces glued together with Titebond Ultimate wood glue III(Waterproof). except ,for the left and right side braces(For now). I chose Oakwood plywood because it is a hardwood Veneer core which makes this much more stronger than your average piece of plywood. Before glueing the side braces together you will want to cut out space for your Euro hinges. than you can glue the sides braces together.

using 1.25" #8 screws, Glue and screw the two pieces of 3/4" plywood together.When finished for this stand to create 6 pieces in total.(top, Bottom, left, right back and middle brace) Each piece is two 3/4" pieces of plywood glued together.

since I used two pieces of 3/4" plywood I decided that on every side each piece of plywood would have its own biscuit joint. now for this particular stand I decided on a biscuit joint every 4" on each piece of plywood.(see picture).

4) Apply glue to the #20 biscuit and insert into slot. ensure both sides are glued than connect all 4 pieces (Top Bottom left right middle and middle brace).

5) Using #8 2 1/2" Screws . connect all pieces together to form the stand as pictured below.

6) Stain the inside of the cabinet with at least two coats for water proofing.

This is all for now, stay tuned this week for completion.


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## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

Wow. So awesome. I wish I could be as handy as you.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*Awesome*

Nice read .... now this is what this forum should be all about inspiration and teaching others stuff...not gta/kijjii


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## Nebthet78 (Aug 21, 2017)

Great Thread. Following!


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

*Update*

Okay so a bit more has been completed since my original post. lets have a look.

Now i wanted the edges and corners to be flawless. so for this I had to use Wood filler to cover any drill holes and edges where the wood meets up. once this has dried go ahead and sand it down to nice smooth finish.

I also used the hole saw to create two holes on each end of the cabinet. these will be used for the tubes of the filter and co2.

The formica finally came in ! really excited about that. now when applying the contact cement make sure it's in a well ventilated area or choose a Low Voc contact cement like the one I did by lepage.

apply the contact cement pretty liberally to the formica and the wood surface of the cabinet. You'll want to wait for this to dry approximately 30 min.

now make sure you use slats between the surface and the formica because once it goes on, it won't come off. Using your laminate trimmer and a flush trim bearing bit go over it twice and sand the edge a bit when your done as formica can be quite sharp.

also you can see I added the front piece to the stand. it's starting to really take shape and i'm quite happy so far. Im going to try and have this completely finished by the weekend.

Enjoy the photos !


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

Okay

so all the formica has been put on. all thats left is to clean off the excess glue and finish the doors!


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## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

That is beautiful. wow.. great job!!


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

vraev said:


> That is beautiful. wow.. great job!!


Thank you! just adding the finishing touches as we speak. Should have completed photos up tomorrow.

Its taken me close to 3 weeks to complete the project. I'd say by now there is at least 40+ hours into it.


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

Hey Everyone...

The moment has finally arrived ! May I present the Complete finished 

DIY ADA 100 gallon aquarium stand.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Very nice. Man that stand looks good


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## UsAndThem (Jan 20, 2015)

planter said:


> Very nice. Man that stand looks good


Thanks Planter !


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## vraev (Mar 29, 2012)

That is fantastic. Wow. Man! I wish more stands of this kind were available. I can understand why the price is up there. It is sad to see aqua inspiration gone....they had some of these nice stands at a good price.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

AI had some nice tanks.but the stands they sold were not built like this one is. Not even close.


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