# Need some advice on my DIY stand



## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Been looking at some of the threads in here, and was wondering why do you Guys not use a full solid top when you are building stands for large tanks? I see that most of you sit the tank on rails so the bottom of the tank is not protected by anything?

Now on to what I thought would work for my 37 Gal 30" x 12" x 23" tank.

I had intended to use a flat solid top made from a ¾" MDF with a plywood frame under it to make it a bit stronger and less likely to warp, would this be ok for my tank to sit straight on top of as the tank has a plastic rim around the bottom that will give the tempered glass bottom about half an inch clearance from the solid cabinet top?

The main case is built from ¾" cabinet grade plywood that has been laminated on both sides to prevent it from warping; it will also be beefed up on all the corner sections by doubling up the ply to make "L" and "I" sections.

Have not started the base/kick yet but will have four adjustable screw in feet on each corner, as the floors in my house are not very level : ( .

*This is the basic case build, will need to double up the ply on the corners and also fit some shelves and make some doors (the top is just resting on it, and not fixed down yet in case I have to make some adjustments)*









*Photo # 2 is a close up of the solid top (Plywood and MDF glued and screwed) with a good thickness laminate glued to it for water proofing, I was also intending to put a ¾" hardwood frame around the outside to prevent it from warping when the tank is filled.*









Anyway that's what I have so far, if anyone can see any fatal flaws or have any better ideas of what I could do here I would be grateful if you could point them out to me before I get to far into this project.

Cheer's&#8230;PanzerFodder&#8230;


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

It depends on the type of tank you're putting on the stand. If it's a tank where the bottom is floating (most store bought tanks), because all the weight is supported by the vertical panes of glass, you just need to have support under the edges of the tank and not the whole bottom.
If it's a custom tank, generally the vertical panes rest on the bottom pane -and so all the weight is supported by the flat bottom of the tank. In order to support the whole pane, you have to use a flat piece of plywood or MDF to support it.

BTW, great looking stand!


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Like Ameek said, it depends on the tank.

With standard tanks with trim, I would imagine the trim carries the blunt of the weight. Hence, the need to only support around the tank.

Not that there's anything wrong with what you're doing. I've seen some builds that do have 'flat' tops.

Just saying, if there's no need to do it, why spend the extra $ on something unneccessary?

Just curious, what are you protecting the bottom from?


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

+1 nothing wrong with your stand. Looks good so far. Just make sure you water proof the sides of the top very very well. 

I'd only be concerned that the adjustable feet on the bottom can take the weight of the tank full of water and rocks. Might be better to have solid feet that are measured to the thickness you need to level the tank.


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> Like Ameek said, it depends on the tank.
> 
> Just curious, what are you protecting the bottom from?


Anything that could be forced up and bang against the bottom of the tank really!, I have a 3 year old girl that is into everything ATM, and I don't want to risk the tank getting smashed if she is playing around while I am not there, got to have eye's in the back of your head with these kids you know  .

@ Riceburner, I will be useing some heavy duty screw in feet, same as used on large store displays, I hope that they will be up to the job, and I will post a photo of them later on so that you can see what I mean.

Also thanks to all of you for taking the time to share a few tips with me in this thread 

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Wow that stand looks awesome. How long is it taking you to fully complete it?


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Got an good nights worth of woodworking in on my stand tonight, it's coming along now, slow but sure  , it's taking me a bit longer than I expected, as I had some walnut offcuts that I wanted to use, and they were all different thickness and widths so I had to spent a few hours jointing and planeing them to a standard size that would be useable on this project.

Top photo. is the clamp up job I did while building the base to get the mitre's to close up nice and tight.









This is one of the screw in feet that I intend to use, (don't know where you can buy these as a Guy at work gave them to me, they are useing a different type now and he had a few of the old style left over, so if it's free! I'll have them please "LOL" , anyway I think that four of these will be more than up to the job of supporting the fish tank.









Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Holy clamping! Must be nice to have a full workshop of woodworking tools...and not have to build everything in your living room 

Stand's looking great - I can't wait to see you set this all up.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

LOL serious clamping! I guess it's true when they say you can never have enough clamps!

Looking good!


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

ameekplec. said:


> Holy clamping! Must be nice to have a full workshop of woodworking tools...and not have to build everything in your living room


" LOL" thanks Guys, the funny thing is that before I moved to a place with a garage, I used to have to work on the kitchen floor 

I finished work early today so stopped at BA on the way home, had a good old look round and ended up parting with some cash on a Dual-Lamp T5HO Light Fixture  so I have all of the big stuff now, just need to finish the stand and I am more or less ready to go 

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## xr8dride (Feb 24, 2009)

i'm looking at my stand now and seeing all the strips of tape holding everything together, lend a few clamps? haha. The stand is looking great...Ok I must get back to taping now before it all falls apart, roflmao.


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## Marowana (Jul 28, 2009)

very nice looking stand you got there. i only wish my homemade stand looks like yours. my question is why did you put MDF on top instead of another piece of plywood?


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Marowana said:


> very nice looking stand you got there. i only wish my homemade stand looks like yours. my question is why did you put MDF on top instead of another piece of plywood?


Hi Marowana.

MDF tends to be flatter than plywood, and have a more uniformed thinkness so I thought it would be good to use for a tank stand top.

Although Plywood is stronger than MDF, so I backed it up a bit with 4" stips to give it a bit of support, the screws will hold better in plywood as well  .

None of them are very good if they get wet though  , so I put laminate on the top to keep them dry (I hope  ).

Cheer's...PanzerFodder..


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

My stand is finished at last, (Which is just as well, coz it getting bloody to cold to work in a unheated garage  ) here is a few photo's of it now it's in my front room  .

I went for a two tone look in the end as all the walnut was different colors and some of it was a bit sappy, I used a black stain and let a good coat of it stay on the wood for 30 mins before I wiped it off, did not get a 100% match by doing it that way but I am happy enough with the results once I got the varnish on, and a couple of light sands to knock the grain down.
The finished size is 32" x 33 1/2" x 20" .









Here is a shot with the doors open, I used piano hinges on the doors and they were a right pain in the **** to get the doors to line up nicely with, and I only used them as I wanted to be able to open the door's right back so they are not in the way when I'm doing stuff around the tank.









Last photo is just to show you the laminate top and how it looks with a hard wood frame around it, don't know if you can see that I ran the router with 1/8" cove bit around the top to soften the edge a bit.
I should have used silver color door knobs to match the hinges, but I saw that the brass ones were cheaper so I went for them instead  .









Not sure what you will make of how I did the top?, but I decided not to go with a rised lip style! just in case I need to use this unit for something else in the future  .
I'm still not sure about putting styrofoam between the tank and top yet as the top is 100% flat and I am not sure if it needs it???, I did go to the Home Depot today and looked at the insulating foam in the 1/2" size but did not get it because it looked a little to rubbery and soft for a fish tank to sit on  .

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## xr8dride (Feb 24, 2009)

The styroam is not necessarily to provide a flat surface...it gives larger tanks somewhat of a cushioning effect to self level incase of a slight angle in the surface or the floor it is placed on. This is my understanding of it's purpose anyway. I may be wrong so hopefully someone with a little more knowledge will jump in and give some advice. I know my floor is not 100% level, though very close so I used it with a raised lip on the stand and you can't tell it is there.


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## xr8dride (Feb 24, 2009)

BTW....stand looks great, should have had you build mine


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Beautiful results. You should be fine with MDF as long as any spillage is taken care of right away. Which I'm sure you know already.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Beautiful job. Styro will not allow a tank to self level. It will absorb any discrepencies in flatness, as well as offer a cushion. Occasionally, the plastic frame will not be totally flat, and it can help with that. Sit your tank on there and see how it sits. White styro will take a lot of weight before it even shows an imprint of the tank frame.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Amazing finish! I should have had you build mine too!


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for the very kind comments Guys, maybe I should start up a business building tank stands for people “LOL” , seriously though, I do have a reasonable knowledge of woodworking, coz it’s what I do for a living (Making Store displays).

BTW: if any of you are ever stuck on something, or need to know what materials are available to do a specific job don’t be afraid to PM me, I will be happy to make some suggestions.

ATM: I have a lot of 3’x3’ (About that size) paper backed Oak veneer in my shop that is just begging to be used, give me a shout if you need a few sheets and I’ll see what I can do  .

Thanks again…PanzerFodder…


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## Al-Losaurus (Jul 21, 2009)

Looks great i was scared to use any mdf in case it got wet.

Got a sheet of half inch oak ply laying around? lol i have been putting mine off for months cause i sank way to much cash into it with the price of the tools and oak ply + oak trim the trim alone was almost 150  lol all i need to do is finish the doors and drawer only way to do it is another 4x8 sheet


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

Al-Losaurus said:


> all i need to do is finish the doors and drawer only way to do it is another 4x8 sheet


I have some oak veneer if you want some (for Free  ) you should be able to contact cement it to any old plywood that you have hanging around, would be good for the centers if you are thinking of making doors with a raised frame around them.

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...


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## Cowboy (Aug 19, 2010)

Very Nice i made 3 stands 2 for me and one for a friend and all 3 have flat tops, 2 of my tanks have the plastic trim but i still used yoga mats for support, cushion, and level support. For my 60 gallon Acrylic it is a flat bottom, no plastic trim and again i used a flat top for it and left the back open for cords and plumbing.

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18406

They are not a fancy as yours but im not a fancy guy, first stands to, my next hopefully will be a 200 gallon in the wall at head level so the stand wont be seen, but will need to have support, and probably have a flat top too, except for the holes for drainage.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

looks great. I'm going to have to build mine next summer before I move the tanks upstairs.


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## kev416 (Aug 22, 2010)

No need for styrofoam. Your top is dead flat. It would be an eyesore on such a beautiful stand.


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## PanzerFodder (Oct 15, 2010)

yep, thats what I thought as well, I want my tank to be the main feature in my front room and did not fancy a block of pink foam sticking out the sides, although now I think about it my 3 year old girl would more than likely have wanted it that way  .

Now that I think of it, I have to get her a bigger tank now, as the 10G one she was given is near the end of it's days, thinking about getting her a 16G or 20G for Christmas and I will have to make a stand for that one as well, so it look like a few more cold nights in the garage for me in the next month or so  .

Cheer's...PanzerFodder...

BTW: Cowboy, thats a good idea with the yoga mats, I will have to have a look for one when my girls stand is ready  .


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## phi delt reefer (Sep 8, 2010)

panzer - get a "bar top" gloss kit from homedepot. its like twenty bucks but its a clear epoxy resin (or something) that seals all sorts of surfaces. you would have seen these surfaces at most bars - its a super strong surface and gives you glass like finish. Good investment when using mdf just in case


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## Marowana (Jul 28, 2009)

with your skills, you should be building these for custom tanks. its a nice way to pay for your hobby.


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## kev416 (Aug 22, 2010)

Hey PanzerFodder... is that a General International Jointer in that pic? How do you like it? Work well?


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