# DIY Skirt/Cover for Aquarium Stand.



## NomiGold

So I've got this metal stand for my 75G, like so:










Works well, I can fit a ton of stuff under it, which is great. But since summer is approaching, and I'm going to be striping down my current set up before I move anyway, I was thinking about making a simple skirt to cover up the bottom, make it a little bit prettier.

My current idea would be to have a couple planes of waterproof, sturdy black plastic attached to the frame via velcro. Easy to remove to fiddle around with filters and other stuff I put under there, easy to re-attach, and easy to clean. Also super easy to put together. I'm a little stumped on where to get the appropriate sort of plastic though. Or what sort of plastic sheets I would want to be looking for.

Any thoughts?


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## J_T

Plastic world. They will for sure have what your looking for.

Given the way the stand is there, I would change it up a bit. Get your self some L bracket material. Home depot has them for not too much. Then get yourself some magnet strips. Most have adhesives on them.

Glue the sheets to the L, and it will sit over the upper edge. (confused yet?) the magnets will help keep it in place, and will keep it easy to take the panels off. The corner uprights will still be visible, and thus add some character to it.


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## NomiGold

Oh, that's a good idea. The magnets will probably work better than velcro strips. 

Looks like plastic world is a bit far away from me. I'm in Oakville, and without a car. Would home depo have plastic sheets? Canadian tire?


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## carmenh

Got one I want to cover, too, so tagging along for ideas...


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## characinfan

Here's another option, also using magnets.


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## df001

If i can offer a suggestion, a look that is really classy along the same theme.

You could use veneer plywood panels cut to size and finished. you can still do the velcro/magnet idea. lee valley has an awesome selection of rare earth magnets and accessories that are perfect for this application

inset the plywood inside the frame tubing, so that the edges are hidden by the steel tubing.

the downside is that you'd need to finish the plywood panels, 3 coats of paint, lacquer or urethane etc. and I'm not sure what would be more cost effective - the plastic panels or the wood.

depending on the aesthetic look you were going for there are a variety of hardwood veneer ply-woods available.


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## cliff

NomiGold said:


> My current idea would be to have a couple planes of waterproof, sturdy black plastic attached to the frame via velcro. Easy to remove to fiddle around with filters and other stuff I put under there, easy to re-attach, and easy to clean. Also super easy to put together. I'm a little stumped on where to get the appropriate sort of plastic though. Or what sort of plastic sheets I would want to be looking for.


I'd use Coroplast, essentially plastic cardboard that many outdoor signs are made out of. It's inexpensive, most Rona's and home depots carry it in some colours. Some DeSerres' also carry it and usually have more colours.

I'll be doing something similar, essentially wrapping the coroplast panels in fabric (will match the walls better) with a bit of backing but likely won't be for a couple of weeks, I'll post pictures then. Right now the fabric is attached with a bunch of the rare earth magnets mentioned above - it works, but takes too much time to put back nicely after accessing under the tank.


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## NomiGold

I'm not a huge fan of having a fabric covering. The plywood idea could be cool, but the only area I have to put stuff together is the room I'm renting, so I have no place to be finishing/lacquering/painting anything. I'd have to get that done elsewhere, so I'm sure at that point it would be more cost effective to just do the plastic.


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## df001

Not at all, water base urethane, super hard and clear, dry to the touch in about 30-40 minutes, you can apply with a foam brush/pad/rag, and water clean up.

Newspaper over the floor is all the protection youd need.


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## ChuckRum

Heres a suggestion that i have done: i have used melamine because it looks nice and you dont have to paint or finish it, but you can easily use plywood and either finish it or just paint it for some appearance. Cut out 3 rectangles to be just a few inches bigger than the dimensions of 3 sides of the stand, (one would be 48" long, and two other would be 18" long). Screw them together in a "U" shape, stand it up, and simply slight it right over your stand. When you need to maintenance simply slide it out, or if you want to get creative, you can always get two hinges cut out a door.


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## NomiGold

Good to know about the water based urethane! Melamine's also another interesting idea.


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## adrenaline

I have a 55 gallon set up on steel stand. on the bottom i have a 15 gallon fry tank. on either side of the 15 gallon i have clear acrylic painted black on the back. light sanding with fine grit sand paper, then a few coats of black paint makes it look really nice. a deep mirrored black finish on the front. 

then to hold them on I used the magnet tape. It comes with adhesive on one side. so my panels fir prefectly over the two sides of the tank, and come off and go on very easily thanks to the magnet strips. on the sides and back i used the same principle, but I used double sided permanent tape to hold the acrylic on, and added balck silicone (very fine bead) to the inside of it to give it a perfectly finished look 

Hard to picture, but acrylic painted on the back gives you a REALLY nice finish on the outside.


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## bioload

This is how I've treated metal stands in the past to give you some options:


















































































In retrospect I would avoid using MDF and substitute for solid wood....but MDF was cheaper


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