10 ft. Long Stand, Double Tank Advice

[BiscuitSlayer]

Thanks for the clarification IN.

As far as the canopy goes, I saw one somewhere that used a ply construction pretty much all the way around. If I can find it, I'll send you a link to the pictures. If I ever build another canopy, I think I'll go this route as I think it would be much more efficient and just as good looking.

As far as the Lowe's stock, what type are you going to use? Oak, birch, maple?

[intermediate_noob]

My whole canopy now is made of plywood, but just to make sure we are on the same page, I am talking about the cross braces of the stand being plywood. What would normally be the 2x6s will now be two pieces of 5.5" plywood laminated together. I think I am just being redundant, but just want to make sure.

As far as the plywood, I like the natural look of Oak with a polyurethane top coat and that is it. But, I am still undecided.

[steven]

Originally Posted by intermediate_noob

So here is the concept for the double stand, with siding attached. I added doors and the center drawers so you could see what I mean. A couple of views to make it easier to see.

Thoughts? Thanks again for looking.

Overall, I think it looks nice. But there is one suggestion I'd make, that I think would greatly improve the final result. It looks like you're planning to cut the door and drawer openings out of a large piece of plywood to make a one-piece face frame. I would recommend that you instead cut the plywood into strips the width of the rails and stiles and assemble the face frame out of these (like a "real" kitchen cabinet). This way, your grain will be running correctly. Having grain run across the vertical pieces is going to look odd.

If you choose to do this, the best two options for this would be to join the pieces with biscuits or pocket screws. If you are not already setup for biscuits, the tool is kind of expensive (around $200 for a good one). However, you can get a descent pocket hole kit made by Kreg from amazon for about $40:
http://www.amazon.com/Kreg-R3-Pocket...3283878&sr=8-3

[steven]

Originally Posted by intermediate_noob

As far as the plywood, I like the natural look of Oak with a polyurethane top coat and that is it. But, I am still undecided.

You may want to consider lacquer. It is a more forgiving finish, because each coat "melts" into the previous coat. With polyurethane, each coat stays separate, which makes it somewhat easy to mess up when sanding, because it is possible to sand through one coat in an area and end up with a noticeable white line transitioning between the coats.

I find lacquer much easier to work with, and it dries VERY fast allowing many coats in one day. Keep in mind that you'll need lacquer thinner instead of mineral spirits for cleanup.

I used lacquer to finish the stand I built of oak around 7 years ago for my 125 gallon tank. I have been very pleased with it.

[intermediate_noob]

Originally Posted by steven

Overall, I think it looks nice. But there is one suggestion I'd make, that I think would greatly improve the final result. It looks like you're planning to cut the door and drawer openings out of a large piece of plywood to make a one-piece face frame. I would recommend that you instead cut the plywood into strips the width of the rails and stiles and assemble the face frame out of these (like a "real" kitchen cabinet). This way, your grain will be running correctly. Having grain run across the vertical pieces is going to look odd.

If you choose to do this, the best two options for this would be to join the pieces with biscuits or pocket screws. If you are not already setup for biscuits, the tool is kind of expensive (around $200 for a good one). However, you can get a descent pocket hole kit made by Kreg from amazon for about $40:
http://www.amazon.com/Kreg-R3-Pocket...3283878&sr=8-3

Thanks Steven, I do have the Kreg pocket hole jig. If you take a look at the previous pages, there are some pictures of the 90 gallon stand and you can see the pocket holes.

Thanks for the suggestion about the doors. The Sketchup drawing just used a texture for the doors, but I have also been thinking about using strips and biscuiting them together. My friend has the biscuit joiner so I am set to go for that. I appreciate all your suggestions.

[Macfan]

Google SketchUp is a very nice tool. It's free and there are some excellent video tutorials on the Google site to teach you the concepts. It's different than standard CAD tools, and very easy to use once you understand the concepts.

Here are the drawings I did for the stand for my 240g tank on my aquarium blog:
http://aquaticobsession.blogspot.com...new-stand.html

Apparently I don't have any pictures up of the finished stand. I'll work on that. It looks pretty much like the drawings though.

Mine has 8 legs, which is 240lbs per leg. So that's no worse than me standing on one leg on the floor. Luckily I'm in a loft in a former warehouse building, so I don't have to worry about the floors supporting the weight.

Michael

[Macfan]

I promised a picture of the tank with stand. At some point in the future, I'll post more, but this is good for now.

[deondrec]

great advice thanks

[coldfusionpower]

i wanted to do the same thing aswell .. i have two 4ft tanks side by side .. but i have rather stupid question to ask .. both tank have everything in it .. even if i took out all the water inside.. the tank still will be very heavy .. any idea how to lift it up ?

[intermediate_noob]

Originally Posted by coldfusionpower

i wanted to do the same thing aswell .. i have two 4ft tanks side by side .. but i have rather stupid question to ask .. both tank have everything in it .. even if i took out all the water inside.. the tank still will be very heavy .. any idea how to lift it up ?

I am sorry but I do not understand your questions. Are you saying that without water and just the rock and substrate how would you move it? If that is what you are asking, then I am sorry but my answer is I would not move it with that in there. For my tanks, I will have to completely tear them down and empty them completely. Then and only then will I be able to move them.

I have a little over 130 pounds of sand in my 135 gallon tank and I must say that much extra weight scares me as to the stress it would cause on the glass. If you want to move your tanks, I would HIGHLY suggest you remove it all and then move or you could end up with a busted tank.

Hope that helps.

[coldfusionpower]

yes .. and thanks for answering .. looks like i have to empty both of them .. .. i just rescape both .. sigh ..

[intermediate_noob]

Originally Posted by coldfusionpower

yes .. and thanks for answering .. looks like i have to empty both of them .. .. i just rescape both .. sigh ..

I wish I had better news In the long run though, a rescape is better than a new tank. Now if only I could update this thread with some ACTUAL work! Hopefully soon.

[Macfan]

Alright, the long anticipated detailed photos and explanation of my setup.... How it's Made

Michael

[intermediate_noob]

Michael, wow...this is just an amazing tank. I have not been able to read through all of your journal, but I must say this is one of the best I have seen. THANK YOU for providing it for the group to see.

For everyone out there that is wondering what happened to me, well things have been a little rough. Money is very tight and scarce right now as my family and I try to recover from a layoff and so this project is on hold for awhile. I am still doing a lot of planning, especially with regard to electrical, so hopefully I will have some plans up soon. Thanks for all those who have posted questions and their own experiences...it helps for me to keep somewhat of an optimistic outlook that I will someday be there.

Not to get too sappy, but next week here in the US we traditionally look back on the year to see what we are most thankful. I must say, that for me, the community here at the Planted Tank is one thing I am very thankful to have. Thanks to everyone for keeping me going in this hobby, even when things seem just too much. Peace and many blessings to you all.