aquarium stand in raw industrial style

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

Absolutely beautiful! And, I have a question I keep forgetting to ask: are the legs chamfered on the bottom? And, do you have levelers for feet, on the legs?

the legs are cut flat underneath. however, i attached heavy-duty, screw-on plastic glides under each leg. i am building another one of these and have started a thread in the journals forum. i will try to remember to post a picture.

the floor is pretty flat. i think i put a little scrap of 1/8" plexiglass under just one leg to level it out.

[original kuhli]

Very nice work, love the basic yet attractive design. Wouldn't be too tough to turn it into a closed in version either. Nice!

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by original kuhli

Very nice work, love the basic yet attractive design. Wouldn't be too tough to turn it into a closed in version either. Nice!

Only took a few minutes!

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by original kuhli

Very nice work, love the basic yet attractive design. Wouldn't be too tough to turn it into a closed in version either. Nice!

yep, i think that it would look real nice skinned with plywood panels painted and finished like the shelf, but set in flush with the natural wood 2X4's and 4X4's. one would just need to add a center brace to stop doors where they meet in middle.

i considered this for the second one that i just started, but i decided to build it too with an open shelf area.

hydrophyte

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

Only took a few minutes!

you beat me to it!

how about with a light green, blue or purple--to contrast with the warm cedar hue?

[Sven]

Your stand is absolutely gorgeous. But one thing would make me worry, the whole weight of the tank is supported mainly be the 4 legs. The 2x4' between the legs are only held up with the screws, therefore putting alot of pressure on these screws.
This might be OK in your case since you have a terrarium, therefore not as heavy as a fully filled aquarium. But this design would worry me on a stand that should carry a filled tank.

[EricSilver]

This is fantastic. I love the shelf with the plant underneath.

I am going to build one of these in a teak & brass nautical/yacht scheme. The exposed brass and steel CO2 equipment will blend right in.

Just for fun, send the photos to HGTV. I would not be surprised if their designers took an interest.

Nice job.

[EricSilver]

Originally Posted by Sven

Your stand is absolutely gorgeous. But one thing would make me worry, the whole weight of the tank is supported mainly be the 4 legs. The 2x4' between the legs are only held up with the screws, therefore putting alot of pressure on these screws.
This might be OK in your case since you have a terrarium, therefore not as heavy as a fully filled aquarium. But this design would worry me on a stand that should carry a filled tank.

Actually, the corners support essentially all the weight. I have a wrought iron stand and the front/back/left/right bars bear very little, if any weight.

[hydrophyte]

this looks awfully rustic as a post right after Marcin's excellent work, but i just put together another stand with galvanized framing connectors, 2X4's and 4X4's.



this one is for a 55G. i have a few more observations to add.

[hydrophyte]

here are the screws that i used



these are fancy screws. it took almost two boxes (about 20 bucks) to put the stand together. the important factor in selecting these was the head, which looked right with the steel connectors.

and here are the glides that i used under each leg.

[smoq]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

this looks awfully rustic as a post right after Marcin's excellent work, but i just put together another stand with galvanized framing connectors, 2X4's and 4X4's.



this one is for a 55G. i have a few more observations to add.

You're kidding me? I love your stand. I am thinking of building a TV stand like this. I would like if the metal corners rust, that would look awesome.

[hydrophyte]

thanks! you're right--rusted metal would look cool. you'd have to sandblast or otherwise beat up that galvanizing to get it to rust.

i have a couple more ideas. i might build a similar stand for a 90G, but using carriage bolts--also exposed--to tie it together.

[EricSilver]

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

this looks awfully rustic as a post right after Marcin's excellent work, but i just put together another stand with galvanized framing connectors, 2X4's and 4X4's.



this one is for a 55G. i have a few more observations to add.

It's terrific.

[Hoppy]

The design still looks great, expanded to 4 feet long. What makes it work so well is the beautiful finish on the wood, contrasted to the utilitarian metal parts. Incidentally, WD40 will remove the price stickers on the metal parts. Or is that the ultimate touch of utility?

Another subtle thing: your sense of proportion also goes far in making these stands look so great. That would be easy to mess up, for someone like me.

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

The design still looks great, expanded to 4 feet long. What makes it work so well is the beautiful finish on the wood, contrasted to the utilitarian metal parts. Incidentally, WD40 will remove the price stickers on the metal parts. Or is that the ultimate touch of utility?

Another subtle thing: your sense of proportion also goes far in making these stands look so great. That would be easy to mess up, for someone like me.

i'll remove those stickers when/if i get to it. i agree with your point about contrast. the first one of these that i built used cheap pine 2X4's, which did not contrast so nicely with the steel hardware.

if i can remember i will try to Photoshop a picture with dimensions in inches and put it up too.

here are a few more pictures.



detail of inside joint. as you can see, this construction is quite sturdy.




glide attached.




the western red cedar is very soft wood, but i pre-drilled holes so that screws would drive in straight.