boojumsnark25
New member
Been out of the hobby for quite a few years now, but finally have the opportunity to jump back in. After debating for a while on whether to go with a 90 or 125, I ended up deciding to go with the 125 for the extra length. Planning to plumb the sump down to the basement for plumbing.
Don't have a ton of options nearby for stands and the ones around here were the cheap particle-board type options, so step one was to take a stab at making a stand and canopy. I'm by no means a carpenter or woodworker, so they're nowhere near perfect. That being said, there is something about having made them yourself that makes the imperfections easier to deal with!
I went with the standard stand concept that is most commonly seen around the internet...very much liked that the weight is all going straight down onto the supports without relying on any screws for structural support. Ended up going with pine 2x4s and 2x6s on the inside and everything visible is all red oak. I'll grant that there is probably a good amount of overkill present - with the tank resting on a 2x6 frame I'm not positive that the middle braces are necessary - but I figure better safe than sorry (until I'm ready to move the beast into the house haha)
Anyways, a few pictures of the stand:
The little blocks in the corners are just screw strips, I could take them out aftewards but I don't think they'll be in the way so I just left them in
Big screw up #1 was forgetting that I used 2x6s on top when measuring the cutouts for the doors:thumbdown But, at least it isn't noticeable when the doors are closed and I didn't feel like buying another sheet of plywood and starting over.
Doors on
And finished. Went with standard oak baseboard on the bottom and corner moulding on the sides and around the top.
And a few pictures of the canopy:
Going to go with black box LED's off Amazon and plan to try setting them on top of the canopy to give them enough heigh, hence the cutouts
Going to stain everything and waterproof the inside of both when time permits. Going to be a little bit before I can do much else with the actual tank, but it's nice to at least be starting!
Don't have a ton of options nearby for stands and the ones around here were the cheap particle-board type options, so step one was to take a stab at making a stand and canopy. I'm by no means a carpenter or woodworker, so they're nowhere near perfect. That being said, there is something about having made them yourself that makes the imperfections easier to deal with!
I went with the standard stand concept that is most commonly seen around the internet...very much liked that the weight is all going straight down onto the supports without relying on any screws for structural support. Ended up going with pine 2x4s and 2x6s on the inside and everything visible is all red oak. I'll grant that there is probably a good amount of overkill present - with the tank resting on a 2x6 frame I'm not positive that the middle braces are necessary - but I figure better safe than sorry (until I'm ready to move the beast into the house haha)
Anyways, a few pictures of the stand:
The little blocks in the corners are just screw strips, I could take them out aftewards but I don't think they'll be in the way so I just left them in
Big screw up #1 was forgetting that I used 2x6s on top when measuring the cutouts for the doors:thumbdown But, at least it isn't noticeable when the doors are closed and I didn't feel like buying another sheet of plywood and starting over.
Doors on
And finished. Went with standard oak baseboard on the bottom and corner moulding on the sides and around the top.
And a few pictures of the canopy:
Going to go with black box LED's off Amazon and plan to try setting them on top of the canopy to give them enough heigh, hence the cutouts
Going to stain everything and waterproof the inside of both when time permits. Going to be a little bit before I can do much else with the actual tank, but it's nice to at least be starting!
