Gnarley 60 gal cube build from scratch :D

[GnarleyMarley]

Well I figured i may as well go ahead and start my build thread

I am building a rimless 60 gal cube (2x2x2) with a 3x3x3 red oak stand. I had to tear apart the tank when i bought it so as of now it is 4 panes of glass and i am waiting to get the bottop pane from the glass shop.

My plan for the stand is 3x3x3 so that i can have a 6" lip all the way around the tank and in the rear have the plumbing lines go thru the top of the stand rather than having a bunch of pipes hanging behind the tank/stand. Also this will allow more than enough room for a 30x24 or 30x30 custom rimless sump. And as of now i am thinking about stealing some of adamT's sump design and building a compartment in the sump sor an ATO resevoir, but i havn't gotten that far yet.

What i have done is build the frame for the tank. And i will work on skinning it sometime this week or next weekend, depending on when i have time.


So without further adeu, here is the stand build....

I used my CAD program to design my stand and get the exact measurements for each board so i didnt have to do any math or figuring when i got to work cutting, and I'm glad i did because out of 5 2x4x12 boards this is what i had left over.

and here is the plan that i am going off of

I still have a few odds and ends to tie up b4 i can begin skinning it. I want to add a couple more 2x4 on the bottom to support the floor which will b recessed about 2" below the bottom lip of the stand then epoxied to give me a few extra mins in the case of an overflow... but i'm in no rush and will b taking my time to make this setup all that i want it to b.

 

[GnarleyMarley]

*Update*

So over the weekend i worked on the stand a little more, I beefed up the frame a little more and placed a couple of "headers" under where the tank will be sitting and attached them to a notched out section of the 4x4 leds. Then i cut the 3/4" plywood skin that will go on b4 i finish it off with the 1/4" red oak.

Heres what it looked like

Then Saturday morning while on the ay to work on it I thought of somthing that no one else has...... if the tank is 36x36x36 after i put on the trim it will probobly add an inch or soo (does anyone see where im going with this?) It will not fit in a standard door!!!!! no matter how i turn it =O So i spent the 1st part of my saturdat cutting 6" off the back, which i didnt really want to do but it gave me a little more support and i still have my 6" tabletop on 3 sides. So after shortening the stand i had to re-cut my skin then i cut the holes for my doors and stopped for the day....

So that is where i am now....

After shortening it

With skin and door holes

BTW if u notice i skinned the top of th stand except where the tank will b inset even though there will be a 1x6 red oak table top. I did this because i plan on using that blue foam stuff and still want the tank to be inset

Also i took the advice of a couple of members and since i had to loose the 6" off of the rear the tank will now b sitting on the rear 2x4 of the stand so i added 2 more 2x4s on the rear legs that are sanwiched between the top and bottom rim of the stand. If this thinng cannot hold that 60 then NOTHING will LOL

And as another side note i have decided not to use the 30 cube for the sump as i had originally planned, it only gave me about 8" of clearance above it which is nowhere near enough, so i'm now thinking of using a rimless 20 long which i have had stored for a couple years

 

[GnarleyMarley]

*Update*

Got the skin on, and 1x6 tabletip, now i just need to work on the doors, and find some corner molding, and some quarter round to finish it off, then i'll stain the outside, paint the inside and probobly put some lonoleum for flooring inside the stand.

Here is the updated pics...

Skinned...

With door holes....

I also converted a 10gal wet dry sump into a 5ish gallon ATO resevoir...

I left all the stuff inside so i can put a piece of eggcrate on the bottom about 3-4" above the bottom and then i can use it to dose kalk with the ato to keep my alk up with the mini ca reactor

 

[GnarleyMarley]

*UPDATE*

finished my doors!!!!! Now all i have to do is paint the inside and hang them up.

I also found a place that can get me outside corner molding in red oak, Its all special cut to orsder so i'm a little scared to see the price =O oh well it'll b worth it, whatever it is.

Anyways on to the progress

 

[GnarleyMarley]

OK ready for another update!!!!!!!!!!!!!

here we go....

Spent a lot of time the past couple weekends working on it. Started off by caulking the bottom of the stand. I caulked every seam within the bottom 4-5 inches so it should retain quite a bit of water shold i have anything disasterous happen that causes the sump to overflow


Gotta love painters tape!!!

Idid more caulking but forgot to take pics

Next step was to start painting. I went with 2 coats of an exterior latex paint in white as a base, then went over it with another 2 coats of my color which is actually a tanish color, and is kind of hard to get to show up in the pics i took with my phone.

now the inside of the stand

If u notice i didnt paint all the way to the edge of the doors because when they are closed i dont want ANY pain to be visible

 

[GnarleyMarley]

Next i finally got my Corner molding!!!!! Thank you Precision Molding in newbern!!!!!!

so i spent last weekend starting to put it on....

I need to buy some more clamps!!! but when in a pinch use what u have

 

[GnarleyMarley]

And here is what she looks like today. I stall have some more work to do with the molding, but its getting there, I'll hopefully be done with all the wood working by this weekend then i will just have to sand it down and put a few coats of Polyurethane on it to give it a nice finished look

 

[jlanger]

Nice work.
Building one's own stand really makes the whole aquarium unique.

BTW, I've used ratchet straps for clamps on many projects.
Many times they work better than pipe or bar clamps. A trick of the trade.

 

[tufkab]

...Then Saturday morning while on the ay to work on it I thought of somthing that no one else has...... if the tank is 36x36x36 after i put on the trim it will probobly add an inch or soo (does anyone see where im going with this?) It will not fit in a standard door!!!!! no matter how i turn it =O .....

Ha Ha, don't feel too bad though; I started building a stand for my 75 in my basement and had it almost fully skinned before one day on the way home from work i realized that it wouldn't fit up the stairs to the main floor where it;s going to go, I had to take it half apart to bring it into the garage.

Good thing my rush hour drive home gives me plenty of time to think about my tank !!

 

[dorky]

wow that really impressive i alway wanted to build my own stand once i have my own place

 

[GnarleyMarley]

Thanks for the kind words guys. This is my first real woodworking project and it has definitley been a learning experience but i think its turning out ok.

It's funny that u mention that u realized the stand was to big on the way home cause that's exactly when I tjought about it lol.

I'm glad to have so many forums to share it with, its been a lot of work, time, and $ (Ted oak is f-ING expensive lol) and its nice to share the fruits of my hard work. Granted its nothing like "a stand built the wright way" thread but I think its come out pretty good, amd the best part is its built to my exact specs and should work out a lot better than a standard 2x2 stand, not to memtion if I ever decide to upgrade I can use the same stand so long as the new tank is no bigger thwn 3'

Now I need to decide on writhed or not I should build a floating canopy for my radions

 

[tommer725]

This tank is coming out very nice.

 

[MHG]

Sweet, I did the same thing on mine where the stand is wider than the tank.... Really makes a difference when it comes to sump room.... Great job...

What are you doing for a finish? Are you grain filling?

 

[Foreverfishy]

I am going to steal your idea as that is how I want my stand to look like...or have you build it for me lol great work!

 

[apw63]

Great looking stand, nice craftsman skills! I'm tagging along to see your progress. I plan one day to upgrade to 60gal cube.

Andy

 

[GnarleyMarley]

thanks guys.

As for the finish i am just going to put 2-3 coats of polyurethane on it after i sand it down with some extra fine paper. I already tested a sample piece of wood and i really like it. I dont want to hide the wood i want to showcase it sao i figured the polyurethane would give me that high gloss wet wood look, which iw what i want

Keep checking in tho, i have a couple pieces of molding left to put on the stand before i can finish it, then the real fun begins.... building the tank

I have the 5 panes of glass already cleaned up and ready to go, I've just been waiting for some warm weather so the silicone will set in less than 3 weeks LOL

 

[chrisrex]

Great build, I'm going to copy this build as well if you don't mind haha

 

[GnarleyMarley]

I am honored that so many of u want to use my design Thank you all!!!

 

[chiblackhawks4]

I am envious of your build skills.

 

[GnarleyMarley]

LOL this is my 1st real wood working project, and I guarantee u that if i can do it anyone can! It just took some time, planning, and cash LOL. I actuall had to get the Corner molding custom cut cause no local place carried it or could even order it for me, and it was a necessity, because it hid all my mistakes, and imperfections