randallcentral
New member
Im looking for a wood canopy and stand for my 20gallon High aquarium. anybody know a good source?
stand and canopy
- Thread starter randallcentral
- Start date
drummereef
Team RC
You should be able to get an All-Glass stand to fit that tank from your LFS. However, it will cost you quite a bit less to build one yourself. 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10208893#post10208893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
You should be able to get an All-Glass stand to fit that tank from your LFS. However, it will cost you quite a bit less to build one yourself.
It is actually about the same cost to build a basic stand as it is to purchase one off the shelf.
I just built a stand for a 50, made it as basic as possible and I spend $40 more than if I had bought one. However mine fits a little bigger sump and the doors are such that all equipment is removeable.
Randall_James
Premium Member
sure if you have access to cheap wood, the Oak I had to purchase for my last setup was $150+<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10212915#post10212915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dubbin1
I built both of these for under $50
If you have a planer, you can get rough cut wood a lot cheaper, but I do not know many guys with decent wood shops at home.
Also the router bits used for your cabinet doors are almost $200.
This can be cut in about half by not using raised panels and using flat oak 1/8 ply.
I would have also opted for euro style hinges
Randall_James
Premium Member
I do not think anyone can duplicate your feat then.
I think the moulding you have is around $4 per running foot.
At 18" per side and 48" for the fronts you have 9' for sides and 12' for fronts.
That would be 21' of moulding and the cheapest I can find is El cheapo MDF at $2 a running foot.
We still have 8 hinges at $2 a pop. How do you buy all the rest of the lumber?
I would like to know how you did all this for $50...
I think one would be hard pressed to build a stand and canopy for under $200 and more like $300 using Oak
not calling you a liar but that is an awful tall order for only $50 when I can not even buy the trim moulding and hinges for that amount....(at Lowes)
Randall_James
Premium Member
Here is the link to Lowes hardwood prices. The 1X4's needed can not be purchased for under $50
Lowes Oak Prices
You have 4 side panels that even if you use Oak faced ply, will be $27 per 4x8 sheet, you need at least 2 of them (no solid canopy top)
I will see if one could do this out of soft pine for under $100 but I doubt that too
Randall_James
Premium Member
naw not really, but anyone trying to figure out how much it costs to build an oak stand and canopy with custom oak trim and raised panel doors for a 48" tank will find out sooner than later that $50 including hinges just aint real...
cheers!
cheers!
skippysmind
Premium Member
I built this for $10.00 
randallcentral
New member
we all forget sometimes.. but words can hurt.
Randall_James
Premium Member
I pulled my 48" tank stand build sheet, there are 26 board feet of oak without a solid top, the solid top makes it closer to 33 board feet of lumber.
Your 20G tank should take just under half the amount of wood. Current pricing on rough cut (needing milled) oak is at 3.60 per board foot of lumber. Having it milled will usually add between .50 and 1.00 per board foot.
If you want raised panel doors you will need to either buy the router bits (around $200 per set) or buy prebuilt doors (around $50-75 each)
I know that the above posts says $50 for materials but you will need to find lumber at a price around $1 per board foot taking into account you still need to buy hinges at $2-4 each. If you use hidden euro style hinges, they start at about $7 and can go to $15 each for really good ones. Oak trim pieces can get pretty pricey but sure are nice.
As posted above, you can buy a pine stand from Perfecto, AGA or glass cages at about the same price as it costs to build one, maybe $120 for the stand and maybe another $100 for canopy
I built my first stand and spent a lot more than it would have cost to buy as I needed to purchase a new router, bits and a decent miter saw. (around $550 including the router table).
Building your own does have a lot of gratification all the same and you can build it to your own custom specs. (do get some scrap pine to learn with)
If you go to the DIY forum here at RC, you can get some tips from the threads and some help from other DIY guys.
Good luck and post your progress
Here are some shots of the last 2 I did. One is a standard 75G and the other is a custom size for a 24x24 Anemone tank I had built.
Your 20G tank should take just under half the amount of wood. Current pricing on rough cut (needing milled) oak is at 3.60 per board foot of lumber. Having it milled will usually add between .50 and 1.00 per board foot.
If you want raised panel doors you will need to either buy the router bits (around $200 per set) or buy prebuilt doors (around $50-75 each)
I know that the above posts says $50 for materials but you will need to find lumber at a price around $1 per board foot taking into account you still need to buy hinges at $2-4 each. If you use hidden euro style hinges, they start at about $7 and can go to $15 each for really good ones. Oak trim pieces can get pretty pricey but sure are nice.
As posted above, you can buy a pine stand from Perfecto, AGA or glass cages at about the same price as it costs to build one, maybe $120 for the stand and maybe another $100 for canopy
I built my first stand and spent a lot more than it would have cost to buy as I needed to purchase a new router, bits and a decent miter saw. (around $550 including the router table).
Building your own does have a lot of gratification all the same and you can build it to your own custom specs. (do get some scrap pine to learn with)
If you go to the DIY forum here at RC, you can get some tips from the threads and some help from other DIY guys.
Good luck and post your progress
Here are some shots of the last 2 I did. One is a standard 75G and the other is a custom size for a 24x24 Anemone tank I had built.
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