whats your fav stand design,color and type of material

[greg0385]

im considering building a taller stand and canopy for my 150. the orginal stand was made of pine planks, so i built a canopy to match.im bringing the old stand and canopy to the swap hoping to find somone who will give something for it instead of trashing it. i would like to build a new one and if i do then im thinking to go a 2x4 frame with skin of type of thin hardwood plywood. depending if i stain a red maghony color or black will matter type of wood i get. dont think getting cherry wood then painting black is a good idea. also thinking about putting some type of crown molding on the top edge of the stand so i can have that little ledge but having decided just yet.
so the question is to you- if you could build a new stand and matching canopy thats going to hold 2x 250 metal halides and t5 and a 150 gallon tank 4ft long,2ft wide, 31inch tall type then what design, material,color would you do?
thanks and see you at the swap!
greg

 

[zef004]

It all depends on how tall you are. I have my stand build 42in tall the tank is 24" tall and canopy 15"tall. But I'm also 6'1". I can still stick my hand down in the tank without a stepping stool. Just not to the sand with out using something. Try make the stand as tall as you want it. I think tall the better. More room to work with. And you would have almost any chose of skimmer.

For canopy I would go no shorter then 12".
Just my 2 pennies.

 

[shirley386]

If you build a stand make sure you put a door on the end so you can get a long sump in if you want too. I see so many stands that would be so neat except you can't get a long sump through the front door.

 

[poolkeeper1]

The Best ones are made by Professionals and have Doors all over,Front and both sides. They are professionally built and finished and look it when they are done, New Wave is a person to talk to about a great stand JMO
Bill

 

[commonstranger]

Greg in regards to a canopy just make sure that once the halides are mounted that you have 12 to 15" from the halide bulb to the water getting much closer is going to raise the temp to much I think. I would have the cabinet atleast 36" or you can do like Zef and go taller. I like dark stains myself just seems to have an overall richer apperance. I wouldnt use 2x4's they are over kill to me most stands are built out of thinner wood and hold up just fine. A good idea would be to go around and look at different peoples stnads and canopies and get several ideas. Then sit down with a few friends and brainstorm the pros and cons of doing it different ways. This is what I always do and it really seems that you will end up with a better product in the end.