Cabinet building

Got 9m of 25x25 steel tubing yesturday, cut to size.

Thanks Zoom for the advice, unfortunetly they couldnt build it but cut it. Will be
done with it today!
So nice to have brothers who do stuff for you when at work lol

 

I think wood - be it a wrap or the stand is very classic. Naked steel stands are industrial and probably only belong in a fishroom with other stands and gadgets. Same goes for the hood .. ABS is functional but it is a lid to a container - a wooden hood always looks like the tank is part of something bigger. That said ... I like the DIY in steel - wish I could do my own ABS heat molding then I would make my own leather grain hoods.

Post some pics of your build Troyfish ...

Later Ferdie

 

Its going to be the steel stand and then a wood body built around. Same as my 300l.
Hood is also going to be wood aswell.

Can only post pics when i knock off. Had a pic of everything loose but.....phone broke,
and just got it on friday lol

 

The safer option is always to use steel to build the frame. You can then assemble the wood around it.

If using wood only, there is a greater possibility that the wood might not withstand the weight of the tank+water, causing the wood to sag and ultimately cracking of the tank.

 

Troy what type of wood are you using and how are you going to water proof it ???
(I have been wanting to do this for a while now)

 

Hi Troy,

And if you and your father enjoyed it so much and want to do it again ... where can I place my order?

 

Shutter wood. 18mm thickness.

Father built his bar counter out of it, looks awesome.
That was about 1 year ago. People are forever spilling on it but there is
no water damage what so ever.
So ill be using the same varnish, wood stainer, sealer, whatever its called.
Takes some time as you have to apply and wait......and then again......and again until done

Lol the problem is work only gets done during weekends. And he is forever away for business. Guess im lucky i had one weekend with him.

But maybe in the future:blink1:

I was quoted R1800 for the same size.
So far i have spent R420 +-. And wont need to spend more than another R100.

DIY is the way to go.

 

I also did not like the steel stand so I covered it up and made two doors ,Only had to drill a few holes

Some Pics

 

now you just need a nice lighting unit, and hang it from the ceiling, remove that plastic canopy and run it open top

 

nice dude.. looks really good

 

Thx to all for the comments the wood I found lying around at work ,be advised this could be expensive if you buy the laminate and have it cut and edged(Cheapest I found was +- R900(they cut up a whole sheet) White melamine is cheaper though everything else +-R150(rivets,hinges,aluminium etc)

 

My own experience with custom tank stands is easy to relate. I always build my own tank stands unless I happen to obtain a tank stand with a new tank. With 25 tanks up and running I have lots of tank stands that I have built. Most of mine are built along the same basic principles. I have a thread on 2 other forums that show a tank build of mine but I do not know the restrictions of linking to other forums on this forum and hesitate to post links to those threads. Instead I will say the obvious here. There is no need to include metal in a tank stand, beyond the usual fasteners. I build mine from simple structural wood products and use plywood or similarly simple wood products for all parts of my builds. I can add some pictures here of a finished and ready to use stand for a number of tanks. Here it is.

This is the same stand before it was painted and set up for use.


I hope that I can help many people that have a desire to build their own stand be successful. Tank stands are as easy as can be to build and are a good way to really get familiar with your tank needs in terms of stand strengths needed and features that are well worth considering.

 

They look good! Never planned on using so much wood when doing mine so i made a metal stand.
All in all im happy with it! Thats all that counts!

 

Tank Hood removed

I removed the canopy as suggested

 

marsman - running top less looks way better ... You will be surprised how much water you are going to lose.

 

my 4ft is open topped ("suspended" lights). I can top up about 15 lt to the sump every 4-5 days

 

That looks great without the hood!
Have you had any suicide attempts from your fish yet? Because I've lost about 5 or 6 fish even with hoods on my tanks

 

The tank is covered with two pieces of glass,one has a feeding hole and the other a corner cut for the canister filters pipes,no suicides maybe a headache or three
Afraid of pesticides etc being sprayed near the tank
Thx for the comments

 

Just one of mine

 

Nice, did you build it?