Post pics of your DIY stands (and canpies) here!

[Original Fin]

Alright, let's see if this gets any hits here.

There are several of these types of threads on the big forums and I just can't get enough of them! I am an aspiring DIY'er, but I am by no means a carpenter, cabinet, or furniture maker. Wood putty is my friend.

Ok, I'll start. This is actually the second stand I've ever built. I used the Rocket Engineer design both times because it's simple, cost effective, and built like a brick....house. More importantly, you only need a few very basic tools to do it, and not a lot of skill. That's me!

The first one I built is supporting an empty 120 in my garage, and it is as of yet unskinned, so no pics yet. Sorry!
I was commisioned by a fellow reefclub member to build the second one for his 20"x20" acrylic frag tank. Materials ran about $85, but I'm sure if I shopped around a bit more, I could shave at least 20% off of that. The owner wanted 3 sides finished, and access to the back for storage, but did not care to have a door. I made a few suggestions on finishing material, one of them being prefinished beadboard panelling...Think wainscotting, and some simple trim. This ended up being a much more cost effective option than having to paint, stain, sand, etc...There's not much labor involved with the panelling. The picture is just primer and minimal finish nail hole filling.








A couple differences between the two stands I built...first, is framing. The layout is the same for both, but the 120 has a 2x6 top section, and a center span cross brace. The frag tank frame is all 2x4's. The other difference is that the 120 is made for a glass tank, so it only sits in the outside edges of the top frame's 2x6's. The center is unsupported. The smaller frag tank stand was made for an acrylic tank, so the top is covered in 1/2" plywood. Acrylic's need full support.

Here are some renderings I did of the frag tank design...I've recently been turned onto Google Sketchup, and I'm loving it. Back in the 90's, I went to school for drafting, but never made a career out of it. So I've had some training in CAD, but I'm really rusty, and used to the old programs. Some of it stayed with me though...enough to be able to still conceptualize 3D drawings.




Now let's see some more!

[Original Fin]

For those with a keen eye that are familliar with Rocket's design, there is a drawing goof I need to own up to. On the top middle corner of the frame, you can see that the inside screw strip does not tie into the top part of the frame, and this would be wrong. I fixed the drawing after I had converted that image to a JPEG. The finished version ties in where it should.

[Zach]

Looks pretty great to me and professional.

I have always wanted to DIY but afraid I would screw it up.

[Original Fin]

Thanks Zach.

After the first one, I got my confidence and knew that these stands would last forever and support way more than I'd ever need them too. That's thanks to Rocket's design. A lot of people with more advanced carpentry skills scoff at his design as being way overbuilt, but they are missing the point. The point is, the frame is something that any beginner/novice can pull off. How you skin it is up to you, and the possibilities are endless and all up to your imagination.

[Ryan seymore]

Very nice it looks amazing and honestly ive seen worse in stores! nice job fin! and my DIY sump with refugium is finshed and running! and also i took your advice and made a flood proof overflow by using the aquaclear70 HOB filter that you said i could use as a refugium area because of all the space for media. I drilled the bottom and used 3/4" pvc so it doesnt spill in the tank it goes straight down the drain! thanks for the help and ill be sure to post pics soon. Great job fin!

[Reefing Madness]

[Original Fin]

Very nice Madness!

When I first looked at those pics, I was thinking it was a 6 foot tank, but then I looked at your avatar. Is it the same stand, and how long is it?

I noticed that you polyurethaned the entire bottom half of the stand, even inside, but it looks like you didn't on the canopy, and there appears to be a couple moldy spots. Is it just salt spray that's causing that, or is it the humidity in general?

I'd like to do a canopy next, and I'm trying to figure out how much of an issue the humidity's going to be. Do you think that intake and exhaust fans are necessary? I won't be running halides...most likely T5's, possibly LED's. Whichever it is, I don't want to end up ruining them over the long term. What do you think?

[Reefing Madness]

Yea, I polyurethaned the whole stand, inside and out. Its 8' Long by 26" wide. I did the outside of the canopy and was getting started on the inside, but dicided I didn't like it, so I just threw it on the tank, and was planning on making a new one later one. As far as mold, no, its salt from me flicking it off my hands when I'm in there. I have 4 cooling fans on the backside of the canopy blowing in when the lights are on. Keeps the temp from going up. My heaters actually come on in the summer months. As far as needing fans, I would say yes all the way to T-5's. So, Metal Halides, T-5, Compact Flourescents. LED's would use fans on the heatsink itself, not inthe canopy per say. I believe I have a pic of my Canopy as a whole. It actually only covers 3/4 of the tank. Its open bout 12" on each side. So heat and air travel in and out of the tank easily.