Built a custom 125 stand

thegrog

Active Member
OK, my girlfriend has called me "stupid", "crazy", "a mad genius", "the next Tim Allen" and "obsessive compulsive" over the last week as I have built this stand for my 125. FYI I am moving and have decided to upgrade my 55 gal reef to a 125 gal tank with a 45 gal sump/fuge. Due to the location of where the tank is to be located, I decided on a rather different design.
The frame is built of 2x4's, 2x8's for the base and a single 2x6 for the back top edge and a 2x4 for the front. The paneling is Oak and all the trim is oak.
It is hard to describe the overall design, so stick with me as I finish the project in the next 2 days.
Here is a pic of the base frame

 

thegrog

Active Member
Here is the frame with the side door frame attached as well as the plywood glued and tacked onto the frame. the doors have already been cut out of the oak plywood sheet.
 

thegrog

Active Member
The completed doors. I used 1/4" oak plywood on the surface. Used a single sheet for the entire frame and then cut the door patterns out so the grain would be constant. I then backed up the doors with 1/4" sanded plywood and glued them to the oak. Using a lot of clamps and some heavy weights, I let them sit overnight. Then I used 5/8" screws and glue to attach the molding.
For the glue I used the super heavy duty, waterproof, chemical resistant, perminant polyurethane adhesive. Be careful with this stuff as I am still trying to get it off my fingers after 4 days!!! The warning label was serious this time.....it will perminantly bond to anything!!!!
My future sump/fuge is in the background
 

thegrog

Active Member
Here is the semi-finished product with the doors attached and done staining with polyurethane stain....3 coats. I used watersealer on all the non-stianed wood to protect it...especially the plywood backing for the doors as I don't want humidity warping them.
More pics to follow!!
 

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by guyute
nice work! I like the side cabinet

Thanks
The sump will take up half of that area and allow for a tall in-sump skimmer to be palced there.
 
G

guyute

Guest
ahh.. yeah... didn't think of how much room that would allow for a skimmer instead of having to squeeze it under the stand. brilliant.
 

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by guyute
ahh.. yeah... didn't think of how much room that would allow for a skimmer instead of having to squeeze it under the stand. brilliant.

Thank you so much. Thus the "mad genius" comment by my girlfriend. Then she saw the amount of brackets and screws I had and called me "the next Tim Allen". I know for a fact that there are more than 2 POUNDS of screws in that stand as I have emptied 2-1 pound boxes and more of several others in the construction process!!!!
 

dogstar

Active Member
How you gona get the sump in side ? do you have a door to slide it from one end ?
Very nice stand BTW
 

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by Dogstar
How you gona get the sump in side ? do you have a door to slide it from one end ?
Very nice stand BTW
Thanks
Yes, the entire left side is a hidden door that I can slide the sump in. I've engineered it so that the vertical supports are 3/4" wider than the sump tank is so there is plenty of room to slide it in.
 

kbaz

Member
Great looking stand! Hubby and I are looking to build our own stand and canopy for our 120 gallon. Do you plan to make a canopy too? If so, could you post some pics? Thanks!
 

oceanjumper

Member
Very, very, very cool :yes: :yes: :yes:
I am looking into building one for my new 180 gl. Using 4x2 as support in the frame scares the *&%& out of me.... Good thing you use double 4x2 in the corners
 

jlem

Active Member
Originally Posted by OceanJumper
Very, very, very cool :yes: :yes: :yes:
I am looking into building one for my new 180 gl. Using 4x2 as support in the frame scares the *&%& out of me.... Good thing you use double 4x2 in the corners
Keep in mind that 90% of the store bought stands (even the 180's) have nothing but the 3/4 inch plywood sides and no other support so 2X4's are more than enough to hold the tank and serve no purpose but piece of mind. If you make the stand to rigid it can actually put more stress on the tank and pop out a panel or crack the tank because the stand won't be able to form to the tank. Wood will warp a little bit most of the time and any warping that cannot be pushed back by the weight of the tank will put added stress on the tank.
 

oceanjumper

Member
Good point... didn't think of that... Still, me and two of my buddies were barely able to lift the 180 gl, EMPTY... And believe me, we bench each over 200 lbs....
I will keep reading these DYI posts on making stands. I will take all advice, hence a big T-Y
 

thegrog

Active Member
Originally Posted by OceanJumper
That reminded me... do you put foam between tank and stand?
Thanks for the input. No, I did not put foam in there. The surface where the tank sits on the stand is perfectly square and level....as is the bottom of the tank. The tank is no so rigid that it has no give, the supports are bracketed by 'L' braces that can twist.....a little. That should allow for about 1/8 total shift along the entire stand.
As for hood, yes there is one in the works. It will be similiar to my last design in that it will be a total open top that allows my pendants to hang above the tank yet prevent them from turning the entire room into a tanning booth!
I'm filling the tank as we speak (already did a 48 hour water test with zero leaks....phew! :happy: )
Tomorrow is the big moving day when I move my 55-gal reef to the 125!!! :jumping: :jumping: unfortunately the heat index tomorrow is forecast for around 105!!!!
Good thing it is only 2 miles to move everything!!
 

thegrog

Active Member
FINALLY!! Got everything moved from my 55 gal reef in my apartment into the 125 in the house. Been working like 8-10 hours per day Wed-Fri just to get it ready to move on Sat. Then Sat I got everything moved in 7 hours. Another 5 to get things arranged and then 3 this morning to fine tune things.
Here is the stand as it sits now.
note that the hood is not on.....it's not built for that matter. Had to get the tank moved before the non-vital hood got built. I'll be building that in the next few days.
 

thegrog

Active Member
Here is the sump. no lighting hooked up yet. No live rock or algae yet either so the lighting will wait a bit.
 
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