My first DIY stand

[discgolfer]

I am in the process of building my first ever fish tank stand for my 55 gallon. I am putting doors and shelves inside for chemicals,food etc. and also halogen lights that you can turn on to see in the darkness. Here is a pic of the frame of my stand just trying to decide on the paneling to cover up this skeleton

 

[discgolfer]

well got some paneling and cut my rough holes for stand. gonna make some doors sand edges and put some real nice trim all around stand then trying to decide if I am gonna stain it or polyurethane it. I like the light look the grain shows right now so i might stain it really really light tint. also is a pic of the 3 halogen lights i am gonna install inside with an on/off switch too. Obviously i haven't attached this front panel it is just leaning against the skeleton but still you get the idea. I haven't run into any great big problems yet just a few small ones here and there. I will keep posting pics on my progress.

 

[discgolfer]

the lights

 

[discgolfer]

comments, constructive criticism and questions welcome:happyfish

 

[kablamo]

looks great so far! I just DIY'd my first canopy, and am now drawing up some plans for it!
I'm not a carpenter by any means, any tips for me?

 

[discgolfer]

i am no carpenter by any means either but I do agree with the measure twice or maybe like 5-6 times lol before you cut. And unlike most projects I do I am taking my time Very much do to busy schedule and the fact that i want this stand to be awesome

 

[jester]

Little tip....use a router and a half round bit on all the edge's....makes it look like a pro stand.

 

[foxthorn]

Just a thought.... the stand seems pretty tall and narrow from the picture - and the whole thing will be very top heavy. You might want to consider making sure you have a way to secure the stand to the wall to avoid any chance of tipping. On mine, I just drilled a hole through one of the 2x4's of the stand and drove a long lag screw through it and into a stud in the wall.
HTH

 

[mumbulog]

I am building a stand and pretty much working off from your ideas. Would it be safe for me to nail the paneling or plywood on or should I screw it on. Its for a 125. Thankyou