DIY Stand & Canopy - Design / Build Help

[shenderson174]

Hello all! 

I picked up a Clarity Plus 100 gallon tank (60 x 18 x 20) last summer with the thought of making it into another reef tank.  The previous owner bought it and then wanted to go rimless so water has never even touched this tank.  It has build in overflow and return.   Here is my issue.

I have previously built stands and canopies for other tanks and I have never been happy with them (either the look, the doors, the canopy, etc).  I don't have a lot of wood working tools, which may be the issue.  I would like to build another stand and canopy, but wondering if it even worth it.  I had a stand and canopy quoted and it would be about $600 for both. 

I would need to buy a table saw (approx $200), plus materials and time.  In then end, is it worth it?

Does anyone have any designs they can provide which are simple and easy to build, but look nice? 

Any other help / advise is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[gmaschke]

There is a few people that sell some decent plans on ebay.  If you buy them for like $5 they email you plans and you just print them out.  some looked pretty decent and were broke down to easy to understand instructions.

[shenderson174]

I thought about buying the plans, but don't want to waste my money.  Does anyone know or have an example of a company they used / web-site they went with how the plans worked?

[Ron]

The pricing on the table saw is perhaps a bit much. Is there a good reason to buy new? I've bought a few used Craftsman table saws for $5-$15 via auctions. A radial arm saw IMO is more useful overall, and would be for this project with the exception of ripping plywood or dimensional lumber lengths down to thinner dimensions. I've seen them used or at auction for $25-$50.

A final piece of equipment would be a miter saw setup. Not terribly expensive, but IMO absolutely necessary for nice trim work.

As for building the stand, since you haven't built one you've been happy with yet, if this is for a main display area in a formal location of the house (aka not the basement or a fishroom), $600 for something that looks great is probably well worth it.

If you have a suitable location, building a display into or through a wall might be easier to produce a beautiful display.

Personally, I've tried a couple nice cabinets before, both for a tank stand, and for other use, but building doors to look decent is  seemingly impossible. If I tried it again, I'd purchase pre-made doors to use on the stand.

[dbosman]

When building a wood stand, the important thing to keep in mind is weight to wood, to wood, to wood, to floor. The top pieces all need to sit on the legs. The legs all need to sit on the floor or on the bottom pieces or bottom rim.
Here is a time proven stand. It can be skinned with paneling, plywood, MDF and painted, or left as is for a fish room.
I recommend gluing in side panels or a back panel of almost anything.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1169964

[gmaschke]

I agree with the above to post, Rference Ron's I have two display tanks with stands I've built that still lack doors.  I keep saying I am going to order them but never do.  In reference to dboman's like he said wood has to hold the weight never use nails with the framing only finish nails on the finnish work and never trust screws to hold the weight unless its a small tank and you use good svrews.  When I say small I mean 10gallon and under.

[dbo2212]

Home Depot will make the cuts for you....just stick to 1/2" increments

[Ron]

Home Depot will make the cuts for you....just stick to 1/2" increments

FWIW they won't guarantee high precision accuracy. If a 1/2" of variance overall is OK, but you need multiple pieces to be exactly the same, have them all cut as a group with a single cut and make sure they are all flush. (Stand legs for example - 30" vs 30.5" might not be a big deal, but 1x30.5", 2x30.0", 1x30.25" would leave you screwed). They also only do 1-2 cuts per piece for free, then they charge some nominal amount.