# My DIY 125g Stand & Canopy Build Lots of Pics!



## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Here are some pics.Tank is a new AGA 125g. Stand is from oak plywood,1x3's and 1x4's. Canopy is oak plywood top and 1x8 front and sides. All glued and pocket screws. I used various oak mouldings for trim. Everything is finished with 2 coats of Watco Danish Oil Natural and 2 coats of oil based polyurethane. Lighting is 2 3' twin 21w T5's from Home Depot(84w total). They are wired together and plugged into a day/night power strip. Filtration will be an FX5 & AC110. Koralia 3 PH for current. Twin 250w stealths for heat. The slide out in the center of the stand will be for my 10g. The AC 20 from that will go on the main tank when the 10 is not being used. Let me know what you think.


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## oscars4me (Feb 22, 2009)

Great job very nice. =D>


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## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

wow very cool. i like the slide out for the 10g, very nifty. and the 10g is a fry tank or holding tank then?

like what you did for a canopy too. congrats.

what species are going to keep?


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks Dre. Yes that 10g can be for just about anything. Right now I plan on Yellow Labs, Rusties, Socolofi, and Maingano. I need to decide on a 5th species.


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## harveyb27 (Dec 15, 2008)

COOOOOL. get some water in it!


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

I hope to soon, but I want to add/rearrange more rock formations. I definately don't want to have to do it after the fill(at least not initially)!


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## Phoolish (Feb 17, 2009)

That stand looks great!

I have a question. How difficult and/or time consuming of a job is something like that tank stand and canopy for a carpenter? Is it something that would be cost effective to find somebody to build one for me versus buying one at a store?

I wish I had the skill to do it myself.


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## ixc (Dec 19, 2005)

Awesome work! I need to redo the stand for my 135g and think i am going to use yours for inspiration 

Can you provide a breakdown of the height? That is my main concern for mine. (overall height, tank height, base height, hood height).


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

Phoolish said:


> That stand looks great!
> 
> I have a question. How difficult and/or time consuming of a job is something like that tank stand and canopy for a carpenter? Is it something that would be cost effective to find somebody to build one for me versus buying one at a store?
> 
> I wish I had the skill to do it myself.


Sadly, mass produced furniture will almost always be cheaper than custom carpentry. The trick is to find a friend that's a good carpenter to "help" you build one yourself .

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks everone :thumb: . That makes me feel good knowing that it looks good. I do take pride in things that I do.

Phoolish, its not hard to do if you have some skill. But custom work is just that and usually priced that way. Material wise, I spent $400+ for the stand and canopy combined. Add in labor and you can see the price go WAY up. Ricks advice is right, find a friend willing to do it for a six pack or something, and you can have what you want.

Icx, the stand is 29", tank is 22". The canopy is 8" total(1x8 oak plus plywood top), but it sits down over the tank rim 2" so it only adds 6" to the overall height, which is 4'-9". Hope this helps.


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## Phoolish (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanks Rick and Drg for the answers.

I am pretty good at following plans, but I lack the tools to tackle a job like that myself and I would not trust my own work for an aquarium stand unless I was at least supervised by somebody who knew what the heck they were doing. I guess I will start seeing if I have any friends with the necessary tools and skills


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## TNprogrammer (Jul 28, 2008)

I never cease to be amazed by the strength of wood. Woodworking has been a hobby of mine for years, and even though I know that wood is much stronger than it looks I am ALWAYS guilty of overbuilding when it comes to aquarium stands. I have framed every stand I've ever bult in 2x4s before laying the plywood over it. Seeing a tank of this size being supported by the compressive strength of the plywood and 1x3s is pretty amazing. On another note...don't you just LOVE pocket holes? My Kreg pocket hole jig is probably the most used tool I own. It makes cabinet buiding a whole new experience


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

TN, believe me, I questioned the way this stand is built! As others have said here, I was inspired to build mine when I saw a carpenter/cabinet maker on another site document his. And it was the same way, all 3/4 plywood and 1x construction. I PM'd him questioning the strength. He said it looked as good as the day he built it, after it had been up and running a few months, and gave me a quick lesson on the strength of plywood on end. I still, until recently, thought about adding some internal support. But then I looked at the manufactured stand I have for my 72g bowfront. All 1x3's vertical on end with an open top. No pocket holes(yes that tool is awesome, by the way), just what looks like nails. So versus that I'M overbuilt! And if you think about it, the manufacturer states that the tank only needs to be supported on the corners.


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## TNprogrammer (Jul 28, 2008)

Yes, I've looked at plenty of the manufactured stands and wondered how they would support the weight. I found a good website that helps to calculate the compressive strength of wood based on its length and thickness. Based on the calculations, the last stand I built for a 55 gallon tank will support my car  I wish I still had the link for the site. If I can find it I'll post it. That is a sweet looking stand and canopy by the way.


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## snorkel2 (Sep 30, 2005)

DrgRcr said:


> TN, believe me, I questioned the way this stand is built! As others have said here, I was inspired to build mine when I saw a carpenter/cabinet maker on another site document his. And it was the same way, all 3/4 plywood and 1x construction.


Take a look at the commercial stands, many of them are made of particle board.
3/4 inch plywood can support massive amounts of weight, a singe 2x4 standing on end can support thousands of pounds.

Your stand looks incredible by the way.


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## cubs4ever (Jan 2, 2006)

That is really nice! You did an excellent job on the stand and canopy. One of the better ones I've seen. You should be very proud. :thumb:

John


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the compliments!


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## snorkel2 (Sep 30, 2005)

Hi,
Did you cut the plywood panels yourself, or did you have them cut at the lumber yard/store?

I really like the way your stand turned out with the pocket screws and plywood. It looks way cleaner than a 2x4 frame stand.

How many sheets of plywood did you use?


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thank you! I had them preliminary cut at the store and then I final cut to the right lengths. They don't guarantee precision on store cuts, and the pine plywood I used for the interior floor was a good example of it. Off by a heavy 1/4". For the stand and canopy I wound up needing 2 sheets of 3/4 oak ply and 1 sheet of 3/4 pine ply. The pine was used for the stand interior floor and top, both of which are rarely seen. I still have about 1/2 a sheet of oak left over. I used precut 2x2x1/2 oak ply for the doors, trimmed to size.


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## snorkel2 (Sep 30, 2005)

DrgRcr said:


> I was inspired to build mine when I saw a carpenter/cabinet maker on another site document his.


Hi,
Can you post the link for this other documented build? After seeing how nice yours turned out I am seriously considering building a new stand.

Later,

Snorkel2


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Here is the link, forgive me mods not sure if this is legal :-?

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariu ... hp?t=43031


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## redm18 (Feb 1, 2004)

That looks really nice. Much better than the ones I build. I do have some questions though. What kind of hardware does the 10 gal roll out on? Will the tank take that kind of movement? The concept seems very cool. Also have you tried putting your Aquaclear 20 on the 125 tank? My Aquaclear 70's don't fit on my 75 or 90 without dremmeling a small notch in my tanks frame.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks red. The slideout sits on heavy duty(100lbs+)roller sliders which are screwed to 1x2 oak which is pocket screwed to the floor. I don't think the weight will be a problem being so low to the floor. If it seems to be a bad idea, I can move it to the area without the slide and use the slide for other purposes. Good point on the AC fitting, I haven't tried it and thinking about it, you're probably right. Maybe I will just steal the media from it then.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Updated lighting. I replaced 2 of the 3500k bulbs that came with the fixture with 2 full spectrum daylight bulbs(10,000k I'm guessing). I swapped one in each double bulb fixture. The lighting section the LFS was a mess and I found these in the reptile section and compared them with what bulbs they did have in the aqua section. The spectrum graph seemed to match the 10,000k's. What do you think? I was also thinking of trying some 50/50 bulbs. Opinions? The 1st 3 are old, the last 4 new.


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## volatilesal (Jul 21, 2009)

Looks fantastic DrgRcr. Very inspiring. I just finished building a stand out of 2x4's for my new 25g fry tank, then I came to look at the forums and found this. You put me to shame! :thumb:


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks v. Most people are capable of doing things like this. Whatever you do, take the time to learn a little and be proud of what you accomplish. It's worth the effort.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

DrgRcr said:


> Thanks v. Most people are capable of doing things like this. Whatever you do, take the time to learn a little and be proud of what you accomplish. It's worth the effort.


I am sure you are just trying to be modest. But seriously most people can't do this. Especially not without 4x4's. Take a look at the average DIY stand posted on here and you will agree. Let me just come out and say it ... they are ugly. Yours however, is very well done. And I think the stand from the link you posted was actually posted here a while back. To be honest I thought that and yours were the same thread. Some of the construction is very similar.

One reason people can't do it is actually not skill (although that's probably the biggest obstacle), but cost. Like you said, to make something nice costs a lot of money. Or, at least a lot compared to a cinder block stand for example. Based on many of the DIY stands I have seen posted here people seem to be most concerned about cost.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks bored. Maybe I was being modest a little, but I really believe that many are capable of more than they think.
The other stand that you are refering to is what inspired me to give it a shot. This was my 1st, so I was not ready to tackle the drawers yet, but I'm sure I could if I put my mind to it. I had PM'd the builder of the other one for advice too. He sent me some pics of his cabinetry and it looked outstanding.
As far as cost, that was one of the reasons I wanted to do my own. For what they want for manufactured stands, I knew I could do it cheaper. And with OAK, which I'm sure they're not all using. I learned my lesson when I bought my 1st tank(72g bow). I paid like $300 for the stand, and it was a floor model(marked $400 normally)! Unfortunately, I was not well informed enough at that point starting out to know better. On this go around, I spent less than $500 to build a stand and canopy, and I'm sure you could do it for even less if you don't add the slider and light inside like I did.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

DrgRcr said:


> As far as cost, that was one of the reasons I wanted to do my own. For what they want for manufactured stands, I knew I could do it cheaper. And with OAK, which I'm sure they're not all using. I learned my lesson when I bought my 1st tank(72g bow). I paid like $300 for the stand, and it was a floor model(marked $400 normally)! Unfortunately, I was not well informed enough at that point starting out to know better. On this go around, I spent less than $500 to build a stand and canopy, and I'm sure you could do it for even less if you don't add the slider and light inside like I did.


That makes sense. But I actually meant it the other way around. Most people budget like $50-$100 for a stand. That's one of the reasons most DIY stand end up looking the way they do. For the average person $100 wouldn't even cover the cost of tools you would need to do a good job, let alone materials. Real wood gets expensive real quick.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

> That makes sense. But I actually meant it the other way around. Most people budget like $50-$100 for a stand. That's one of the reasons most DIY stand end up looking the way they do. For the average person $100 wouldn't even cover the cost of tools you would need to do a good job, let alone materials. Real wood gets expensive real quick.


OK, got ya,I was just thinking the other way as far as cost goes, justifying what you get for the money you spend. I'd be afraid of what I'd get for $100!


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## snorkel2 (Sep 30, 2005)

boredatwork said:


> I am sure you are just trying to be modest. But seriously most people can't do this.


I would have to disagree, with a little research and a cheap miter saw you can do some pretty cool things without 4x4s or 2x4s. You can also use 1x4 pine, which is pretty inexpensive, easy to work with and super strong and light. There is some small investment in tools, but hey, you will probably use them again at some point. A miter saw is probably one of the best tool investments you can make because it has so many other uses like cutting laminate flooring


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

I will disagree with your disagreement.

Okay, not really. I agree that people could use tools to make nice things.

But based on the posts that I have seen in the DIY section here, I am saying that while people might be able to do nice things, they don't.

My guess is that only 1 in a 100 of the stands posted here use skills other than cutting and using screws. (Originally I said cutting and screwing, but that had too many alternative meanings.)

I get the impression that most people seem to go DIY when it comes to their stand because they want to spend as little as possible. At least that is the overwhelming response I got when I shared the cost of my stand. The second point is that the average person doesn't have a full suite of woodworking tools at their disposal. If they have to go out and buy them, then it defeats the objective of cheap. And if you don't have the tools to begin with, I am guessing there is little chance you are going to use them in the future, so there isn't much of an argument to re-use.

And I disagree its a small investment. When I started my stand, about the only thing I had was a screwdriver. When I lived at home I had access to my dad's tools. But having lived in an apartment for the last 10 years, I never really had an reason or space to acquire tools. When I started my stand I probably spent at least $200 on tools alone If you ask my wife she will probably quote you a much higher number. That is probably more than most people spend on their stand total.

And its not just tools but quality ingredients. It seems that most people go out and buy construction grade plywood. That is relatively cheap. If you want to use furniture grade hardwood, that can get very expensive. For my stand I needed three sheets of hardwood, and they were $60 each. Again, most people who DIY are probably targeting less than that for the whole cost of their stand.

I am not saying cheap is bad, I am just saying from what I have seen the average stand posted here does not come close to the OP level of craftsmanship.


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## snorkel2 (Sep 30, 2005)

boredatwork said:


> I will disagree with your disagreement.
> 
> Okay, not really. I agree that people could use tools to make nice things.
> 
> But based on the posts that I have seen in the DIY section here, I am saying that while people might be able to do nice things, they don't.


I see what you are talking about. When I was in college I used 4 milk crates for my 20 gallon stand and it worked just fine.

If you are a home owner you will at some point use the tools needed for stand construction, so the cost can be offset by that some what. For example I used my miter saw to install laminate flooring and to install pine carsiding in my garage. Of course if you are in a apartment those tools would make no sense and take up valuable room.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Its funny, because many of the tools I have acquired over the years as a homeowner, I bought for a specific project. But it always seems that sometime in the future, I wind up using them again for something else, so then I feel really good about having bought them  . That, and the fact that I can't bring myself to Rube Goldberg something. I either do it right or get someone who can.


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## Hthundar (Apr 10, 2009)

Sweet!


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

Stand and canopy turned out very nice. :thumb:

As for this tool discussion, I say tools are something you can never have enough of. Wife hates it when I use that!
Anyways if the tool you need is too exspensive or you can't think of another use then just rent it. Several rentals in my area have weekend specials, pick it up Fri. and return Mon. by noon for a 2 day rental fee.
I do agree that quality materials are mostly required for a successful project, be careful where you cut corners to save cost.
Any ways job well done!=D>


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Malawi_Junkie said:


> Stand and canopy turned out very nice. :thumb:
> 
> As for this tool discussion, I say tools are something you can never have enough of. Wife hates it when I use that!
> Anyways if the tool you need is too exspensive or you can't think of another use then just rent it. Several rentals in my area have weekend specials, pick it up Fri. and return Mon. by noon for a 2 day rental fee.
> ...


Thank you! Amen to the comments about the tools, you can never have too many IMO!


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

Here is the one I just built for my new 220gal.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Very nice MJ =D> ! I like that color. I had considered the split design on the canopy lids, but I wanted to mount my light to the inside, so that's why I made my whole lid open.

Here's a small one I just did for a 20g shellie tank. Most of it was built with material left over from the 125 build. The shelf is removable and I can put another tank up to a 20g high underneath also. I haven't decided if I'll do a canopy for it yet. If I do, I want to keep it very low profile.


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## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

simple and clean build, very nice!


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

Well done!

I have been posting for months telling people that 3/4" lumber is adequet to build all but the largest stands. Thanks for posting so others can see it is true!

BTW... My Kreg master jig is by far the most used tool in my shop as well


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Thanks redbluff. I know what you mean about the Kregs. I'm no woodworking expert by any means, but man the things I could do with a table saw and router table with some practice! I've got some crazy ideas bouncing in my head for stee/and or aluminum stands too. Although aluminum is really cost prohibitive. But being able to weld makes those jobs a snap.


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## redblufffishguy (Jul 16, 2009)

You have me beat! I am somewhat of a woodworking expert, (I own a cabinet shop), but I can not weld to save my life.

I have seen some really nice steel stands! If you need some help with drawings let me know!


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## Tiberian (Jun 14, 2009)

nice build


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

Redbluff, I'll keep you in mind if I'm thinking of doing something else. Right now I think I'm done on any more serious stands. I'm thinking that I may be able to use unistrut to build cheapo stands too, possibly for any grow out tanks. But I'm not ready for that....yet!

Thanks Tiberian.


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