# DIY 120 gallon aquarium stand build!



## Joe.Lemm (Oct 29, 2012)

Over the break I picked up a new 120 gallon (5') aquarium and built a stand for it. Its constructed from 2x4's all around, and ended up being a very cheap build and turned out very nice!

I spent around $30 on lumber, $10 on screws, $10 on finishing, and $10 on miscelanious items.









Building the basic frame from 2x4's. It was framed together on a flat surface, and then clamped to put in the vertical supports so that everything was butted together and there were no gaps that could cause shifting later on.









Here is the frame almost finished. There were more vertical supports added to the centre. At this point the stand was levelled and the tank was put on and there were some very small gaps between the tank and frame from the wood not being perfectly straight, so this brought me to the next step...









I taped off the aquarium and ran some high density plaster around the entire frame and set the tank down on it. This ensured the tank would be in contact with the frame around 100% of it's perimeter and there would be no gaps anywhere that could cause leaking. I also added 1/4" thick foam around the frame to to compensate for any minor bumps. After this there wasne one point on the frame where you could even slide very thin release paper in between it and the tank.









After the stand sat around for a week and I tried to decide what to skin it with, I noticed some flooring ad decided to give it a try. I used no more nails to secure it, and it was simple to do and turned out great!









This is the almost finished product minus some trim on the corners. I am very happy with the results especially considering how inexpensive it was to build.









Here it is setup (only had the decor from my 60 gallon which wasnt enough for the 120, but it has since been improved!

I dont have any pictures of the doors, but I will get some soon. Basically what I did was take 2 doors, secure them together, and use a pin system to hold them on rather than hinging them. It is a very simple system, but makes getting in and out of the stand a bit of a pain when you have to put the doors back, but it allows easier access to the filters.

If you have any questions feel free to ask! I will be building a canopy to match the stand soon, just need to find the time.

Thanks for watching!


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## rgr4475 (Mar 19, 2008)

Looks great Joe, nice work! :thumb:


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Nice pics and build! Funny, I was watching a flooring commercial just this morning and got an idea about using laminate flooring for the finish on my stand. Did you use laminate or actual wood flooring? My only thought on laminate was it getting wet and swelling over a long period of time, but then if it last 5 years plus and I am carefull I can just pull it off and replace it down the road if needed.

Please post pics of the canopy when you build it!

Really nice job!


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## Joe.Lemm (Oct 29, 2012)

UPDATE! Canopy is built... but pictures can wait...

I used laminate on mine since it was a fraction of the price. I sealed the ends really well to preserve them incase of a mess trying to catch fish or redecorate. If I were to build another one, I would do the same again.

Here are pictures of the canopy, got carried away with the build so pictures are lacking.


































I used particle board to build the basic frame (same dimensions as tank) then laminated it with the flooring so that it covers the black rim on the tank. Sealed/painted anything that could get went to preserve it, and I am quite happy with it. I am going to be using LED bulbs and build them into the canopy and get rid of the fixture that is in use right now. All that is left is putting trim on the stand and canopy.

I will get pictures of the doors on my stand as well!


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## verbal (Aug 16, 2011)

It looks very nice.


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