# My DIY ADAish Stand with pics



## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

Just ordered a batch of cardinal shrimp that will be coming this Wednesday. I bought a 10 gallon glass tank for them, but didn't have a stand. So I decided to make one.

Just a note this is my first time dealing with wood. I have no prior experience. Most of the equipments that I need are either borrowed or I'm planning to rent.

I'm familiar with the CAD program solidworks, so I whipped up a 3d model and turned it into this drawing. I wanted the tank to be 20" x 10.5" x 20.5". At a nearby home depot they stated that their plywood was .703 inches thick. I rounded this down assuming that the plywood was .7" thick and modeled accordingly in solidworks.










I made an easier drawing to cut the wood. Unfortunately, I realized only after that here in the US the inch is divided by eighths. I've taken a few machining class where I've worked with metal. We can cut metal to a third decimal precision. I forgot I was dealing with wood and precision is only up to 1/8 of inch. It's fine tho. Since I assumed that the thickness of the plywood was less than 3/4" that means I have .05 - .1" excess of plywood along some dimensions of the stand.










I don't have a table saw at home so I went to home depot, picked up a piece of plywood and asked the workers to cut me this piece according to the drawing above. He looks at me with a funny face. He told me the cutters they have there is only used to cut wood to fit into your car. He can try to make it precise. I asked him where I can get it cut and he pointed me to a lumber yard. I picked up some concealed cabinet hinges from home depot before I left. These hinges doesn't require me to bore a large quarter sized hole halfway into the cabinet to install.










I went to the lumber yard and bought a 4'x8' piece of acx plywood. This sheet costs $30. I handed him the drawing and the worker sawed away. THere's nothing like a DIY project when you get to make others do it for you :thumb:










He was confused with some of hte dimensions like when theres a .6 or .8 but he did some math and figured it out. I figured I'm gonna have to do a little bit more cutting to make everything nice once I'm done so precisions in the second decimal isn't needed at this time. WHen he was done cutting, he only used half of the 4x8' so he said he's gona charge me for a 4x4 which should be around $15. No charge for cuts since it was a sunday = chill/slow day. I went to the register and the cashier charged me $25 for 4x4. I complained and told him to call the worker who helped me. He let me off with $15 since the worker told me that price. So it was $25 for 4x4 acx and $30 for 4x8 acx O_O ???

I went home and assembled it to see how it fits. The two pieces on the left are the doors










Everything looks good. The back piece is a little long so I might have to shave some wood off later. Any ideas how? I know its about .3" longer than it should be. The lumber yard did guarantee precision to 1/8 but no way am I going back to complain after THAT confrontation LOL

I'm planning on putting everything together with biscuit joiners and wood glue = no exposed nails. Anyone think that will hold or will it be a problem for a 10 gallon? 10 gallons should equal 83.45 lbs according to wikianswers


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## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

This thread is intended to document the whole process of making my own stand and some of the challenges I've faced while undergoing this process so others can plan carefully in the future. Also, I also need some input from experienced diy'ers to make this project a success :thumb:

On another note I can't wait till the beautiful cardinal shrimp arrives. Once I get them breeding and a colony established I plan to see their compatibility with my cyprichromis. My cyps always seem to ignore food on the bottom. So I'm planning on putting a bunch of rocks for the shrimps to hide in and have cyps on top


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## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

A table saw would be the more precise way to cut down those peices to the proper size. A Skill Saw or Circular Saw would work but just would have to take your time to get as nice of a cut.

Are you planning on putting any type of framing inside this at all? My only concern about it right now is the possibility of it buckling and at the joints with the plywood only. It may be plenty strong enough since its only a 10g going on it, but will others give their opinions on that.


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## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

As of now, I'm not planning on putting any framing. I'm still debating on whether or not to do so. Like you said, I thought I can get away with it since it's a 10g. Anyone have thoughts about this?


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## lelandgray (Jan 19, 2011)

I don't think you need any framing, especially since it's just a 10gal.  Just as long as you glue and screw the pieces together.

I made a stand for my 55gal completely out of 3/4" b i r c h plywood.

Basic structure









With the top









The back









Done, before painting









After painting









I'm considering modifying the stand to accomodate a 125 gal. All I would need to do is cut it in half, and then make a larger center section to replace where the doors are now, and then put a larger top on the existing top.


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## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

wow, your stand looks very nice! I hope mine looks at least decent lol. Your picture gives me some worries on whether or not my hinges work. Since in my design: when you look from the front, the doors cover up the sides of the tank. Time to put it to the test.


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## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

In case anyone else wonders this hinge which is a "Liberty: Non-Mortise Spring Loaded Concealed Hinge H01068 90 degree Opening" does work for my design. This is called a full overlay mount and lelandgrey's hinge is known as an inset mount. Judging from the hinge behaviors, I think leland's design allows him to put the two stand doors close together while for mine, there has to be some spacing between the door. This is because as I open the left door (for instance) it will move a little bit the right to create space to pivot around the hinge axis. Since it needs to move to the right a little, there has to be empty space which means my doors cannot be touching.

Also, the manual recommends two hinges for a 36" tall door. My doors defintely under this height so I probably only need one hinge per door.


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## hsd (Jul 26, 2010)

Looks very well made. Hard to tell it was a diy project. What color is the finish?


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## lelandgray (Jan 19, 2011)

hsd said:


> Looks very well made. Hard to tell it was a diy project. What color is the finish?


Thanks! I'm pretty handy, but it was my first try at "furniture". I wanted a tank stand, but also a place to put my sons toys. The finish is a satin black (I know, I hated painting that b i r c h!), but the rest of the furniture in our living room is black and I wanted it to match. I've got 4 canvas storage cubes that fit perfectly into the 4 openings, and in the center where the doors are I have my Fluval 305 and the rest of my stuff.

If I get a 125 (or 120), I'll make the center section big enough for a 20 or 29 gal sump.


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## quackattack (May 8, 2010)

Today has been a slow day. Didn't get much done. I decided to put everything back together again









I marked all the excess wood with a pencil. Decided to color off the excess with a blue marker.

















I brought it back to the lumber yard and told them to do a recut. Which they did. Now everything fits. Although not perfectly, but I think it will look alright once I hammer it down. I decided to ditch the biscuit joiner idea since I don't have the materials/tools to make it possible and it will probably cost more than what I want.









Tomorrow, I'll nail everything together. Sand down the wood. Thinking about putting a laminate over it because I want a nice wood look to my tank.


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## calebjimz (Aug 10, 2009)

in my experience, never let someone else cut your wood for you. 1st, they dont care nearly as much about precision as you yourself does. Just go to home depot and rent some saws and whatnot for a quick hour, wont cost you that much. In the end, youll end up spending more time on the project if someone else messes up your cuts or whatnot.


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## Victorh88 (May 4, 2011)

Hi,

Sorry for the Dumb questions but I have no wood experience at all. When using plywood for stand building I know the pieces are glued and screwed together but do you pre-drill holes? and is 3/4 plywood build really strong enough without any other supports? in comparison to a skinned wood frame.

I've was worried about splitting the panel and weakening it.

skinned wood frame thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... ?t=1169964

Plywood thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... genumber=1

Thanks, Vic


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## koslonc (Jul 10, 2010)

> Sorry for the Dumb questions but I have no wood experience at all. When using plywood for stand building I know the pieces are glued and screwed together but do you pre-drill holes? and is 3/4 plywood build really strong enough without any other supports?


Yes. Those who are building 2x4 or 2x6 skeletons and wrapping them with 3/4 plywood are essentially building 2 stands. With adequate joinery, either the skeleton or the plywood alone are more than adequate.

I personally find it easier to work with just plywood. Plywood is a more precise and stable material than dimensional lumber, which is prone to shrink, expand, bow, twist, or cup over time. You also end up with way more usable space inside the stand and less corners to sand, paint, stain, etc.

Pre-drilling is recommended, especially near the edges of plywood, to prevent splitting.


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## -M- (Sep 15, 2011)

Very nice. thanks for inspiration!


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