# 90 gallon diy stand (pic heavy)



## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

This is my sixth stand construction and one of my favorite ones, the stand turned out quite nice.

I am working on the light canopy and should be done all of it by the end of April... 

a few of the construction phase....























































Some of the shell assembly...
































































Doors in the process of being complete..




























Stand with 2 coats of stain......(color - light walnut)




























I also did 3 coats of polyurethane... sanding in between coats... very time consuming.

And the final product, in the basement ready to be set up... I need to get a few things done before hand, the DIY light hood is currently being stained, and i still need to buy the tahitian moon sand (black)




























thanks for looking 

RW


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## Dook (May 13, 2009)

absolutely gorgeous... I wish upon wish I had that type of talent.

:thumb:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Very nice stand. I admire those who are willing to go all out to get what they want. That is a stand that can be moved or set on any surface without sweating whether it will warp or rack around.


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

Dook said:


> absolutely gorgeous... I wish upon wish I had that type of talent.
> 
> :thumb:


thanks... I am no carpenter, believe me, I just take my time, I just started this as my friend had one of those particle board stands that broke, and yes the tank fell to the floor, it was only a 29g but 29g of water on the floor, is a lot. 

so, needless to say i am not a fan of the cheap stands sold at LPS, I am not saying they are bad, but I prefer to not worry about hearing a big crash and 1" of water in my basement. 

I built my friend one. As well as my 180g stand and canopy and a 45g - 65g and a previous 90g stand.



> Very nice stand. I admire those who are willing to go all out to get what they want. That is a stand that can be moved or set on any surface without sweating whether it will warp or rack around.


thanks.... this stand and others I have built are strong and will not move. I tend to over build my stands, but it gives me that extra sense of security. my template for a stand is simple, but definitely over built.  bottom line it serves its purpose.

RW


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Beautiful stand, very well done. What did you use for the door inserts, glass or ?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

What I like about"overbuilt" stands is that they work better if you have some unexpected event come up. Right now I'm putting off changing out a window in my fish room. The tank has to move from in front. That's means a bit of engineering to move the tank without dragging everything out and draining it. I know I can do it though because the stand is as they say "overbuilt". My stand can be pried up for pipe rollers to be put under it. It does not warp or bend in the middle.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Very nice. :thumb:


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

Deeda said:


> Beautiful stand, very well done. What did you use for the door inserts, glass or ?


thanks...

i used plexi glass as i have a rambunctious 5 year old girl and a 1 year old crazy boxer dog. glass was out of the question.. 

the green tile looking inserts were actually a desktop wallpaper that i tweaked in photoshop. picture does not do it justice it looks like real tiles. 



> What I like about"overbuilt" stands is that they work better if you have some unexpected event come up. Right now I'm putting off changing out a window in my fish room. The tank has to move from in front. That's means a bit of engineering to move the tank without dragging everything out and draining it. I know I can do it though because the stand is as they say "overbuilt". My stand can be pried up for pipe rollers to be put under it. It does not warp or bend in the middle.


I agree.. the stands i build could withstand a head on collision with a mac truck :lol: ok maybe not a ma truck, but it is durable...... 8)

RW


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i put glass doors in mine as well, part of why i built my own, my finishes aren't near as clean as yours though, great job


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

RaizedWICKED you wouldnt mind passing me a copy of your template or plans for building this stand and the hood too?

I would be very grateful.


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

> RaizedWICKED you wouldnt mind passing me a copy of your template or plans for building this stand and the hood too?
> 
> I would be very grateful.


sure thing... here is mine..pretty basic design. look close at the pics i posted to see how it all goes together. And feel free to ask me any questions, i would be more than happy to assist you.

the hood I really have no plans for as each one i build is different. The one for this 90 is not a canopy but a simple DIY light hood. I will post detailed pics of it tomorrow.[/quote]










in addition here is my 180g stand and canopy I built with this design, modified a bit, also my 45G stand, again with the same design principal.

180g very old picture










45g I sold this one unfortunately










RW


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Hi RaizedWICKED,

Very nice work. I just finished my stand and hood for my 75 gallon and use 2x4 construction also.

Really like how you added detail to your stands and hoods.

Beautiful.


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

here is my simple/boring diy light hood.  all made from scrap wood..










sacrificed one of my Christmas lights extension cord, which is fed through the back of the hood.










used an $18.00 shop light. It was a nice tight fit. 










RW


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

upthecreek said:


> Hi RaizedWICKED,
> 
> Very nice work. I just finished my stand and hood for my 75 gallon and use 2x4 construction also.
> 
> ...


thank you, I would love to see pics of your stand. 

RW


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Hi Wicked

Here is a link to my tanks. The one on the left is my build along with light hood. I built it to look like the ocenanic in the middle.

I have added plants and maylasian wood sense the pic was taken.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Bikinguy/20100411#


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

> Hi Wicked
> 
> Here is a link to my tanks. The one on the left is my build along with light hood. I built it to look like the ocenanic in the middle.
> 
> ...


fantastic job!!! i love the simplicity of it, nice clean lines, also the white color, very unique. I may have to steal a few ideas from your stand. :wink:

is the light hood hinged to open or do you just lift it off? what type of wood did you use for the shell?

good stuff.

RW


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## Derek Layton (Apr 23, 2009)

How much would you say you spent all together on materials?


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks!

I may at a later date put some trim on it..offset the doors with it...look alot more expensive that way.
I have a hinged top...used a piano style hinge. The hood slips off entirely of course and its cut short so I can service my aquaclear filters without having to remove it.
The structure is 2x4 with one inch pine board for cover.

I spent around 100 bucks on the wood for the stand and hood.

My lighting is 2 9.00 grow lights from walley world (walmart)

Here is a link to some construction pics.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Bikinguy/FishTank#


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

thanks mate, i appreciate that. I think i will use you ideas for my own stand. May i ask what type of tool that triangle thing is in the 3rd pic in the first post?

Thanks again.
I look forward to posting my own build.


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

> thanks mate, i appreciate that. I think i will use you ideas for my own stand. May i ask what type of tool that triangle thing is in the 3rd pic in the first post?
> 
> Thanks again.
> I look forward to posting my own build.


thats called a speed square. you will need a square to make sure all corners for the frame are square.

http://www.ingersolltools.com/images/mi ... square.jpg

Good luck!!!! can't wait to see what you come up with.

RW


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

upthecreek said:


> Thanks!
> 
> I may at a later date put some trim on it..offset the doors with it...look alot more expensive that way.
> I have a hinged top...used a piano style hinge. The hood slips off entirely of course and its cut short so I can service my aquaclear filters without having to remove it.
> ...


good stuff, always like to see pics of the process. I like the stand the way it looks now, very clean looking. And it already looks expensive... 

Mine was approx. $175.00 to build give or take a few bucks...

RW


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks again for the kind words on my build.

Speedsquare adjustable type and miter saw really came in handy.


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## Derek Layton (Apr 23, 2009)

What did you use as the top sheet?


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Hi Derek,

If you are talking about my build I used no top sheet. the top is a frame of 2x4 that support the rim of the tank. This is not a rimless tank.


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## &lt;=U=L=T=R=A=&gt; (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow.  ..Nice !! Your work paid off definitely :thumb:


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

Small update..

Fixed the gap issue between the tank and stand, for those who have no idea what I am talking about... *link -* http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=212717

So as stated in my other thread I fixed the issue with a exercise mat, go figure. I did a full blown water test yesterday, let it sit most of the day. Tank/stand settled nicely, it remained level after being filled so no shimming under the stand. Also the mat worked brilliantly, the tank is level and tight, no gaps.. :dancing:

Here is a pic after draining 3/4 of the water.










If you look close you can see the mat. It is grey, well it was that or pink....  Green painters tape you see will obvioulsy not be there once the set up is complete. I was hoping to have the sand in yesterday, but Big als was sold out of tahitian moon sand. I also need to get the background on the tank. That will be done this week.

RW


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## Pali (Dec 22, 2009)

Nice stand :thumb:

I would take a razor and cut the mat after filling the tank, that way it's gonna be minimal what you see of the mat once the tank if up and runnig. :fish:


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

> Nice stand Thumb
> 
> I would take a razor and cut the mat after filling the tank, that way it's gonna be minimal what you see of the mat once the tank if up and runnig. Fish swimming


Thanks 

I plan on cutting the edge off the mat once i have sand, decor and fish... I was going to leave roughly 1/4" exposed, the mat actually looks pretty darn good, just needs a trim.. 

RW


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