Sherita Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Well, it's time for the bigger tank (yes, another one). This is a 210g Oceanic, drilled, with two internal overflows, twin drain, twin return. 6'x2' footprint. The tank will be located in my bedroom (yep, the worlds coolest nightlight!). Because I have an affinity for real wood, with lots of grain and character (and color!), the stand and canopy for this tank will be a little different than your usual tank stand. The stand is built with dimensional lumber-2x4's and 2x6's. Strong enough to park a truck on, or a ton of tank and water. The skin for the stand is aromatic red cedar. I'm hand picking each 1x4 board, then milling them for tongue and groove using my 6' router table. Here's the start of one end. Tell me that grain and color are not just spectacular! Here's the same end with all of the skin on, but un-sanded. And after sanding, but still unfinished. The wood will not be stained, only sanded smooth and coated with satin polyurethane. I won't be puttying the joints, since I want the rustic look. The stand will have trim top and bottom (which I will make), and the canopy and top tank trim will be made from the same wood. The doors will be magnetic, and also made from the same wood. I'm repurposing an old 75g acrylic tank I have as a sump for this tank. That's it for now. I'll do more on the woodwork tomorrow, and post pictures as things happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 SCHWING Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 That looks great already. I want a reef nightlight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That stand is beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceastman Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That looks great.... (wonders if I can talk my significant other into having a wonderful nightlight like this in our bedroom......) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I think we're tank twins. I have the same Oceanic tank as well. Awesome upgrade and great stand work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 That's one heck of a night light. I am interested to see how this turns out I've been looking at making a new rustic stand for my tank out of oak to match my furniture. Looks great so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 You'll have the best smelling sump in the club! Can't wait to see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 nice work sherita. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Love the cedar. Are you doing anything extra to sound proof the stand and hood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Did a little more today. Got the skin on the front of the stand. There won't be any more progress till the middle of next week (boo). I'm waiting on the next shipment of red cedar to come in at the lumber yard, so I can pick through it for the prettiest pieces. They were nice enough to let me know that the truck will be there Tuesday at 9am, guess where I will be at 10am? Yep, stalking the delivery truck at McCoys, LOL. I'm not soundproofing. I've had a reef in my bedroom for several years, for me it's just white noise. I cannot wait to lay in bed and look at the lovely tank under the moonlights......right at the foot of my bed! Btw, this stand is 40" tall, so I'll have lots of room in there to work in the sump or on the electronics. The inside of the stand will be painted with two coats of original Kilz, to help protect it from water damage. I will probably have an update next Thursday or Friday. Maybe I will stop sneezing by then (fine cedar dust up my nose, and everywhere else). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Just an idea if you haven't done it yet, Epifanes matte marine varnish is extremely waterproof and you would retain the wood look inside. We used it on our canoe we built 2 winters ago. It adheres very well to red and white cedar and is a nearly bulletproof coating. It would be quite a bit more expensive than killz though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Very nice stand, magnetic doors? tagging along....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Long, yes the doors will be magnetic. I love having the ability to get them completely out of my way when I'm working. jestep, I want the white inside the stand to reflect the light from my fuge lighting at night. Makes it much more effective. Plus, it makes it easier for me to see what I'm doing when I've got my head and shoulders stuck in the sump trying to get my hands on the stupid snail that has crawled out of the tank and died back there, and is now fumigating the house with the worst smell known to man kind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceastman Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 dead snail smell is the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorien Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Beautiful work! I love having my tank in my bedroom too. It has cured 80% of my insomnia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Got more done Finished up the sanding and the trim on the stand. I can't build the doors until my lumber comes in, which it did not do this week. Booo! Here's the stand with the trim installed. The top trim is just sitting on the stand for now. It will get installed after a tribe of my friends heaves the 475 pound tank up onto the stand. And.........I got the first coat of poly on the stand. I simply cannot express how happy I am with the way this has turned out. It's exactly as I had pictured in my mind, only much more beautiful than I could have hoped! Here's an end panel, so you can see the fantastic color and character. Ignore the splotchy look, the finish isn't dry all the way. And a shot of the front of the stand (sorta). I couldn't move it because the finish was wet, so please ignore the weird angle. I'll update again once we have it in the house and the aforementioned tribe does the heaving. I still have to build the trim for the top of the tank, and the canopy, as well as the doors. But, I need lumber for that, which will hopefully arrive next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ct67stang Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Beautiful Sherita!! I Love doing wood work. the look of that red cedar is freakin sweet! Great work, Congrats:) Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Seen your livestock for sale on here for a while. Don't recall commenting on anything before...but ill say this. As an aspiring wood worker, I fail to see how anything inside the tank will outshine the work done on that cedar. That's amazing. I'm going to copy your frame design when I build my new stand here this next month. I look forward to seeing how the magnetic doors take shape. I like that idea more than hinges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 i want to try to figure out a magnetic hinge thing so i can open simply for grabbing foods and whatnot that are stored there, but then take off completely for better access. stand looks great sherita. you clearly know your way around a woodshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thanks y'all I like to build things, and I love working with my hands. But honestly, I think the greatest satisfaction is being able to sit back and say "look at what I built". My kitchen cabinets are going to be built the same way, with the same wood. I wish I had some of the more advanced tools for this kind of work, but I don't. So a lot of this is being done "old school", LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 The tank is finally on the stand. It took 5 large guys and one fat chick to get that sucker up there. Now, I can start building the doors, the sump, and the canopy. The giant stand was taking up so much room in my shop that I had no room to move around. Oh yeah, I can also start plumbing........yay me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Way to go. Getting so much closer now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Sherita, that is looking really good! What size sump are you planning on? Did you leave an opening in the end to slide it through or do you have to fit it through the front openings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherita Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 I'm doing a split sump/refugium. So everything will fit through the front doors. I wanted to split it so that I could put my topoff container under the stand and not have to fight with it to get it out when I need to refill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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