ejaustin Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 What do you love about your aquarium stand? Your canopy? What do you hate about them? What do you wish they had that they don't? I'm getting a bigger tank after I move (thanks, dark angel) and I think I'll be building my own stand and canopy. Since I'm still so new to all this, I thought I'd draw on the collective wisdom here. Once the stand and canopy are built, it won't be an easy matter to change them, as you all know, especially once the tank is set up. So I'm asking about functionality, but aesthetics as well. I know mojo's stand has doors on the side, too, which I think is a wonderful idea that I'll incorporate. And I know that little doors makes it hard to add equipment or work on it. I also want to have a refugium that can gravity-feed into the display tank. At this point I have no idea how big it will be and I don't really have a good idea whether to put it above the canopy or where (or how, for that matter). So before I go too far down the road thinking about all this, I want to know what I need to keep in mind. ej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma13 Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 One thing that I like about my setup is that I have a cap (mostly open top) as opposed to a full canopy. It works aesthetically to hide my light setup and it heightens the tank so that fish cannot jump out, but having the open top helps keep the tank temp down and makes for easier feeding. Also since is made for thin acrylic it is light enough to easily remove on my own even though it is seven feet off the ground. One thing I would recommend for the stand is to drill two circular holes for exhaust fans in the back and install the fans prior to setting up the tank. The holes existed on my tank, but the fans were not installed prior to tank setup. Trying to install those fans once the clearance between the stand and the wall was minimal was challenging to say the least. The fans are great for temperature control and relatively low cost. Another tip if you are going to make a DIY stand is to really think about height both in terms of aesthetics (the viewing level of the tank) and the equipment you want to put in there. Consider the height of skimmers, and all other equipment that you will need and how it will fit in your space. I am currently planning a most DIY project for a FOWLR and these are considerations that are shaping my stands plans. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I would echo enigma's comment in that you definitely have to plan what will be contained in the stand prior to building it. In my case, I knew I wanted a sump and a top-off reservoir inside the stand. I built my stand with a shelf inside, and the height of the top shelf was determined by the height of the top-off reservoir. I had a pre-determined height in mind for viewing my tank, and the difference between that and the height of the upper shelf set the height of the lower level inside the stand. I then had my sump custom built to fit in that amount of space. Other equipment that tends to have a lot of height includes skimmers and most reactors, so plan out what you'll need before you get them. You can generally get the specs (height, length, width) of all of the equipment you'll need on-line. If you're planning on doors on the sides, and you have the proper DIY equipment, I'd suggest european hinges as opposed to standard hinges like I used. They look so much nicer, IMO. Of course make sure you apply several layers of urethane to protect the wood. Good luck and keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark8nge1 Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 one thing that I like on my stand is all the panels come completely off. The tank is skinned with panels held on by magnets so you can go to the bare stand at any time to get in there and do what you need to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jroescher Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Here's mine. I built everything myself, except of course for the glass. Maybe give you some ideas. I had the luxury of plumbing water, electricity and a drain up through the wall. http://johnroescher.com/default.aspx Click on the Sump and Canopy links for pictures. The only change I'm going to make is to put a cooling fan in the stand to vent the sump. With both doors closed the temp climbs really high and I'm afraid of all the humidity building up inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renman303 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I'm buying a bathroom/kitchen cabinet for my stand. Covering the top with 3/4" ply. Cabinets are made of the same if not better wood than tank stands. You can then get them to match the decor of your home without all the "black" sticking out. Not to mention, shelving and pull out drawers make life a lot easier. Dave renman303 www.nonnascucina.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.