Journal Trying to make a high-end aquascape from scratch

[gjcarew]

Hey folks, this marks the first time I've had more than one journal at a time, but I'm beginning work on a new 120x60 low-iron, rimless aquascape. I've been inspired by Hendy8888 and @Naturescapes_Rocco to try to make a really high quality stand. I have tried making a stand before, but it was a 2x4 stand with reclaimed wood facing, and it ended up looking pretty amateur. I'm trying to go high-end on this one in part because I want to be able to build cabinets for various projects around the house, and my wife will be less upset if I botch a fish tank stand than if I botch a new kitchen build.

I love seeing these stand builds, but they've always seemed somewhat under-documented to me. So this is starting from the very beginning - the design.

Under the influence of Rocco I did some 3d modeling for the tank. The pictures are a front view, one without the top sheet one, and one without the doors on. I used Shapr3d, which is free for one project. Let me know what you think of the design, and if there is anything I could work on!

 

[Pepere]

Well. You can do this! Desire is the key. You can get the skills to do this.

And to give you some inspiration…




Part 1 of a 5 part series.. hardwood raised panel matching stand canopy with counterweight to raise up off the tank and side hutches.

Korbels on the stand…

I can appreciate the work this guy did and I havethe skills and the chops to pull it off but the style doesnt suit my tastes though I can appreciate it. I prefer more of a late 19th century farmouse style myself…

I used to build wooden boats and have a decent amount of woodworking skills. Happy to be of any assistance if you want to reach out…

 

[gjcarew]

Thanks @Pepere! I have very little idea what I'm doing, but I'm willing to keep trying. I'll be sure to ask if I run into any problems. As you can probably tell from the render, I'm going for an ADA-style here. Maybe when I have more of a shop available I can start getting into more complex projects!

 

[techman81]

I 'm not exactly a skilled woodworker. But have recently attempted 2 similar stands myself. The one big tip I will provide, and you may already know this, don't buy the plywood from a big box store like Home Depot or Lowes if you can avoid it. Find a specialty lumber yard that sells true cabinet grade plywood. You'll pay more, but have far better quality (flatter) wood to work with which makes a huge difference when you're not just screwing it to a 2x4 skeleton.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Hey folks, this marks the first time I've had more than one journal at a time, but I'm beginning work on a new 120x60 low-iron, rimless aquascape. I've been inspired by Hendy8888 and @Naturescapes_Rocco to try to make a really high quality stand. I have tried making a stand before, but it was a 2x4 stand with reclaimed wood facing, and it ended up looking pretty amateur. I'm trying to go high-end on this one in part because I want to be able to build cabinets for various projects around the house, and my wife will be less upset if I botch a fish tank stand than if I botch a new kitchen build.

I love seeing these stand builds, but they've always seemed somewhat under-documented to me. So this is starting from the very beginning - the design.

Under the influence of Rocco I did some 3d modeling for the tank. The pictures are a front view, one without the top sheet one, and one without the doors on. I used Shapr3d, which is free for one project. Let me know what you think of the design, and if there is anything I could work on!

I love it! And I love seeing someone else give Shapr a try. Very good intro modeling software.

I would recommend tripling or quadrupling the thickness of the front support beam; gluing 3 or 4 layers of plywood together creates a beam that is stronger than a pure wood beam, as long as you used a ton of glue and some fastners/screws along the way. It won't take up too much of your tank space and will give you total piece of mind.

But this is perfect. The back panel, and the front "reveal", both act as "roll stops" to prevent the stand from folding left or right, and it'll definitely be able to hold your aquarium if you're using something like 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood from a good wood supplier (like @techman81 said). I love that you have the bottom lip in the front; use a good caulk sealant in those corners, and you will have a waterproof "tub" to hold water, and trigger water alarm sensors, long before you ever flood your house! You won't regret that at all.

Make sure you measure and model the height of the RIM of the tank. I would recommend not going much higher than 2-3" below your armpit, or maintenance becomes an annoying chore that you need a step stool for. And I'd recommend using Blum Full Overlay hinges for the doors, they're rock solid. Use the Kreg cabinet jig for easy installation.

Let me know what questions you have or tools you might need, and best of luck! This is awesome.

 

[gjcarew]

First step was getting accurate, repeatable cuts. So I sprung for a kreg straightedge for my circular saw since I don't have a table saw.
First cut was wide by 1.84 mm, but straight along the length (under .5 mm deviation along the length of the cut). I think I must have mis-measured the width of the guard on the circular saw, so I'll just measure ~2 mm shy on the next cut.

Luckily the dimensions for this piece are not critical, so this is good enough. But I want to make sure everything is bang on accurate so everything lines up level and square when it's time for the glue-up.

I ordered the tank from Aqua Rocks Colorado during their sale, it's 120x60x50 cm. I'm super stoked for it to arrive, and highly motivated to get this stand completed!