DIY 5.5 Gal. Tank Stand And Canopy

[Dsoto87]

Hello. Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a small 5.5 gallon tank sitting on my dresser in my room but the dresser is just too short. My 2 year old son is able to stand on a couple things and reach right in. I was already planning on building a stand for a 55 gallon but, i have no experience so that would be a pretty bad idea. I thought I may as well start out by building on a small scale. I dont have any experience in carpentry or anything like that. I just did some research on the subject, used a little common sense, and asked people around me who are familiar with woodworking or stand building.

This is a Work In Progress

I went to home depot, and spent less than $20 for some 1x3s (2x4s would be too big for such a small stand, since i wanted the inside space to put stuff in) and a few small sheets of plywood and some wood glue

heres what I have so far

Right now im in the process of cutting the ply wood to cover up the ugly screws. Ill keep you guys posted as I finish more

EDIT: forgot to say, this thing is sturdy. Im pretty proud of what ive done so far since ive never even worked with wood before

[Dave66]

Welcome to AC. You should do triangular blocks at all verticle joints to reinforce them. Water weighs 8.5 pounds, with gravel and everything you're looking at nearly 50 pounds of dead weight. Stand needs to be dead level as well, anything not in square will put stress on the tank.

Dave

[Dsoto87]

Likea i said, I have no experience with wood working so could you explain to me what exactly you mean by triangular blocks at the vertical joints. Its level, I checked everything once,twice, and thrice over again.

[gm72]

He means that all of the joints going upwards should have a triangle of wood screwed into the joint to prevent any swaying of the structure.

[Dave66]

Thanks for translating, GM. Getting my point across in this stupid english language we here in the US use is difficult sometimes lol.

Dave

[gm72]

Haha! I didn't mean to step on your toes at all, but I do the same thing sometimes.

I work a lot with swallowing disorders in the geriatric population, and I'll say "your loved one is suffering from premature spillage to the laryngeal vestibule that is subsequently frankly aspirated." Just say: "Your loved one's swallowing muscles aren't working well and the drinks are going down the wrong way".

Knowledge is a blessing but also a curse!

[Drumachine09]

The stand looks good. One day, when i get off of my lazy bum, ill make one with a canopy for my 10g.

Yes, make sure you put in a block brace for your angles, as that will give it a LOT more structural integrity.

Any plans on staining it, putting on doors, or anyting fancy?

[Dsoto87]

Man I feel like an idiot. You have to clarify this for me. Do you mean like in the drawing below?

And yes I plan on staining it. I might just leave the back open or instead close it all up and put maybe a drawer since cabinets would be too big for this size

[Drumachine09]

Exactly. Nice drawing BTW ;)

[tropfish]

lookin good so far! Make sure to post pics of the finished product!

[Dsoto87]

Sorry I havent posted any updates. I havent been able to work on it much nor get any computer access.

Heres some up to date pictures. The first 2 are of when I was done putting the sheathing on the outside and the last one is of the first coat of stain

As you can see, A i messed up and alot of the plywood face started to peel. And as for the stain, I also messed up on that. I never used gel stains before and this stuff was completely different from oil or water based ones. The whole kick to gel is its supposed to stain more evenly but that didnt really work. Its probobly due to my lack of experience. So here they are. I plan on putting one more coat of stain and than a coat of urethane and than Ill begin working on the canopy.

EDIT: oops, first one is the stained version, basically how it looks now, the last two are the pre stain versions

[TowBoater]

Looks good, congrats!!!

[gm72]

I think it looks fine!

[zackish]

I think the stand looks real nice, throw some paint on it.

[Drumachine09]

The dark stain gives it a very rich look. It looks profesionally done to me. good work!

Do you need help on plans for the canopy? I found some really good ones that could help.

[Rue]

I think it looks great! Esp. for a first time! Just think how good your next one will look now that you know what's what! :19:

[S13DWS]

Well done with your table. IMHO it looks awesome!!!