My Cabinet Design *tons Of Pictures*

[deliverance]

I started to get to many tanks and the other day with the help of my grandfather i decided to make a stand. i will post pictures to show the progress of this project. under each picture it explains what the picture is showing. i used 3/4" plywood for the base and the rest is 3/4" or 1/4" oak. in the next couple weeks i am going to put oak trim, stain, sand off the hole plugs, and have crown molding around the top. the cabinet sits 6.5ft wide x 7ft tall x 2ft deep. let the pictures begin.

-2x4's for the frame

-3/4" ply wood layed onto of the 2x4's

-cutting the 3/4" oak 4'x8' sheets

-1/4" oak sheet on top of the base(2x4's and 3/4" ply)

-making dado's

-dado's so the shelf can slide in for extra suport

-holding up the sides with clamps and the center to see what it looks like

-another pictures

-another angle of the top

-nailing the 1/4" sheets of oak to the back of the cabinet

-first look after standing up the cabinet

-this if going to be my storage area for foods and extra filter media. it will be devided in half and have 2 pull out doors per side

-55 gallon on the bottom and 35 gallon on the top

-once i put the shelf in this will have 2 doors which will house 2 canister filters

 

[karen84]

looks really good

 

[Tiric]

nice job on the stand!
Is the back dado as well? is the middle going to be able to hold the weight of a 35 gallon tank?

 

[Silverlady]

Hi i think i would be really worried about the weight of the tanks

 

[deliverance]

yes the back has a 1/4" dado


once we put the trim on it it will go across the front it will be stronger and hold the weight. i am going to throw another 1/4" sheet ontop of the 3/4" so thats a total of 1". most houses use 3/4" on the floor and they support all the weight. also frames on houses are 2x4's and 4x8's above the doors. look the weight they support.

 

[godzuki]

hi

no offence... but is that middle shelf re-inforced??? if its not it wont hold the weight... if you look carefully you can already see that its starting to bow.

my advice is to re-inforce withsome heavy duty "L" brackets... trust me you dont wanna build the thing to had it colapse once a tank is placed one it.... you'll either lose one or even worse both tanks.....


just advice... take it or leave it....

kiss kiss
godzuki

 

[deliverance]

it has support under the shelf that u can not see its not just sitting in the dado. 1/2" right next to the dado so it has 3/4" total holding on the sides and then it has a piece thats going across in the middle that is not visable also.

and it looks bowed but its not i guess its the angle of the picture

 

[wendywc]

I'm pretty sure the bowing effect of the pictures are due to the camera's lens, especially if its a wide-angle lens. Personally, I'm not a fan of the stacked-tanks-look, but good going on building it yourself.

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

Hi Deliv, the problem is defently going to be the weight of the 30gal approx 280lb on that shelf. Now the shelf is not the only problem, the dado from what i can see is not dovetailed so the 3/4" sides will bow if the shelf doesn't bend and it only takes a slight uneveness to crack glass on the bottom of the tank. But you don't need to rip apart. All you need to do is make a 2x4" plinth,same as the first pic, put a few more cross members in so you've got some where to mount the lights on. Make the plinth a bit smaller in the width so you can put some of the oak ply on the face. Screw this under the shelf with at least a few big screws through the sides and don't forget a few in the back paneland shelf. This will defently stop shelf from bending and sides. Just an idea. Are you going to be framing the tanks on the front to give the true build in look Keep the pics coming and don't worry about our critical comments, we're just jealous

 

[grahamsokel]

I have to agree that i doubt a shelf like that would hold the weight.you could do with some upright supports to hold the weight

 

[deliverance]

what u dont see is under the shelf that will hold it. theres a 2 pieces of steel going scross along with a piece of wood. im 255 and i sat on it with no budging. once i put the front trim across (from far left nailed to middle shelf to far right side) it will give tons more support.

 

[woundupmum]

what u dont see is under the shelf that will hold it. theres a 2 pieces of steel going scross along with a piece of wood. im 255 and i sat on it with no budging. once i put the front trim across (from far left nailed to middle shelf to far right side) it will give tons more support.

Sorry I have to agree I would not put my tank on that shelve. Sitting on it for a few moments is not the same as a constant weight of a tank which will sit there for a lot longer and would probebly weight a lot more than you.

I thing it is a great effort and looks good. But It needs more strength

 

[simonbrown403]

I have to agree with everyone you need at least a 2*2 frame under the 55g and a couple of center uprights, theres going to be over 230kg sitting on that flimsy 3/4" shelf even with the dado on the front, it wont cut it.

 

[Tolak]

If you reinforce that center shelf the same way the bottom shelf is it should hold without too much warping. I have a double stand, 55 on the bottom, a couple of 20s on the top, 48", 13" footprint built with pressure treated 2x4s;

The 55 on the bottom has the center support, no deflection from weight. The top has around 3/8" deflection in the center, which is fine for a couple of tanks. If I want to put a 55 up there I would need to extend the lower support.

Most newer tanks are supported by the perimeter, when that center shelf bows it will leave the front center unsupported. This will put a lot of stress in that front panel, as well as the other 3 sides. If this is going in a finished area of the house, which I'm assuming it is as it is otherwise a really nice setup you made, you are risking some serious water damage. My double stand is in the basement, if something starts to leak, it's a small creek across the concrete to the floor drain. I would not put my stand upstairs, I never designed it for that.

Beef up that shelf a little, & let it happen. I really like the idea of having the filtration on the side, easy access. Look for a couple of those small screw in flouro fixtures that fit under a cabinet. They come pre-wired with a switch, putting them in your filter & storage area will make working on things in there a whole lot easier. I did that on the bottom of a stand I built for a 65, it turns a dark storage area into someplace easy to work in.

 

[Ginge]

I also agree with previous posters my stand is made of 2x2 and 2x4 for reienforcement the back is made of MDF for more strenght and it holds a 55G.