# Building ADA



## Jason Baliban

Well some months ago I picked up an ADA 120H. Sadly, it sat on the floor in my office for almost 5 months before I got around to putting it together. When it finally came time to put it together, I needed to find a stand that would both fit the metric size of ADA as well as not take away from the sleek look of the tank. Really, the only solution that would accomplish both of those would be to get an ADA stand. Well, they are really pricey!!! ...not to mention shipping. So the next option was to build one. This is a brief account of the 40 hours it took me to build my ADA style stand over the last two weeks. I hope you enjoy.

I decided to cover the stand in formica. Here are the sheets of formica after I picked them up. ....rocking hard with the marshall cab!!!










The early stages of the build. Notice no front piece or hole in the dividing support.










Wood work is complete....next is putty, sand, and formica.










Puttied and the interior is stained.










This was the first piece of formica i ever glued and trimmed, so it was quite an accomplishment for me. I hope that you feel the same excitement just looking at the pic










Next was the back.










The front was slick....i cut out the trim from one solid piece. No seems!!










Ready for the last piece!!










Formica is complete on the body.










Drilling the holes for the wire/tubing portals. This was challenging.










The stand is complete!!!!










Lets add the tank!!!




























Final Product!!










Final shot of the seams....for Erik (Troy McClure)










Hope you had as much fun looking as i did building!!

Oh, and my last tip...

Freshly routed Formica is very very sharp!!! My hands are completely messed up from the last two weeks.

jB


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## yoink

WOW, nice craftmanship. It looks to be worth the cut up hands.


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## Left Coast DJ

Pimpin! Now I'm inspired too.

DJ


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## xcooperx

how much it cost you?what are the materials you use? im debating if im gonna buy the ADA metal stand or just build a wooden stand ada look a like? its for my 90cm ADA tank


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## snickle

Very nice.


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## Jason Baliban

Thanks for sharing my excitement everyone I am really pumped with the way it turned out. Only towards the end did i really get sick of it. It was the doors....they were the most challenging and frustrating.

It cost me just over 300 in materials. There were some other costs in there for tools and things like that, but if you have them, there is no worries

Materials:

-Formica
-3 pieces of 3/4 higher grade plywood
-4 eurostyle hinges
-Contact cement
-Putty
-Screws
-Wood glue
-Stain

Tools

-Cheap table saw
-Decent circular saw
-Router
-Laminate Router Bit
-Really crappy cordless drill

jB


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## Jason Baliban

There was some questions where i got the plastic grommets for the wire/tubing portals.

I got them here....

http://www.mockett.com/default.asp?ID=329

jB


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## Troy McClure

Thanks for the edge shot, J! I'm throwing this on here for future reference - http://www.mockett.com/default.asp?ID=329

GREAT WORK!!!!


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## slickwillislim

How close is the tank size compared to the top of the stand. It seems to me the thicker formica would force you to have a larger piece sticking out from the stand. 

I tried to make an ADA stand myself but I painted it because I never thought of using formica. After having small pieces of the paint flake off because it sticks to my tubing I wish I had considered it. 

Very well done. The plastic grommets are a nice touch and a great idea. 

BTW: Are you going to be hanging your lights from the ceiling or attaching a light stand to the stand?


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## John P.

Great work. I'm pretty close to finishing mine, too. Only been about a year! 



slickwillislim said:


> r having small pieces of the paint flake off because it sticks to my tubing I wish I had considered it.?


Did you prime first? Oil paint is the only way to go.


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## Paul Higashikawa

Awesome job, Jason! 'Course, ya know that means you might have to take orders from some of us here in the future I like mine gun metalic just fine, haha! 

But seriously, good effort and great work! It is ADA-worthy Amano would be very proud!


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## TNguyen

Nicely done! 5 month on the floor? That's it! I'm with John, little over a year and counting. Thanks for showing. Maybe now I can start getting thing together and start building.

Cheers, 
Thanh


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## slickwillislim

I don't want to get to off topic but I used oil based primer, but I didn't use oil based paint. You live and you learn.


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## Bert H

Nicely done, Jason. :thumbsup: When are you going to start setting up the tank?


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## Jason Baliban

Troy McClure - no prob, i hope it helped you picture what was going on

slickwillislim - The formica is only about an 1/8 of an inch thick...if that. I would say there is about 1/4" inch of a lip on all side of the tank after the formica was added. Its not a perfect fit, but i really wasnt going for 100% flush. I dont have the tools to do that. I literally have about 250 bucks worth of tools to work with, and for you tool people, you know that is terrible!!! HAHAHA The grommets were thought of after i started the stand. I was sitting at my desk and just looked at one on my desk, and got googling....and their they were Im not sure what i am going to do with the lights yet. I have two solar I's to hang over the thing. I am leaning towards building something into the stand or around the stand to hang them. I doubt i will do the ceiling thing.

Paul - I dont think i will build many more. Really, it did take me a lot of time to make. Im sure with some nice tools, i could cut that time in half, and then it might be worth it to make more of them. HAHA

Bert - I am setting it up at the next meeting....june 16th. I better get working on the lights

Thanh and john - Its funny how we can resist setting up these tanks right away

Thanks guys

jB


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## David Hui

Jason, beautiful stand.


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## jazzlvr123

you just inspired me to build a custom stand for my new 60x30x36cm ADA tank, im going to follow your plans as intricately as i can you did a great job!!


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## net

Good job!


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## marke14

This stand looks awesome.

DIY done right - the cuts on your hands are worth it!


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## Jason Baliban

Next I had to hang the lights. I was pretty sure that i didnt want to drill into my ceiling, so i needed to make a stand. This is what i came up with.










jB


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## Jason Baliban

Here is one for scale.










jB


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## John P.

Definitely larger than I thought!


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## hooha

beautiful work, as usual


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## TRDMCV20L

Looks super nice. How did you attach the lights to the stand? Maybe a pic from the side?


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## hoppycalif

Heh,heh....She does look very nice, and the light arrangement is nice too. </dirty old man thoughts>


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## hedson_25

nice tank and nice model to present it...


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## Jason Baliban

Thanks Hooha

TRD.. I just used standard conduit clips for the side. I belive they come in a couple different versions, but all work about the same. You just screw the clip in the surface of whatever you want the conduit on....in this case, the side of the stand.

HAHAHA - Thanks guys, i will tell her she is now famous!! 

I set this tank up at the last meeting. The thread is here.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ssociation/40904-dvaga-meeting-6-16-07-a.html

jB


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## hedson_25

how is that tank doing?


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## Yeaulman

> Freshly routed Formica is very very sharp!!!


What did you use to make the edges dull?


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## FelixAvery

omg totally smokin hot! the girls nice aswell


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## spypet

is that 30" high? it's going to be a bitch
to get your arm down there to scape it.


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## dirrtybirdy

im going to make one soon.


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## gotcheaprice

Really nice stand. I wanna make something just like this except black for my 55 gallon. Where did you find formica? And if you have any instructions on how you built this or the material, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks


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## hoppycalif

Home Depot used to sell 4 x 8 sheets of a few formica patterns, including plain black. I don't know if they still do that. And, working with formica is a skill to learn. That material can shatter easily if handled roughly, but it is so flexible and in such large sheets that it is awkward to handle. I found the first thing to learn was how to rough cut it without destroying the sheet - I destroyed a couple while learning. But, the finished product is very well worth all of the effort, as this stand shows.


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## Jason Baliban

I get a bunch of PM's for the materials on this, so hopefully this will help some people.

*Wood*
-3 sheets of 3/4" plywood - I got the best quality i could find.
-2x2" studs for extra inside corner support.

*Formica*
2 sheets (8x4' - they actually give you an extra inch on each side, so its really 50x26") of formica from lowes. $85 each

*Construction*
I glued the plywood together to create 1.5" plywood. I used this for all of the stand except the front doors. I glued all the corners and screwed into the corner studs for extra support.

*Extras*
-Contact Cement (Gel variety)
-Formica router bit (straight)
-Wood Putty
-Plastic Oval Grommets from http://www.mockett.com/default.asp?ID=329
-Euro Hinges

*Light Stand*
-1/2" Conduit
-1/2" Conduit Set Screw coupling
-1/2" Conduit Mounting Strap

*Use a conduit bender to bend the conduit

*Tools*
-Table saw (cheap one)
-Circular Saw (good one)
-Power Drill
-Router
-Conduit Bender

*Stand Dimensions*
122x80x47cm

Hope this helps.

jB


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## nationof2

Nice... really well done. I bought a custom stand from ADG and it was nice but didn't fit my 120 cm tank exactly like the ADA ones would have. I wish I had the tools/experience to have built my own. You should start selling them.


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## MARIMOBALL

Jason thanks for all the details. Im gonna give pics and instructions to a local builder to see if he can do it. Ill be tearing down my 120gal planted tank and get a 120P.


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## twilothunder

Thank you much for the additional info! 

I'm getting very close to building something similar for my 90p, and this thread has been a huge help in my preparations.

Hope the tank is still doing well, please post updated pics when you can


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## Jason Baliban

Here is the final shot of this tank.










You can check out more about the layout here...

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/48265-120cm-iwagumi-meander.html

jB


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## Tex Gal

That is really neat! How did you get the grass to curve like that on the top


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## hedson_25

nice !


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## Jason Baliban

Tex Gal said:


> That is really neat! How did you get the grass to curve like that on the top


Believe it or not, it grows like that. I guess maybe i sort of guided it when i first planted it, but really after that, i just follows the others

jB


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## Jareardy

Excuse me while I revive an almost dead thread. How did you mount those hinges??? I'm building my stand based largely on your work and I'm running into a huge problem in the hinge area. Can you provide some close ups of how you did it?

Thanks,

Jayson


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## Jareardy

Here is my problem, besides the crooked cuts.


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## Pinto

Nice. Your edges looks so perfect.


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## JensR

Jareardy said:


> Here is my problem, besides the crooked cuts.


In case you still wonder, you bought inset hinges. You need full overlay hinges. rockler link with hing details


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## rwong2k

finally found this thread! I'm going to make an ada like stand soon for my tank but i've been searching for this thread!

Love the tank and love the scape in the tank


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## monkeyruler90

wow nice thread
if i ever get a rimless tank then im definitely doing this!


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## Jason Baliban

Thanks everyone!

I am glad this thread is still helping people

jB


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## nirutlee

very good. =D>


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## CraigThor

Great thread. I've recently built an ADA knock off and used Rustoleum 1 part garage floor epoxy instead of laminate. Gives it the ADA look if you round off the corners. Pictures of my ADA build here.


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## gwendal

OMG, very good pics.
ADA have a good design.


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## ngfrazier

First, thanks to Jason and his cool website for the inspiration and directions... 

I am in the process of building a stand like this for my 75-P, but can't find anyone who has listed the COLOR of Formica they used.... :roll:

I was looking here and thought a couple colors look similar to that much-envied ADA-style:

1) Steel? ( Formica 1484 )
2) Mouse? ( Formica 928 )
3) Fog? ( Formica 961 )

Any ideas?


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## Jason Baliban

If you can solve this riddle.

Its not in Pittsburgh.

Its not directed by John Carpenter.

jB


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## ngfrazier

Jason Baliban said:


> If you can solve this riddle.
> 
> Its not in Pittsburgh.
> 
> Its not directed by John Carpenter.
> 
> jB


Thanks!

That's what I thought.... but I swear the color samples I have do not look like the pictures of your stand. I think my LCD monitor or graphics card are "enhancing/distorting" the colors online.

Cheers!


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## Jason Baliban

Yeah its hard to match using pictures....so many factors.

I have never really had an ADA stand in front of my with swatches to really match them, but i have always been happy with what i choose. If anything i think you could go a slight shade darker for an ADA match, but i think you will be happy with just going with what i choose (i have built two since this one and used the same color on them all).

Good luck,

jB


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## niko

Maybe it will save someone a headache to know that if you use MDF as a material to build the stand you may have a problem painting it. The sides of the MDF, where the cuts are made, soak many paints like a sponge. You will never get them looking flat and shiny if you don't use a proper primer.

Unfortunatelly I cannot suggest one. What I use is an industrial kind of primer that dries in 5-10 min. There is "Alkyd" in the name. Maybe primer/paints that have this word in the name are good too.

Here's what I found as a simple solution:
http://www.woodsmithtips.com/2010/06/03/painting-mdf

--Nikolay


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## jerrybforl

Wow Jason what a nice stand. Im curious about how you did the lights?


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## Jason Baliban

jerrybforl said:


> Wow Jason what a nice stand. Im curious about how you did the lights?


Here are two tutorials on how to do DIY lighting...

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_EMT_lightstand.aspx

http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_stainless_lightstand.aspx

jB


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## jerrybforl

Ok cool. Ive done somthing similar to that on my 29 gallon 30". I used the 90degree angle conduit they sell at HD and used the couplers to connect the angle pieces with the straight pieces. I think I need to up my lighting maybe so I might need to come up with a better solution to hold heavier lighting. Tell me what you think!artyman:


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## aru666

Amazing~~~


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## ngfrazier

Big thanks again to Jason for helping/inspiring me...


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## ngfrazier

Updates! Here we go...

About 2 weeks ago:



















Recent:


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## Jason Baliban

Your stand turned out nice, but you should probly keep your updates in your journal not in a forum for DIY.

jB


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## barclaya

How to make a legs. Do i need legs


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## TropTrea

Looks like a nice stand and tank set up. With the Formica you have an assortment of colors to pick from as well. The only bad part about it is the price.


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## bkkebi

Can anybody able to get the full list of measurements for each parts? I'm planning to build for 75" gallon rimless (48"x18") tank. I need help on the doors measurement.


Top = 48"x18.75"
Bottom = 48"x18"
Left side, middle, right side = 30"x18"
*Front piece = 48"x4"??*
*Doors piece = ?????*
*Bottom piece for kickstand= ??? 44"x18"????*
2x2studs = 6 pieces (3 on each side)

Thanks.


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