# My DIY stand for 29 and 75 gal



## drz (Feb 25, 2014)

Few months ago, I decided to pull out the old 29gal tank I had and build a stand a for it. Most stands I saw were over $100 and I thought I could for sure build one for a lot less. I don't have a whole of photos of this one during construction, but here's what I do have.

This should be more than adequate to hold up this tank.









Added some trim and wainscot panels









Throw on some walnut stain.









And finally add a door.









I don't know if it's because I've always set the tank on my dresser or if it's because I haven't done aquariums for many years, but in hindsight I should have left the back open 

Next up, is my current project. I picked up a 75gal tank on craigslist 2 weeks ago. Don't ask me how I managed to carry that inside my house alone, I'm still not quite sure myself. I built the frame out of some spare 4x4's laying in the basement. This saved me roughly $50 and I know it will be very sturdy.

Here's a rough blueprint:









At first, I was going to miter the corners, then decided it wasn't necessary and went with 3/8" x 8" lag screws instead.









The 4x4's had some twist in it, so I used some shims to help keep things square.









Because if you don't take into account the twist, you end up with this:









Fortunately, I was able to correct it well enough.









While the top was fairly even, there were some spots where I could fit an envelope between the tank and the stand, so I used a hand planer to help smooth out the top and keep it flush all the way around.









Not wanting to carry this stand back down to the basement, I started building the doors in my living room...









I'm thinking I may need to buy another track to help keep the top securely in place.









In case you were wondering why my doors are 6" deep, I needed some extra DVD space and thought this would be a clever way to make additional use out of the stand while still allowing my to get inside. I still have about 12" of depth behind the rack for room to place supplies and a canister filter.

So this is as far as I've gotten in the past few days. I haven't decided yet on how I want to finish it. It won't be like the first tank, those wainscot panels would cost too much. Here's a breakdown of cost of materials from Lowes:


```
1x6x48      - 5  x 6.68  = 33.40
3/8x8 lag   - 16 x 1.13  = 18.08
2x6x96      - 1  x 1.92  =  1.92
bifold kit  - 1  x 13.97 = 13.97

Total: 67.37
```


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## Speed (Dec 24, 2013)

Really nice stands!!!!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Great work, I don't think I've ever seen a folding door like that on any stand.


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

Nice stand. 

Aren't you worried about water dripping down onto your DVDs? I don't know about you but I always accidentally flood my living room when changing water. Sometimes I wish I have some kind of sensor to trigger an alarm when the water level is too high or an extra pair of eyes behind my head 

I am also a bit concern about DVDs near some water because I have experienced fungus growing on my CDs damaging them completely.


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