# DIY ADA Style Cabinet



## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi all,

I am currently building an ADA style aquarium cabinet for a 4 foot tank based on a few posts and pics I have seen from other members on here. They all looked fantastic so I got a bit inspired.  

Anyway I am a fair way through the project but need to hang the doors and then paint. What I wonder though is how do people open the doors to an ADA style cabinet? The reason I ask is because there is no door handle or knob to pull, and only an approx 4mm gap between the doors and the floor and a 4mm gap between the doors and the cross plate above it. Is that enough of a gap to get your fingers in to open the door? I thought I better ask before I hang the doors and find out I got something wrong. 

I will put some photos up soon of the cabinet if anyone is interested.

Regards,
Mark.


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## ianiwane (May 6, 2005)

Open from the bottom. The whole cabinet needs to be on a riser.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Today, I just hanged the doors on an ADA style stand I made. The stand is 2 ft. long and after making 2 doors I realized that a single big door would have looked and worked better. Easier to open for sure 

Actually ADA makes a stand that has a single door. I guess for the smaller tanks.

My 2 doors also have 4 mm. gap above them. It's definitely not enough to open the doors easily. Only few hours ago I was wondering the same thing as you - how to make the opening of the doors easy. So far my best idea is to add one of the magnetic openers - the ones where you push the top of the door to open it and the door jumps out by itself.

I'd like to hear about other suggestions too.

--Nikolay


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi Niko,

I was thinking of doing another stand for a 2 foot tank if this 4 foot project was successful. One door would probably look good on a 2 foot stand I think, but there is nothing wrong with two doors.

Thanks for your tip Ian. I think I should just leave more of a gap at the bottom of the doors then so you can get your fingers under them. Probably 6 mm or so should do it maybe as you just need to get a bit of a grip with the tip of your fingers to open the door. You don't need to be able to fit your entire finger under it. 

Regards,
Mark


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

You will difinitely want a larger gap at the bottom. Visually, it adds a line to "ground" the cabinet and it prevents any floor or door uneveness from being an issue. From my a la ADA style stand, I found a gentle tap on one door made it swing open enough to catch the edge with my finger. Hooking the bottom witha toe would also work. The magnetic push catches wil work nice also; however, you need to plan before hand to make sure the center support is back far enough.


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## JLudwig (Feb 16, 2004)

*DIY ADA stand and lights*

Related question, has anyone figured out a good DIY solution for the bar that holds the pendant lights? I bought some 3/4" PVC for this purpose, not sure if its going to work as well as I want. Was thinking about asking an exhaust shop to bend and chrome some stuff for me, but it would not fit in my car - I need to be able to take it apart.

Also, don't forget that Amano runs his filter intake and return via the sides of the stand. The holes are almost like handles in the side of the stand. At first I thought this would be goofy, but after seeing it in person at Aquaforest I've changed my mind. First of all, it keeps all the equipment off the back of the tank and creates a much more open feeling when viewing from the front. Secondly, the water circulates much better, which I think is an underestimated factor in good plant growth. The diffuser is usually positioned opposite the filter turn, about halfway down the side.

Jeff


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

To raise the stand a little and provide more distance from the floor to the bottom of the doors I used 2 pieces of MDF stacked on top of each other as a bottom.

For the metal bar holding the pendant I just used a 3/4" pipe that is used for electrical wiring. I bought a pipe bender to bend the pipe in a shape similar to the old style ADA bracket - having only 1 pipe sticking up, from one corner of the stand. I find the new bracked style a bit too clumsy.

Something that I didn't realize was that the hinges actually push the doors out a little bit. Maybe the hinges that I use are not perfect. The doors protrude about 1/8", nothing to agonize about but definitely something I will address when I make the next stand.

...I think of making the next stand either Lime Green or Girly Pink...

--Nikolay


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Thanks for the input Dennis. That all makes good sense.

Jeff I am yet to create the "handles" for filter intakes etc but am getting a jig saw later this week so I should be able to get it done this weekend. Hopefully they are not too hard to use. I am going to create the holes on the sides and two at the back as well so I have a choice of where to run pipes and power cords etc. All the filtration hoses will come from the sides like Amano however I will run the light cables into the back I think.

I am mounting my light from the ceiling so I won't need to worry about creating a pendant light solution.

Cheers,
Mark.


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi Everyone,

Another qustion on ADA style stands...from all the pics I have seen of peoples stands it looks like the tanks are sitting directly on top of the MDF top of the stand, and not on any foam. Is this a true statement, and if so is it safe to put the tank directly on top of the flat mdf surface? Otherwise I guess painting the edge of the foam to the same colour as the stand would be the way to go so it does not look so obvious.

Cheers,
Mark.


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## shake (Feb 26, 2006)

shewey said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Another qustion on ADA style stands...from all the pics I have seen of peoples stands it looks like the tanks are sitting directly on top of the MDF top of the stand, and not on any foam. Is this a true statement, and if so is it safe to put the tank directly on top of the flat mdf surface? Otherwise I guess painting the edge of the foam to the same colour as the stand would be the way to go so it does not look so obvious.
> 
> ...


Good question shewey, I always wondered about that my self. I have seen other stands by Elos that are the same. I always thought you needed foam under the tank. Reading posts on reefcentral alot of people advise against putting foam under a tank.

Also this is how I made my light stand. It's made from aluminium tubing.


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## RuslanJamil (Oct 30, 2005)

Awesome piece of work, Shake. How do you move the light fixture out of the way during scaping and maintenance?


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## shake (Feb 26, 2006)

RuslanJamil said:


> Awesome piece of work, Shake. How do you move the light fixture out of the way during scaping and maintenance?


Thanks. To tell you the truth, never had to move it. There is enough room to do most of the work that is needed.


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi Shake,

Since the top of the stand will be a perfectly flat surface I think I might go without the foam underneath the tank. If I spring a leak I'll let you know. 

Nice work with the lights.

Cheers,
Mark


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## shake (Feb 26, 2006)

Hopefully that will work. Hope so anyway because my next tank I want to do without the foam. When the side of the tank is flush with the side of the stand like the ADA ones, and there in no visiable foam it looks so much neater.

Hope it all works out for you. Keep me posted.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Shake,

The stand looks great! I like the doors a lot, we were thinking of doing something similar but then went for the plain look. 

One question to everybody about the light bracket; 
Why don't make it adjustable, with only one vertical pice, and not so high? I mean the arms (or arm) from which the cables are suspended can be attached to the top or even to the back of the light fixture. That way nothing will stick above the light and one can still adjust the height by moving the metal rods/bars up and down. That's what I will be making and I will post a picture on how it looks.

--Nikolay


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

shewey said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Another qustion on ADA style stands...from all the pics I have seen of peoples stands it looks like the tanks are sitting directly on top of the MDF top of the stand, and not on any foam. Is this a true statement, and if so is it safe to put the tank directly on top of the flat mdf surface? Otherwise I guess painting the edge of the foam to the same colour as the stand would be the way to go so it does not look so obvious.
> 
> ...


Aqua Forest doesn't use any foam under their tanks on their wooden stands, only on the metal ADA stands. Even their new 180cm ADA tank doesn't sit on foam, and it ways over 400 pounds empty.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I have never used foam under a tank, for tanks from 10 gallon up to 125 gallon. I always try to get an absolutely flat top on my stands instead.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

ADA sells the neoprene Garden Mats for under their tanks (used with their MDF stands). I need to look for ADA gallery pictures to see if they use them there.


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## shewey (Jun 19, 2006)

Thanks for your replies Craig, Hoppy and John. 

I think the foam base is needed if you have a surface which is slightly uneven. If the tank has more pressure on one spot than another then I guess you have more of a chance of a leak. I think in my case with a perfectly flat MDF surface I should be pretty right without the foam...and it will look a lot slicker too. 

Cheers,
Mark


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## Craig Tarvin (Jul 26, 2005)

John P. said:


> ADA sells the neoprene Garden Mats for under their tanks (used with their MDF stands). I need to look for ADA gallery pictures to see if they use them there.


They only use them on their metal "Garden Stand". You can see pictures in the 2006 catalog that show the mat on the Garden Stand in Amano's demo, but not on their wood stands.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Very cool shake.  Is that an Ikea cabinet converted or something you made yourself?


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## shake (Feb 26, 2006)

AaronT said:


> Very cool shake.  Is that an Ikea cabinet converted or something you made yourself?


Thanks AaronT. No, made it myself. The whole project was DIY, from stand, tank, CO2 Reactor to MH lights.


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## RuslanJamil (Oct 30, 2005)

niko said:


> Shake,
> 
> The stand looks great! I like the doors a lot, we were thinking of doing something similar but then went for the plain look.
> 
> ...


Looking forward to seeing your picture, Nikolay!


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