Thread: WIP - Fish Tank Stand

Looking good Ian, keep the pics coming.

Yep, it certainly looks like it will keep the fish off the floor OK

Chunky is good and hey the solid timber look in your stand looks very impressive - look forward to the pics with a coat of clear over to bring out the grain - think it will come up a treat. What is the timber, joints, and proposed finish? And for sure last thing you want are falling fishes well not so much the fish but the water that comes with them that is usually the problem .

Chunky indeed!

That looks great. Good and solid. Looking forward to seeing more pics. It's great to see WIP pics.

What is the timber, joints, and proposed finish?

Timber is Macrocarpa cypress, I mill it myself from old trees on a friends farm. Joinery is pretty basic, lap and bridle joins with screws and glue . Finish will be polyurethane for durability and water resistance (fishtank) . The mac is a bit soft for furniture really, but as long as it's not in a hard wear situation it's fine and finishes to a nice honey colour.

Cheers

Ian

Don't be embarassed with basic joints if they are functional and serve the purpose well. Hey well done milling and preparing your own timber - you have a Lucas or chainsaw mill? How long did you season the slabs? Did you air dry or kiln?

Looks good Ian,

What type of fish are you going to put in it, cold, tropical or marine. I've had tropical fish before but never had the bravery to go for marine. Too expensive if it all goes wrong.

Tank stands need to be solid.
1 cubic foot of water = 6.25gallons = 62.5 lb. Metrify it yourself.

BTW here's my work in progress.

















OK so I'm picking up the timber tomorrow.

you have a Lucas or chainsaw mill? How long did you season the slabs? Did you air dry or kiln?<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

My mill is an older Peterson swingblade mill. It's similar to the Lucas but uses a chainsaw powerhead to drive the circle blade. Noisey but cool fun
Those slabs have been in the shed for about 18 months. The cypress dries pretty easily (compared to many hardwoods anyway) so it's about as dry as it's ever going to get. I airdry all my wood, but our climate is pretty humid. Equlibrium moisture in the house is about 12%, IF I run the dehumidifier. So airdried wood is fine.

What type of fish are you going to put in it, cold, tropical or marine. I've had tropical fish before but never had the bravery to go for marine. Too expensive if it all goes wrong.

I think it's going to be home to a school of guppies to begin with . They are tough little buggers and if you look after them you dont have to buy replacements. They breed faster than rabbits.

Cheers

Ian

I've attached a pic of the mill in action.

Originally Posted by Termite

Tank stands need to be solid.
1 cubic foot of water = 6.25gallons = 62.5 lb. Metrify it yourself.

The whole point of the metric system is that you don't have to metrify anything!!!

1 cubic metre of water = 1000 litres = 1000 kg

1 litre =1 kg = 1000 cubic centimetres! (cc's to their mates!)

sooo a cubic foot of water is about .027 of a cubic metre, which is about 27 kg.

Cheers,

P

27kg = 59.5248108lb, did you make an evaporation allowance of 2.9751892lbs

Ian

I like the way you did the top plate that covers the Hood and allows access for cleaning and feeding. My Fish tank stand is slighty up scale, and I used the hinges for intertainment centers that open then push back inside the case. Mine lift up and push back in over the tank. Here is another thing that you can add. Put a srtip of wood hiding the bottom of the tank, so you just see the glass. Put two strips on the side to hide the side of the tank. with the top down all you see is the glass makes it look great. My tanks have room on the sides on them so I can place a stick with a magnet on it to clean the sides. The side covers on my tanks stand are held in place with Magnetic door hardware. works great. I dont have any good pic of my tanks stand at the monment ( no fish and tanks still in storage ) but if you want I can take pic of the hardware and cover in place to show you what I mean.

What way is that saw cutting. I can't make it out.. A slab off the top ?? hard to tell


Midge

Ya but what about all that liter, Imperal liter, stone, Hand, foot and mouth thingy. How do you + / - that stuff and when you say "I'll cut the cake in half you we can both have a peice", you say half.... you dont say I'll cut it in .5 for you hehehehehhe