My old stand was fun to build, but it simply was not worth the space or effort

one of the requirements i set for myself with this tank is that i wanted it to be simple, both in appearance and function.  part of this meant that i could not make the mistake i did when building the stand of my last tank. (see photo on right) the excessive size and side cabinets took away from the tank more than they added.  also, the traditional look with the wood finish and trim everywhere grew old very quickly.  my tastes lean more towards contemporary design, and for this project i needed a stand to match.

when designing my new tank, i decided to have the tank be lower (30″ height compared to 45″ height).  this meant that if i used a traditional stand with doors, my access would be very limited.  also, since the tank is as wide as it is long, reaching the back of the stand would be problematic.  very quickly i compiled my design list:

• Simple, both in design and function
• Accessible from all 3 sides
• Easy access to each side
• Allow ventilation but keep the cat out!

i decided that not having doors at all would allow me the access i needed while providing me with the aesthetics i desired.  it also occurred to me that having a steel stand afforded me some choices that standard wood stands do not have: the use of magnets to attach the skin.  by doing this i am able to keep the stand looking very sleek and at the same time provide extremely simple and easy access, including removing the entire skin (back included).

the plan was set: skin my stand with 3 independent panels which were held magnetically to the steel stand.  as a note, this entire process assumes that you have a steel frame.  my stand was built for me by A.G.E. and the construction process for that is out of the scope of this article.

Shopping list

1. Primer/Sealer (I used KILZ Premium)
2. Paint of your choice (I used “Dark Kettle Black” from Veldspar)
3. Separate brush for each
4. 3 pieces of plywood, cut to size
5. 1 piece of pegboard, cut to size
6. Magnets of your choice (I used some rare earth magnets from gaussboys.com)
7. Epoxy to attach magnets (I used Sumo glue from Loctite)
8. Vinyl bumpers
9. Zip ties

Construction

Painting in the sun turned out to be a mistake.

To start, please don’t make the mistake i did when painting.  namely, painting in direct sunlight.  as i found out through my reefcentral thread, painting in the sun caused the top of the paint to dry earlier than the undercoat and makes it take forever to cure.  More than a week later, and my paint is still sticky.

I used 2 coats of primer for each piece of wood (including the bottom provided by A.G.E.).  This is to protect the wood from the moisture and salt which will eventually get everywhere.  After that dried, i put 2 coats of the paint on the 3 pieces of the skin.

Now comes the magic part of my plan.  Since we’re using magnets, the hard part is over!  There is no nailing, screwing, or staining left to do.  All that is left to do is attach the magnets.  I chose to have the front piece be wide enough to cover the edges of the two side pieces, so in order to line it all up, i placed each piece where it should go and traced the legs of the stand using a pencil.  This gives me a guideline for where i should place the magnets.  Attaching them is as simple as a squeeze of the glue, and a firm press.  This particular glue takes about an hour to cure.

Tracing the frame makes placing the magnets easy.

I also put some vinyl bumpers on the bottom of each piece to protect my floor.  One option i may switch to in the future is to attach some plastic angle brackets to the inside of each piece.   I would place the bracket at the level where i want it to meet the bottom of the stand, and it would simply rest on the bottom holding the weight of the wood.  This way there would still be nothing permanently attaching the wood to the stand, and the sides do not have to be at ground level.

Ready to mount

For the back of the stand, here is where that pegboard we got comes into play.  Again focused on ease of maintenance, we’ll be using zip ties to attach a piece of pegboard to the back of the stand.  This serves many purposes in a simple package.  It allows ventilation, it keeps my cat out of the stand, and as an added bonus allows me to attach equipment (non-permanently) to get things off the bottom and away from splashes.  Pictured is my Profilux Digital Powerbar attached to the pegboard.  I’ve cut away the two corners to provide a way to run cables into and out of the back of the stand.  To attach, simply run the zip ties through the holes and around the legs of the stand.

An alternative for a magnetic skin is to not use wood, but plastic.  I debated on using simple colored acrylic or even starboard for each side.  And depending on how i feel, i may switch to one of those options.  I still think a semi transparent black acrylic would be pretty great to use for a very sleek look. (Plus no painting!)

Here is my finished product!

The completed stand. Functional and simple.

I hope the detailing of the construction of my stand has given you some insight and ideas on how to put together a simple stand yourself.  Check out some more pictures!