treesprite July 19, 2007 Share July 19, 2007 is it honestly any cheaper to make a stand than to buy an inexpensive one with a cabinet? I suppose the size of it makes a difference - I'm talking for a 36Lx18W tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FZ1Rider July 19, 2007 Share July 19, 2007 I assume this is for a 65 gallon tank or so. I prefer to buy a stand for my tanks but I haven't been very pleased with the selection for the 36x18 tanks. I ended up refinishing my old stand but I'll also probably be building a new one when I move in a few months. I'm not sure if that helps at all but I figured I'd share. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal July 20, 2007 Share July 20, 2007 DIY stands can cost less than or much more than those sold by the LFS. A DIY stand build by someone with decent woodworking skills will be much more stable than those sold by most LFS' though and can be customized to fit your specific needs or desires. Sometimes that's worth a little extra money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardofNOVA July 20, 2007 Share July 20, 2007 Dan and myself can build stands, but the finished products like YBeNormal mentioned will be studier, sometimes the simplicity and cost and us finding the TIME to build them, makes it easier to just buy one for a standard setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchild July 20, 2007 Share July 20, 2007 IMO... It depends on what you want it to look like. You can make a stand for that tank with a couple of 2x4s and a handful of 3" screws for $15-20 (link), and I submit that the resulting stand will be sturdier than almost any off-the-shelf unit. You don't even need the plywood on top if it's a glass tank. However, at this point it is not something most of us would want in our living room. I've made a couple of these, and I "skinned" them with a very thin sheet of finished plywood which I painted - that adds another $25. They each took a couple of hours, and the hardest part is making it square + level. They still didn't look great or have doors but I was OK with that. If I was making doors I would probably have skinned with MDF instead. I think up until this point it is probably cheaper to DIY (using only pine + MDF). Beyond here you start getting into hardwoods, fancy hardware, molding, etc and that will add up quickly. But if you can live with one of the above stands, it will be cheaper and stronger than the stands from the LFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal July 20, 2007 Share July 20, 2007 MDF is not good to use in wet areas. It's almost impossible to get a perfect seal that will prevent water from getting through to the MDF and it will swelll up like a sponge. Bottom line is that I can build anything from a very cheap utility stand to a very ornate stand that would be considered to be fine furniture. All of them would be more sturdy and last longer than the ones from PetSmart, PetCo, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 20, 2007 Author Share July 20, 2007 a while back I was measuring out what sizes and looked at wood in the hardware store - the cheap stuff is often warped, and pine is soft. I also want to have a cabinet on it, not open. What's up with the stands in the stores looking like dressers? I keep seeing those, ones that look like bookcases, and ones that look like tv stands or large curio cabinets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchild July 21, 2007 Share July 21, 2007 MDF is not good to use in wet areas. It's almost impossible to get a perfect seal that will prevent water from getting through to the MDF and it will swelll up like a sponge. That's good to know. I have not used it near water and I'm glad you brought it up before I tried it! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak July 23, 2007 Share July 23, 2007 it's so much fun to build your own stand and it's alot better off to make it custom to your application. Also dan is no longer building stands for the club per our last pm. He says all his gear is tooled for building his greyseas line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhogan July 27, 2007 Share July 27, 2007 I would never buy a stand, its pretty easy to build something that is equivalent quality of petco stands. You also have more customization options, and DIY stands are often much stronger as mentioned above. a while back I was measuring out what sizes and looked at wood in the hardware store - the cheap stuff is often warped, and pine is soft. I also want to have a cabinet on it, not open. That's what planars and joiners are for, to mill wood so that it is straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 27, 2007 Author Share July 27, 2007 (edited) well, i live in an apt.... no "real" tools to speak of, so wood has to be cut in-store. Anything I build has to be fairly simple, but has to have a cabinet. My biggest problem is fear of non-strudy construction. The only thing Ive built from scratch is a 3x3x3 box with a hinged back and a cat door, which is fully carpetted externally, and doubles as housing for litter boxes and a very big scratching post. Edited July 27, 2007 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal July 27, 2007 Share July 27, 2007 You can build a sturdy and decent looking stand with very basic tools. As a minimum, you need a drill, circular saw, square, level, straight edge and a hammer. Having access to jointers, planers, routers, table saws and othe tools allows you make a build a more detailed and accurate project though. If you don't have access to the big tools or are not comfortable with your woodworking skills, you might want to check out the local Woodcraft store in your area. Most of them employ retired guys and gals with many years of experience in woodworking. The stores have fully equiped workshops and classes in just about any woodworking topic you can imagine. You can pay for a block of hours to use the woodshop or join their "club" and have access to the shop anytime the store is open. Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you visit the store and spend well over $1000 like I did in the past week. I'm going back again on Saturday for their 10% sale... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 27, 2007 Author Share July 27, 2007 shoot I've already spent every cent on my meek equipment without paying for time to use tools. So I guess it's not so simple as having the guy at HD cut the right sizes of wood for me so I can put them together. Strips of woodworked trim can be bought, and I think cabinet doors can be bought. I wonder if I can just build around my current stand so I have the solid center already and its level. Just have to build it from 12" to 18" (same length). The plan temporarily is to put a sturdy flat of wood on top of it like a very ugly pedestal. I could just make a crown for it (you know, like people have crowns over teeth). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal July 27, 2007 Share July 27, 2007 shoot I've already spent every cent on my meek equipment without paying for time to use tools. So I guess it's not so simple as having the guy at HD cut the right sizes of wood for me so I can put them together. Strips of woodworked trim can be bought, and I think cabinet doors can be bought. It might be that simple, depending on your design. I built mine out of 2x4s skinned with 1/4" plywood and dressed it up a little with various pieces of molding. I spent about an hour in the 2x4 section, discarding at least 5 for every one that I kept. The end result is not perfect in appearance but it looks OK. Most important thing for me was safety, so I overbuilt it and included lots of diagonal bracing for stability in every direction. That and cost were the two biggest reasons I went the DIY route. You could probably get all of the wood cut at HD except the openings for the cabinet doors. I don't think they would do this. I did see a design that might work for you though. Instead of doors, the entire front panel lifted off for access beneath the tank. I'm not sure about the details but it's something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite July 27, 2007 Author Share July 27, 2007 It might be that simple, depending on your design. I built mine out of 2x4s skinned with 1/4" plywood and dressed it up a little with various pieces of molding. I spent about an hour in the 2x4 section, discarding at least 5 for every one that I kept. The end result is not perfect in appearance but it looks OK. Most important thing for me was safety, so I overbuilt it and included lots of diagonal bracing for stability in every direction. That and cost were the two biggest reasons I went the DIY route. You could probably get all of the wood cut at HD except the openings for the cabinet doors. I don't think they would do this. I did see a design that might work for you though. Instead of doors, the entire front panel lifted off for access beneath the tank. I'm not sure about the details but it's something to think about. I've seen plans for a stand with a slide-over kind of a door - just push it over in either direction. I used 4 pieces to make the cat box thing to have a cat door, just nailed the pieces together where the corners overlapped. It does create top and lower edges that a slide door could rest in if the horizontal pieces are the ones nailed on top and the verticle underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBR July 27, 2007 Share July 27, 2007 is it honestly any cheaper to make a stand than to buy an inexpensive one with a cabinet? I suppose the size of it makes a difference - I'm talking for a 36Lx18W tank? I agree with all that has been said so far -- monetarily, it is by far cheaper to build your own. Hands down, you also get a better product than those that are put together with hot glue and staples. Style is also a consideration: my tank is in the living area, so I wanted something that would coordinate with the other furniture. Function, too: I wanted the tank to sit at 40" -- I could find ANY stand that tall in a store. I priced out what it would take, both store-bought and custom, and for a 125g tank, it was between $1200 and $1500 bucks. So I decided to build my own. The material cost for the stand and canopy was about $350. That's 3 sheets of 3/4" birch plywood from HD and the rest in glue, screws, solid birch stock (at just under $4 a board-foot), stain, finishes, sand paper, etc. As someone mentioned earlier, the bigger cost is time. I bought the material is February, made the first cut in April, and I'm just now getting it ready to install darn thing. If you build your own, just stay with quality materials, measure twice and cut once, and remember that a straight edge is your best friend to getting a perfectly square box. I think I read that were in an apartment -- if space and tools are an issue, you might consider taking a class. My brother (who is really quite skilled) was in a similar situation and wanted to build a table. He took the class at the local community college just to have access to their shop and tools, and built the table as his project :-) HTH. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman91 July 28, 2007 Share July 28, 2007 I prefer to make my own stands, much sturdier. the mass produced ones tend to fall apart after a couple of years anyway. Usually when I make my own, it ends up being around half the cost of the others, and that is at stock cost ( I work at a pet store) and that is for a nice cabinetry style stand as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal July 28, 2007 Share July 28, 2007 I built a stand for a 125g using mahogany when I was in high school. That would have been, oh, about 1979. The stand has been moved across the country several times and who knows how many times within the state of Missouri where it is now. It has been in almost constant use since since it was built and is still as sturdy as the day I brought it home. Quality materials and construction are priceless IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfish August 21, 2007 Share August 21, 2007 a while back I was measuring out what sizes and looked at wood in the hardware store - the cheap stuff is often warped, and pine is soft. I also want to have a cabinet on it, not open. What's up with the stands in the stores looking like dressers? I keep seeing those, ones that look like bookcases, and ones that look like tv stands or large curio cabinets. Another thing about MDF is that its heavier (denser) than a compatabile sized piece of ply wood but it excellent for making speaker boxes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal August 21, 2007 Share August 21, 2007 MDF is great for a lot of things--just not in damp or wet areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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