D.I.Y Aquarium Stand

Here is my booth of what I can build entirely in my back garden with a couple of power tools. It was stored in the passage when it rained and once again it had stopped raining for more work bought on it (typical British September weather) lol. I hope you enjoy viewing the Build Pics. There are a few things I would change but overall it was nice and I am currently planning on building another Iroko wood stand for a 6 x 2 x 2 that I recently purchased. This is the first time I have some of this on a page like this so please excuse my horrible spelling and mistakes lol.

Best 125 gallon Aquarium – 125 gallon Fish Tank in 2020

Step 1: DIY 125 gallon aquarium stand

The wood used is 18mm MDF ... 20mmx69mm pine ... 20mmx144mm pine
The tools used where as follows ... tape measure, biscuit carpenter, router, orbital sander and a puzzle
I built a carcass out of 18mm MDF as this made a good foundation for the stand
Two upright pieces where later added to the middle part of the device.

Step 2:

The front frame is constructed from 20mmx69mm pine cut to the desired length, which is then routed with a half inch round nose bit to create 2 flutes on the frame legs.

Step 3:

The front frame was then biscuit connected and glued to the mdf body with waterproof wood glue D4 Pva

Step 4:

This is the start of the frame in front and I just clamped the wood as I walked along until it was completely dry and added each piece

Step 5:

That's the front frame done and dry ... the frame is 20mm longer than the carcass on each end, so I could end up biscuit hinge frame as I wanted with no screws at all in the frames

Step 6:

Next I made the end panels out of the same wood as the front frame all biscuit connected at the corners, but this time I made a 7mm groove along the inside cutting edge so I could use 6mm V groove boards as a trim. Once assembled, the boards are 2mm shorter than the desired size to allow expansion.

Step 7:

Here biscuits were joined together and glued together by 20mmx144mm spruce boards. It was then cut to the right size and later I routed the edge.

Step 8:

The end biscuit panels connected to the bezel and chamfer something where was run the corner. Two screws hold the back of the rear plate screwed onto the carcass from the inside and was added on top and screwed from the bottom.

Step 9:

Next I constructed the Tank Surround in exactly the same way as Stand End but routed the inside frame edge

Step 10:

Front and end of tank surround clamped and drying, but this time I used 20mmx144mm for the top part of the surround sound to give some clearance across the tank to around, myself.

Step 11:

I have 2 flutes on top with a router

Step 12:

The end surround panels were biscuit articulated forward and glued and clamped onto an 18mm MDF base

Step 14:

Tank surround a bevel after drying

Step 15:

The lid was too big and later I cut the routed edge

Step 16:

At this point I made up my mind I wanted and arched the center part, so I added an extra piece to gutter board skirting so I could cut an arch and also added some sinks

Step 17:

The doors assembled the same as the end panels

Step 18:

Here you can see the 18mm Mdf base of the jacket

Step 19:

Dry fit of the doors

Step 20:

just a front view of the stand

Step 21:

The door furniture then added away for painting

Step 22:

The lid was cut back at a 15 degree angle to hide light that can shine through and added to the furniture

Step 23:

At this point I decided to add some brackets under the lid as its pretty heavy and I wanted longer screws in the hinges (you will see these in a later picture

Step 24:

Here are the curly braces I was talking about

Step 25:

I cut a piece of pine about 25mm wide and routed it then pinned it to the underside of the lid with a 1mm gap to stop binding that could occur also there wouldn't be any light that could shine through if the lid was warped or twisted

Step 26:

I have an 18mm Mdf shelf that is sat on shelf pins so I could remove it when I didn't need space and coated it with 2 coats of acrylic paint on the inside and 3 coats on the outside

Step 27:

Well, the booth is ready

Step 28:

Here I've included some corner brackets for decorative purposes only as I felt it tied the sheath to the stand

Step 34:

This is, how my tank looked when i bought it pretty pathetic that i know.