My last tank, a 60g cube, rode a plywood stand that I was quite proud of. Still does, as far as I know, I sold it as a unit...
I bought a 4" thick solid poplar board, and used that to cut 4 corner posts. Rabbited them out and glued in the plywood sides. Solid poplar around the door opening and the door itself...
Since the stand was over-sized, and I didn't want to worry about bowing, I did a cross brace under the top. This shows construction details...
Painted it flat black, and had my daughter do the top in a mosaic tile.
Coated the inside with white marine epoxy. Lots more room in there than there would have been had I made it the same size as the tank.
With the cost of lumber these days, it wasn't cheap, but it worked out fine. Strong enough to double as a stool for an elephant. Eventually, I found the small cube insufficient. Too much restriction in fish selection... and I'm an old man. I couldn't stand to work from my knees any more. My new system is 150g or so, on a powder coated steel stand, and uses a closet re-purposed as a sump room.
I bought a 4" thick solid poplar board, and used that to cut 4 corner posts. Rabbited them out and glued in the plywood sides. Solid poplar around the door opening and the door itself...
Since the stand was over-sized, and I didn't want to worry about bowing, I did a cross brace under the top. This shows construction details...
Painted it flat black, and had my daughter do the top in a mosaic tile.
Coated the inside with white marine epoxy. Lots more room in there than there would have been had I made it the same size as the tank.
With the cost of lumber these days, it wasn't cheap, but it worked out fine. Strong enough to double as a stool for an elephant. Eventually, I found the small cube insufficient. Too much restriction in fish selection... and I'm an old man. I couldn't stand to work from my knees any more. My new system is 150g or so, on a powder coated steel stand, and uses a closet re-purposed as a sump room.