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Back in September I purchased a 55 gal. aquarium and stand on Ebay for $33. This is an older set and the Aquarium weighs over 150 lb. (3/8+ thick glass) the stand which I think was homemade, consisted of 4 face frames with 2 ends and a center partition of particle board. No floor or top, just the face frames. In October I decided to set it up and see how cheap I could do it. The aquarium need a good cleaning and a filter and lights. The stand was a mess warped face frames, loose joints (single pocket hole joints) The wood looked like Pine or Doug Fir. full of knots and dings of various shapes and sizes which I reused other than the top. Since I was doing this on the cheap I used whatever wood I had laying around. I built a new top added a floor and new end and center panels, then stained it with dark walnut to even out the color. and finished it with 4 coats of satin water based poly. The hood was made of scrap pine 1 x 8 ripped down painted gloss white inside for reflection of light. The light fixtures is a left over shop light that was never installed in the shop or garage. I did purchase a new canister filter ($34 on Ebay) two flourescent tubes at HD total cost $85 set up and running. Pictures 1 & 2 are of the stand as I received it #3 is the new top being glued up Plywood and pine face frame using biscuts #4 new floor 3/4 MDF and warped face frame #5 dry fit end panels were attached to front and rear face frame using glue and biscuts, #6 is refinished doors, 7,8,9 finished tank all set up with fish. I also made cleats that attached to centr and end panel to fasten top to. Very sturdy and heavier stand now. Fun project, got rid of a lot of scrap and finish material. Still need to make shelf for right side of cabinet. Now that I have figured out how to resize and post picture I will show more of my projects. There is a glass cover over tank so there is not moisture problem for the lights.
Tom
Tom
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