alternatives to pet-store stands?

[neilmn]

Any suggestions on what to use for a stand if you don't care for the basic
wrought-iron stuff or the cheap-looking pine/walnet/"cherry" cabinets you
see in pet stores? Sure, the latter are practical in allowing access to
equipment while shielding equipment from view. But they don't look good.
Sure, you can have a cabinet custom-made. But I'm looking for suggestions
on what others have used to make the stand as interesting/nice looking as
the tanks sitting on them.

[~Vicki ~]

I guess it would depend on the size of the tank. For my 20 and 10g I
use the standard 2x4 wood stand. But for my 55g I use an old dresser
for its stand. Look around in thrift stores or garage sales for an old
dresser which is made well. Stay away from stapled wood and look for
dove tail joints. Even if the finish is a little off with a small
investment you can stain it to match the rest of your furniture. I keep
all my fish keeping things in mine and it looks like it was meant for
its new job of holding the tank.

Now for a larger tank you can try a cabinet maker in your area who is
familiar with aquariums. Good luck.

Vicki

One more thing. Make sure that it is made of solid wood. Stay away
from particle wood.

[Surgicalrn]

Try looking around in thrift stores and stuff for furniture that strikes
your fancy and could convert easily to a stand. There are bound to be some
cabinets or occasional tables that would fit the bill. Thrift stores would
have good prices on the stuff too.

[Surgicalrn]

Or you could make the drawers into a cabinet door that still looks like it
is a set of drawers. That wouldn't be too hard to do. Just take the drawer
fronts off and cut out the front of the dresser, affixing the drawer fronts
to it with finishing or liquid nails and then just add some hinges and
you're done! You could even use the sides and bottoms of the drawers to make
shelving on the inside and wouldn't be wasting any of the wood!

[^*^ Vosklady ^*^]

"neilmn" > wrote in message
.net...
> Any suggestions on what to use for a stand if you don't care for the basic
> wrought-iron stuff or the cheap-looking pine/walnet/"cherry" cabinets you
> see in pet stores? Sure, the latter are practical in allowing access to
> equipment while shielding equipment from view. But they don't look
good.
> Sure, you can have a cabinet custom-made. But I'm looking for
suggestions
> on what others have used to make the stand as interesting/nice looking as
> the tanks sitting on them.
>

About a year ago my hubby called around to a few of the local schools and
found some great lab tables at one of the schools (the school was replacing
them with new ones). We were able to get three slate top lab tables for
free. My hubby refinished the tables and they have been wonderful for my
tanks (55 & 29).

[bassett]

I make tank stands out of old upright piano's, strip the string assembly
out, and the tank goes
in level with the piano keys, and fits in the top section, Cut all the
hammers of the keys,
and then you can retain the keyboard, The light fits under the back section
of the top lid, and the front section of the lid, can be opened for feeding,
cleaning etc.
Extremely heavy stand that will never collapse, that will hold a 4 foot
tank with no worries.

^*^ Vosklady ^*^ > wrote in message
.. .
> "neilmn" > wrote in message
> .net...
> > Any suggestions on what to use for a stand if you don't care for the
basic
> > wrought-iron stuff or the cheap-looking pine/walnet/"cherry" cabinets
you
> > see in pet stores? Sure, the latter are practical in allowing access
to
> > equipment while shielding equipment from view. But they don't look
> good.
> > Sure, you can have a cabinet custom-made. But I'm looking for
> suggestions
> > on what others have used to make the stand as interesting/nice looking
as
> > the tanks sitting on them.
> >
>
> About a year ago my hubby called around to a few of the local schools and
> found some great lab tables at one of the schools (the school was
replacing
> them with new ones). We were able to get three slate top lab tables for
> free. My hubby refinished the tables and they have been wonderful for my
> tanks (55 & 29).
>
>

[Surgicalrn]

Wow... painos huh? That would be a little expensive and a waste of a nice
musical instrument! I bet it looks cool though.

[AQUATIC-STORE.COM]

Trob from our webboard makes stands you may want to pm/email him.
I also sell top quality stands and canopies and such

Marcus

http://www.aquatic-store.com/

Co2 tanks on sale
Power compact bulbs and MH the lowest on the net
Eheim PRO II 2026 $143
Co2 regulator and bubble counter with needle valve $75
FORUM

http://aquatic.yupapa.com/phpbb/index.php



On Sun, 5 Oct 2003 00:20:59 -0500, "neilmn" >
wrote:

>Any suggestions on what to use for a stand if you don't care for the basic
>wrought-iron stuff or the cheap-looking pine/walnet/"cherry" cabinets you
>see in pet stores? Sure, the latter are practical in allowing access to
>equipment while shielding equipment from view. But they don't look good.
>Sure, you can have a cabinet custom-made. But I'm looking for suggestions
>on what others have used to make the stand as interesting/nice looking as
>the tanks sitting on them.
>

[~Vicki ~]

I'm curious why Vicki would suggest avoiding particle board for stand
construction. I built the stand for my 38g tank out of 3/4 inch MDF
(medium density fibre board) with a good veneer. The MDF is quite
strong, and the stand has help up like a rock for the past five years.
With a decent finish - stain, paint for the edges, and polyurethane - I
don't worry about water soaking into the MDF.
Here's a pic:
<http://home.earthlink.net/~b_heller/images/fish/aqua4.jpg> I must note
that the tank looks much better now than in that old photo. And just for
added value, here's another photo, of the stand before I put all the
fish stuff in/on it:
<http://home.earthlink.net/~b_heller/images/stand.JPG>
Cheers,
B

I said that because many people may buy the wrong kind of stuff from the
DIY store. Also after looking at a lot of crap at the furniture stores
(which manufactures slap a name brand on and sell for way more than what
it is worth) I do not want anyone to buy anything which may come
crashing down a year later and necessitate the purchase of new carpet or
flooring, not to mention the death of their fish. The only particle
board furniture I own is an entertainment center which is sagging after
only three years. If it can sag with only the weight of a tv, just
think what an aquarium would do.

Now you can disregard my former statement if you are handy with tools
and can build a beautiful, sturdy stand. But for the novice the advice
is sound.

Vicki

Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com

[Surgicalrn]

That doesn't look like particle board, more like plywood. Particle board is
made from sawdust and woodglue basically and it will sag eventually and if
it ever gets the slightest bit wet it will fall apart. I agree with Vicki on
this one- don't use particle board for anything that has the potential for
getting wet.

[Dennis Fox]

Brian wrote:
> I'm curious why Vicki would suggest avoiding particle board for stand
> construction. I built the stand for my 38g tank out of 3/4 inch MDF
> (medium density fibre board) with a good veneer. The MDF is quite
> strong, and the stand has help up like a rock for the past five years.
> With a decent finish - stain, paint for the edges, and polyurethane - I
> don't worry about water soaking into the MDF.
>

Particle board and oriented-strand board (OSB) are very different. OSB
is commonly used where more expensive plywood would have been used in
the past (roof sheeting, initial sheeting of exterior walls), but since
it will be hidden one does not care about appearance, just strength.
Properly sealed and painted, OSB would probably make a good tank stand.

Particle board is basically glued together sawdust ... often found in
cheap furniture and self-assembly kits ... like the small bookcases or
computer desks that sag within days or weeks of putting any load on
them. A tank stand made of particle board would probably collapse
under the weight of the water.

HTH,
Dennis

PS: I agree with Vicki ... your pictures seem to show a stand made of
plywood.

[>]

Tongue and Grooved Box Car Siding. Works for our "Northwood's Cabin" motif

JOhn :-)

"neilmn" > wrote in message
.net...
> Any suggestions on what to use for a stand if you don't care for the basic
> wrought-iron stuff or the cheap-looking pine/walnet/"cherry" cabinets you
> see in pet stores? Sure, the latter are practical in allowing access to
> equipment while shielding equipment from view. But they don't look
good.
> Sure, you can have a cabinet custom-made. But I'm looking for
suggestions
> on what others have used to make the stand as interesting/nice looking as
> the tanks sitting on them.
>
>