DIY - From "I Have a Tank!" to Done

[iBytenCode]

DIY - Going from “I have a tank!” to a Fully Functional Setup
Introduction:
This thread will contain a journal on my adventure to construct my second vivarium (first one since high school). As you will soon see, this project will detail the construction of the stand to creating a custom hood for my tank and everything in between. I will give a very detailed description of each piece, how I created it, measurements, etc. Please stay tuned as I update this thread periodically with more images and information.

About Me
Back in 2001 I created a fully custom vivarium for arboreal frogs that resembled today's Exo Terra cages. I was in high school back then and had no money to buy the cage I wanted so I made it. The cage was 3'L x 3'W x 5'T in size with a "custom" rain system. I have no images of the cage to my knowledge nor do I have the plans I used to build it. The cage I built back then was more functional than nice, but I didn’t care then. So what next? Keep reading to find out!

Tank & Stand:
I pulled my old salt water tank out of my parents attic and cleaned off the dust that had collected over the years. First I checked the silicon seals to see if the tank could still hold water. To my surprise, it held the 5 inches of water for the 3 days I left it on my back porch. All I had to start with was my salt water tank.

1. My Tank: 55 gallon long tank (48.25" L x 12.75" W x 21" T)

Challenge: The tank is shallow from front to back, can I create the habitat I want with the minimal space that I have. Challenge Accepted (-_-)

2. I need something to put my tank on so lets get started.. In my living room there is a large wall that separates the kitchen from the dining and living room. Perfect! But I have no stand! So, Custom Tank Stand + matching hood is my first priority.

Tank Stand - Full Custom

Disclaimer: I'm not liable for anything going wrong with building this stand, or any other issues during construction, post construction, or anything else with this how-to. I am only giving you the list of items that I used to create my stand and the steps I followed. If you follow this tutorial you are doing so at your own risk.

1. All photos can be viewed on my google+ account in more detail. Please visit My Custom Stand & Vivarium
2. Now I have to give credit where credit is due, I found a video on You-Tube showing images of a guy’s 55 gallon tank stand found here. I actually liked the stand, but the video didn't have dimensions or types of wood so I took the structural design and went with it. The following lists follow this format: # of items - description (Why I needed it or extra information).
3. Wood Materials:

a. 1 - 1/2" x 4' x 8' Birch Plywood (for the interior walls, bottoms, and backing)
b. 1 - 3/4" x 4' x 8' Birch Plywood (for the stand top, tank bottom trim, and hood)
c. 2 - 2" x 8" x 8' Construction (won't be seen so just make sure its straight)
d. 1 - 2" x 4" x 12' Construction (same as c)
e. 2 - 1" x 4" x 8' Pine (you can choose whatever you like to match the birch)
f. 4 - 1" x 6" x 10' Pine (same as e)
g. 2 - 1" x 2" x 4' Construction (same as c)

4. General Materials:
a. Circular Saw with the ability to cut 45 degree cuts
b. Router (I used a hand router as you will soon see)
c. Speed square (or any square will work)
d. Tape Measure
e. Pencil (or other marking utensil)
f. Sand Paper (I'd start with 100 or 150 to remove rough edges)
g. Somewhere to work (ha ha, I had to use my parents house because I don't have a garage)
h. Drill
i. Screw Driver
j. 1.5" finishing nails
k. 2.5" wood screws (I prefer the 20 year decking screws)
l. 1/8th inch drill bit
m. 2 - Foam Brush (cheap cheap cheap.. one for wood prep, the other for stain.)
n. 1 - Purdy Brush (Or whatever you feel comfortable putting on clear coat with)
o. 1 Can - Pre-stain Wood Conditioner
p. 1 Can - Wood Finish (Red Mahogany)
q. 1 Can - Fast drying polyurethane (I used clear satin)
r. 1 Can - Paint thinner (to clean the Purdy Brush)
s. 1 Box - of latex gloves

5. Time: Approximately 2 days construction and 3 to 4 days Staining
6. Framing:
** You will need the drill bit, drill, wood screws, square, tape measure, circular saw, 1/2x4'x8' birch ply, 1x2's, 2x4’s and 2x8’s. When complete you should have only scrap of the wood left and won’t need them**

a. Using the 2x4's, cut 4 pieces at 48.25 inches and 4 peices 9.75 inches.
02_Bottom-TopFrames.jpg
b. This image shows the final product of joining the 2x4’s together. Using the drill and the 48.25” peices, pre-drill 2 holes on the outside edge of both ends approximately ¾” from the top and bottom. Using the wood screws, attach the 9.75 inche pieces to the inside edge of the 48.25 inch pieces to create a L shape. Pre-drilling the holes for the screws reduces the risk of splitting the wood since it is close to the edge. Two screws per 2x4 attachment should be sufficient.
03_VerticleBacking.jpg
c. Using the 2x8's, cut 4 pieces at 36 inches
d. Using the wood screws, attach the 2x8's to the inside portion of the frame. I placed my upright 2x8’s 8” from the outer edge of the 9.75” pieces. I used 5 screws in the same pattern as seen on the "5" side of a dice at random distances. Remember to pre-drill the hole for each screw to reduce the risk of splitting the wood.
05_FrameForFloor.jpg
e. Using the 1/2" x 4' x 8' birch ply, cut a 4' x 36" section to attach to the back of the framing. Using the wood screws, I placed 5 screws on the top and 5 on the bottom aligned with the center of the 2x4 backing. I used wood screws so that I could remove the backing if I wanted to drill out a hole for power cords, tubes, etc.
f. Using the 1"x2", cut 8 pieces at 9.75" long. These will be used for your floor and ceiling supports within the stand. Attach these even with the top (if your looking at the bottom 2x4's) or the bottom (if looking at the top 2x4's). Attach these to the 2x8 using finishing nails. These are not structural pieces.

6. Walls:
** You will need a hammer, finishing nails, square, tape measure, marking utensil, circular saw, and the 1/2 x 4' x 8' Birch ply.**
Now that the structural part is complete, you can start to add some cosmetic pieces to your stand. Don't worry if it looks flimsy, I promise when this is finished it will be very strong, sturdy, and look beautiful.

10_WallingOuterSection.jpg
a. This picture shows the inside walls to the outer section of the stand. You will need to measure your space to verify my numbers are correct. We are doing finishing work so it should be very close to the size you have available even if this size doesn't match my own. If you measure all the cuts precisely and do not mess any piece up, you should have enough to finish the floors and walls. My suggestion is plan out how you are going to cut everything on the plywood before starting this.
b. Cut 4 pieces, 12.75" x 8" from the birch ply (or to the appropriate size if your frame does not match those dimensions). These will be your stand 's floor and under ceiling (the bottom part of the top). Using finishing nails, place these into their spot and nail down.
c. Cut 2 pieces, 18.5" x 13" for the center floor and under ceiling. Again, using finishing nails, attach these to the stand.
d. Now for the inside walls. Each wall is approximately 28.25" tall by 13" wide. You will need 4 of them. Place each of these walls within the center of the stand (onto the 2x8's). The outside walls will be made of finishing boards to give it a different look. The image below shows the center section walled off along with the next topic.

6. Upright Finish Wood:
** You will need a square, tape measure, marking utensil, circular saw, and the 1x4's and 1x6's.**
Cut all your pieces and set them how you want them placed around the tank stand.

13_WallingCenterSection.jpg
a. Using the 1"x6", cut 6 pieces 36" long. (Or just below the frame of the tank from the ground. It would be better that you short the wood by a fraction of an inch than be too long).
b. Using the 1"x4", cut 4 pieces 36" long. (Again, see the side note for a.)

My next thread post will continue on my journey from "I have a tank" to completed vivarium project. Please stay tuned and thanks for tanking the time out to read my post.

[iBytenCode]

Welcome back! Last time we finished cutting all the vertical finish wood pieces to length. I do want to apologize for the time length it took to post this second thread. My modem went on the fritz and I just got a new one yesterday later afternoon. Also, please remember to view my google+ account for the larger, more detailed pictures of each step by step.

7. Cutting Horizontal Trim
**You will need a square, tape measure, marking utensil, circular saw, and the 1x6's.**
I like to cut all my wood and see how it fits together before spending the time routing the pieces. That way I have an idea on how the finish product will look and what types of routed edges I would like to have. You can cut a piece and then route it if you like. Either way doesn't matter as long as the results are the same.

a. Side Bar: Cutting the horizontal trim will be very similar to cutting the vertical finish wood except for one thing. Four of the horizontal pieces will have a 45 degree angle cut (45DAC) on them to form your corners. There is a small trick I've learned to cutting these pieces so you only have to make one cut per two pieces. Given two pieces that need the 45DAC, you take the length of each piece using the long side (this is the measurement of the wood on the back side of the 45DAC. In other words, if you have to touch the angled wood, flip it over to a side where you cannot see the angle and measure the length. The angle should be facing away from you at this point.) Now, you take the long side measurements of both pieces and add them together plus add an 1/8th of an inch for the saw blade. Cut the board at that length. Once the board is cut, measure one of the long side lengths again and draw your cut line. Be sure that when you cut you cut the 45DAC towards the right end. I cannot tell you how many times I've made the mistake of cutting the wrong angle direction. After you cut this line both pieces will have a 45DAC. Pretty simple eh? If you haven't done this type of cut before, I would suggest trying it on scrap wood first to get a feel for it. After you've done it a few times, its pretty simple.

b. Considering the vertical finish wood will be underneath the horizontal trim we must measure the length of the horizontal trim pieces in order to cover it appropriately. When I measured my horizontal side trim they were 15.5 inches long. (Be sure to cover your back 1/2" x 4' x 3' piece as well). You will need 4 pieces at 15.5 inches. My front side left and right trim pieces were 18" even and my front middle trim pieces were 15.75 inches. I will need 4 of the front side left and right and two front center. After cutting the 1x6's for the vertical finished wood, you should have 2 more 10' pieces for the horizontal trim. I would cut (i)2x 31 and 1/8" long, (ii)2 pieces 36 and 1/8" long, and (iii)1 piece at 31 and 5/8" long. You should be able to get both (i) and 1 piece of (ii) from one of the 10' 1x6's and the rest from the other.

c. Cut the 45DAC on each board as described earlier.

d. Now, place the side vertical finished wood against the stand and place the trim where it should go. You should have a gap between the stand floor/ceiling ply (and 2x4) that you secured earlier and the horizontal front left and right trim pieces. With the left over 1x6's you can cut the piece to the length of the inside areas, my suggestion would be to cut them in half horizontally so that they shorter than the trim you will be placing there. I made my gap fillers to be even with the ceiling and floor ply so that it looks uniform. You can attach these gap pieces with finishing nails. The following image shows you the gap fillers inserted at the bottom.
22_HorizontalTrim.jpg

8. Routing Wood Pieces
**You will need a router, finishing nails, hammer, and your cut pieces**
Now that you have all your pieces cut, set up against the stand the way you want them, and verified to see that they fit together appropriately, it is time to route your wood. (If you choose not to do this part skip down Putting It All Together.

a. I chose two different router blades for my finishing wood and trim. I wanted one type of route where two vertical finish wood came together, so I used a 1/4" C shape bit that makes a U shape when the two piece were joined. On any outside edge pieces I used a 1/2" round bit to round off the edges for a smoother look.

16_Routing1x4.jpg
b. This picture displays the 1/4" C shape bit on the 1x4's that are the center vertical finish pieces between the two 1x6's. As you can see, I used two finishing nails to attach the piece to my shop table in order to hold the wood while I used a hand router to define the edges.

19_TrimRouted.jpg
c. This picture shows where I messed up the tops (ya I'm still kind of new to using a router myself and made some mistakes). This image also shows the 1/2 bit used on the outside edges of all cosmetic pieces. I am not too worried about the router mishaps because they will be hidden by the horizontal trim and stand top. If you make a mistake, don't worry we all do, I made more mistakes later that are actually visible, but it adds character (or so I keep telling myself )

d. Now, on the 45DAC pieces, you want to route the side of the wood that will be facing down (if on the top part of the stand) or facing up (if on the bottom part of the stand). You also want to route the edge of the wood that is on the long side of the board (see earlier for what this is again).

WARNING: On the horizontal trim pieces with the 45DAC, be extremely careful not to round off the end with the angle cut in it. The router uses the wood to brace itself and that wood will be missing.

9. Putting It All Together
**You will need finishing nails, hammer, and your cut & routed pieces** [/i]
Now you get to assemble the stand and you are almost finished. One tip I forgot to tell you earlier, depending on the look you like, it is highly suggested that after you nail in a finishing nail, you "in-set" it but using a finishing nail tool that helps drive it down past the wood surface, this way you can fill it with wood putty and paint over it. I like the holes and wood knots for this project, so I just in-set the nails and left the holes open. I usually use a larger nail or a small hold punch.

a. First off, nail to the 2x4's the gap filler pieces as shown earlier if you didn't already. Again, I took my pieces and made them even with the floor and ceiling.

b. Looking at the side of your stand you will notice that the 2- 1x6's and 1x4 are wider than the stand itself. This is okay. If you are looking at the side of the stand, there will be one side with the back 4x3 panel and what will be the front. You want to line the 1x6 up even with the gap filler piece. Nail that piece in using your finishing nails. Do this for the other side as well.

c. Place the 1x4 next to the 1x6 that was attached in the previous step. I made sure mine were as close as possible. Nail this into place using the finishing nails. I usually put 2 to 3 nails on the top and bottom. Do this for the other side as well.

d. Place the last 1x6 as close as you can to the piece in the previous step. Again, using the finishing nails to secure these into place. If you need to see what I am describing, look at the image below.

20_HorizontalTrim.jpg

e. Now the front vertical finish wood I positioned over the 1x8 board. These pieces are centered over the board, the finish wood should have an overhand of about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch on both sides. Before securing these pieces, make sure that your center horizontal trim can fit in snug. Secure the vertical finish wood in the same manner as before. I chose to put the 1x4's to the center and the 1x6's to the outside. You can do whichever you like best.

22_HorizontalTrim.jpg

f. The horizontal trim is just as easy to place as the vertical finish wood. One thing to note is that the horizontal trim should be placed even with or 1/16-1/8th inch below the 2x4 framing. This will insure that the weight of the tank will be on the structural pieces and not the trim. Place the horizontal center trim piece into the center area and secure with 4 to 5 finish nails. Do this for both upper center and lower center.

24_HorizontalTrim.jpg

g. The corners are not hard to put on, but it might take an extra set of hands. First off, you want to put them up against the stand to insure that the corner is together, then secure either the front or the side piece. Once this is secure, you can secure the second piece. My suggestion is about 4 nails in each piece to the gap filler and vertical finish wood. After they are secure you should go from the sides and place 2 finish nails that go through the 45DAC and into the front piece of wood. Be very careful here, as if you nail is slightly angled to the front it will exit out the other piece of wood, which we don't want. Do this for all four corners.

Now that your stand is trimmed out the last step is to cut, route, and attach the top. My next thread post will continue on my journey from "I have a tank" to completed vivarium project. Please stay tuned and thanks for tanking the time out to read my post.

[iBytenCode]

Welcome back, last time we discussed the vertical finish wood and horizontal trim work for the tank stand. This post will be discussing the tank top and how it was created. Thank you for reading my thread!

10. Custom Tank Stand Top
**You will need a square, tape measure, marking utensil, circular saw, drill, drill bit, screw driver, wood screws, router, and the 3/4" x 4' x 8' Birch Ply.**
The top part of the stand is the one piece that everyone will see along with the front. Most people look at the front of furniture and then rub their hand across the top. Be very careful not to scratch this piece while cutting or routing. If you do, you will have to spend time sanding down (which I suggest anyways) to make sure you have a really smooth top.

a. Taking the Birch Ply, I measured out my dimensions to 17.75" x 55.5". This was the size of the table top that I wanted. I also suggest checking the "squareness" of the 4x8's natural sides and utilize them so that you have only two hand cut sides on your top. If the natural sides (pre-cut from factory) are square, use them as two sides to your top! Using the circular saw I suggest cutting about 1/8th to 1/16 on the outside of your line in the event that the saw causes chipping. Once the top is cut out from the ply, place that piece on the top of your stand to see how it fits.

b. Placement of the tank stand top is really up to you. I wanted more lip on the front and less on the back because I was placing this stand against a wall. My measurements were 2" off the right and left sides and 1/2" off the back. The rest was overhang on the front. If you measure from the left or right vertical trim work it is approximately 2-7/8" off the front. I liked the way this looked for my stand.

c. The following images show the final product because I was so excited to see this part finished that I totally forgot to take pictures of the non-routed wood.

25_AddedTrimmedTop.jpg
26_AddedTrimmedTop.jpg
27_AddedTrimmedTop.jpg
28_FinalPreStained.jpg

d. Attaching The Top - this is a very important step that must take care to do correctly. I decided that I may eventually add lights to the open space in the middle so I wanted to be able to pull the top off at any point (similar to the back). I decided to use the wood screws to attach the top to the 2x4 framing underneath. These screws will not be seen when the tank is on the stand, but I also take some paint to match the stain I chose to "hide" them later. You can see the wood screws in:

27_AddedTrimmedTop.jpg

I measured the distance to the center of the 2x4 with the addition of my top overhang and pre-drilled the holes for my wood screws. I put 4 screws down the length of the stand on the front side and back side 2x4's to hold the top in place. Then I attached the top to the stand where it was going to be. The top should be solid once drilled down and you should be able to pick the stand up and move it from the top. (At least I tried it several times while it was not stained and finished).

e. Routing the Top - As you can see from all the previous images, I chose the same routing bit as I used on the outside edges of both the vertical finish wood and horizontal trim pieces. In fact, I left the bit in the router over night and didn't change the settings when I started the next day. Once the top is secure, routing should be no problem. Just take your time and route all four sides of the stand top and you should have your completed product.

This is the stand on my wall at the house:

29_InPositionAtHouse.jpg

As you can see, the backing didn't fit quite all the way across on the finish product. (from the light on the right and left sides coming from the back) But I planned it this way because I will add 1/2" round trim later during sanding/staining to cover the hole and add some aesthetics to the sides.

My next thread post will continue on my journey from "I have a tank" to completed vivarium project. Please stay tuned and thanks for tanking the time out to read my post.

[iBytenCode]

The last thread we finished constructing the base of our tank stand (base from here on out). Now complete, we can finish the look of the base by staining it or painting it a color of our choice. I personally really enjoy the look of wood so I will be discussing the staining side.

Prior to Starting: I went to the lumber yard and retrieved two pieces of 1/4 stock rounded that were 28" long to place in the right and left back corner to hide the gap. Applying some liquid nail and two trim nails (one up top and one on the bottom) I secured the quarter stock to the adjacent 1x6 and not to the back panel.

11. Preparing the Wood
**You will need 220 grit sand paper, elbow grease (this isn't a product you can buy), old rag, old towels, tack cloth, foam brush, and pre-stain wood conditioner.**
WARNING: The fumes from the chemicals in wood conditioner, stains, and clear coats are toxic. Please use these as instructed on the can. You must be in a well ventilated area during use.

One thing I must say before we start. The pre-stain wood conditioner I used required that the stain be applied within 2 hours of pre-staining the wood. Check the wood conditioner and follow the instructions. These steps are how I did things and should be ignored if your instructions are different.

a. Using the 220 grit sand paper, sand down any rough areas that you find. I used a power hand sander for this job. Using light pressure, I went over almost every visible square inch of the base. I highly suggest sanding down the routed areas, any corners, and anywhere there are splinted areas. Splinted areas are those areas where, if you were to run your hand across applying pressure, you would need to pull wood splinters out of your hand.

b. Saturate the old rag with water and ring until the rag is damp but not dripping water when squeezed. Using this damp rag, wipe off all exposed areas of the base. Once the rag is saturated with wood dust particles, wash out and ring until damp but not dripping, and repeat. Once you have completed this task, let the base air dry for about 3-5 minutes.

c. Using the tack cloth, go back over every visible inch of the base. If your tack cloth hangs on rough wood, you might want to spend more time sanding these areas. If you do, repeat steps b and c again. If not, continue on.

d. Once you've gotten 99% (usually we try for 100%) of the dust particles off of the base, it is time to prepare the wood for stain. Open the can of pre-stain wood conditioner and stir it with a wood stir (the paint store should of provided this). Slightly stick the foam bush into the conditioner and apply it with the grain. With the grain is the same as following the lines. If the line runs left to right (or right to left), then you brush this direction. This isn't that necessary for conditioner, but staining and clear coat is a must.

e. Once you have covered every inch of the base (minus the part on the floor), you can start removing any access conditioner with a old towel starting from you initial conditioned area. If you apply a light coat initially you will not need to do this. If you have conditioner running down the wood and/or puddling, you need to get this up with the old towel. Since conditioner doesn't really show up on photos, I have nothing I can show you.

12. Staining the Base
**You will need old towels, foam brush, and wood stain of your choice. I chose Red Mahogany for my stain.**

Side Note: Staining wood isn't complex. It is the same as adding conditioner, except the longer you leave the stain on, the darker the wood will take to the stain. My suggestion is to do small areas at a time. If you didn't leave the stain that long and it is too light, you can add more stain and wipe off. If you leave it too long and its too dark for you, that stinks pretty bad, because the only fix is to sand off the stand (and this takes time or sometimes cannot be done properly.

a. Open the can of stain that you have chosen. Stir with a new wooden stir. Now I suggest starting on the back side to get a handle on how stain is applied to wood if you are new.

b. Remember, when adding stain to the wood, it is best practice to paint in the same direction as the lines of the wood grain. For me, the back panel was up/down direction. Using the foam brush and stain, I would add about 4-6 inches thick from the top of the back panel to the bottom and let sit for about 20-40 seconds. Then using an old towel (or old t-shirts work really well), I would wipe off the stain. Since the color I wanted was a deep reddish brown I did not need to add more stain on top of that.

c. Once you have stained the entire base, take a really close look at every nook and crevice to make sure you stained everything. It isn't fun when you are going to clear coat and you find a small wood spot that you missed. Once finish I suggest letting the stain take for approximately 10-16 hours before clear coat to insure the stain is dry.

30_Stained.jpg
31_Stained.jpg

13. 1st Coat of Polyurethane
**You will need Purdy brush (or whatever you've chosen), and Fast Drying Polyurethane. I chose clear satin for my finish.**

WARNING: Do not shake the can, it causes bubbles in the polyurethane which can transfer to your base.. they aren't fun to sand out.

a. Open the can of polyurethane and stir with a new wooden stir. I suggest doing this every so often while you are applying it to keep the consistency the same.

b. Dipping the very tip of your brush (approximately 1/4") into the polyurethane, apply in the same direction as the wood grain. The first coat is the most shocking because it really makes the wood grain pop out and brings the color of the stain out. Do not fret, the wood will actually become "rough" when you apply the first coat of polyurethane. This is normal.

32_FirstClearCoat.jpg
This image shows the difference between just stained wood and the enhancement of the polyurethane.

c. Make sure every inch of stained wood has a coat of polyurethane and that you haven't missed any spots. I usually leave the top until last. This allows me to touch the top later to see whether or not the base is dry.

33_FirstClearCoat.jpg
34_FirstClearCoat.jpg

d. Once you have applied the first coat of polyurethane, let the base sit and dry for approximately 5-7 hours (or until the "tackiness" is gone. The wood should not feel sticky when touched.)

My next thread post will continue on my journey from "I have a tank" to completed vivarium project. Please stay tuned and thanks for tanking the time out to read my post.