Aquarium Stand project

No, this isn’t a “Look what I made from a couple old pallets”. The last thing I made from an old pallet was firewood. That’s not what I intended to make, though. It’s just what my project ended up being. This is a project using scrap wood leftover from previous projects. Below is the finished product.

Bear with me as I attempt to explain my process. Maybe I’ll just include a bunch of pictures and draw up some cutting and building instructions?

I started with some ¾” thick oak laminated particle board. I used a circular saw to rip the sheets to the correct width. To cut a straight line I measured each end for where the cut was to be. I then added 3-3/4” to where to place my cutting guide. I just used a piece of particle board for a guide. I placed some 2x4’s under the sheets to elevate them off the floor. (don’t want the saw blade cutting into the concrete floor!)

The first pieces I cut would be the sides and shelves. They were cut 15” wide. I ended up using a chop saw to cut them to length.

Now to “frame” the front of the stand I had some ¾” oak boards ranging anywhere from 2” to 5” wide. I cut to length as required.

I began to assemble what pieces were already cut. To give some extra hold I applied some glue prior to nailing. I used a standard wood glue and 1-1/2” x 16 wire brads. 2” would have been better to use but 1-1/2” was all I had

Next I cut some boards to support the top shelf. After all, a full 20 gallon aquarium can get pretty heavy. Again, I found some scrap pieces. I have five supports, (2) at each end and (3) equally spaced.

To install the shelves I used some metal and plastic angles. This is the exact reason I’m a packrat. You never know what might come in handy. Here is a box of hardware I saved after tearing apart an old TV stand. I used some of it on this project.

To get the middle shelf put in evenly, I used a board as a measuring guide. I wasn’t too concerned about where it was placed, as long as it was somewhere close to the middle.

The top shelf was a little tricky. Only because I was going to stain it. The laminated particle board would have look great but I wasn’t sure how to finish the cut ends. So I decided to use a 1” x 10” wide pine board. I figured two pieces could butt tight to one another and look somewhat decent.

Once everything was assembled, I painted the bottom portion. I had some paint leftover from a previous project. I think the color name is Country White. And the top boards were stained. Once it dried overnight I finished assembly. With the top I also applied some wood glue prior to nailing it together.

At the last minute I decided to add a backing to prevent whatever is on the self from rolling back and falling behind. I had a piece of bead board. To get the correct size I simply butted it up against the stand and marked with a pencil where to cut. I cut using a jigsaw. I nailed it to the back using 5/8” x 18 wire nails.

Ok, there we have it. It’s far from perfect but I think it will work.

What advice to I have to share after completing this?

1. Be flexible. This is not exactly built like I had planned. It’s bigger and I used different hardware. I also made the top shelf different than originally planned.
2. Figure out how to fix a mistake when it’s too late to fix. I used particle board “sticks” for the top shelf supports. After they were glued and nailed, I realized they didn’t look to sturdy. I wasn’t sure how to take them out without doing some major damage so I decided to attach some pine boards next to them.
3. Take your time. It’s easy to cut something the wrong size. Measure twice and check it three times! It’s also easy to build something and realize there was a better way to do it.
4. Most importantly, have fun. I still get frustrated. But only because I have no idea what I’m doing. But the more I build and make mistakes, the more I know what not to do the next time. And there is something satisfying about doing a project from start to finish yourself.

I will attempt to add some plans with a material list in the next day or two.

And once I get the tank filled with water and fish I will show that, as well.

That's all for now!