• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Redoing My 75 gallon

A

AChilton

So below are the pictures of my tank now. I absolutely HATE it (the stand and the aquascaping. but this is about the stand. i'm completely reaquascaping later and there will be another thread on that.) I find the stand so hideous that it takes away so much from the tank. the only reason i bought it is because it came with the tank. So it hit me, why sit around moping about it when i can do something about it. Since painting obviously isn't an option (would require taking down the entire tank) i'm just going to basically "sheet" it with plywood or veneer (haven't decided which yet) i'll either stain or oil it away from the tank depending on which wood i go with, probably going to go with some birch so maybe i'll stain it. And then i'll sheet the tank with it. haven't figured out how i'm going to adhere it to the surface of the stand because of fumes so i have to do some research. I'll keep updating as i go along!
 
J

Jcurry@wesketch

If you stain it those knots are going to bleed through and look terrible. Personally I'd just paint it, preferably a dark color and make new doors. Maybe a flat panel door with an inset moulding or a "Shaker" style door. Either way I would keep it simple. You want the focus to be on the tank not the stand. Just put a piece of cardboard over the tank when you paint the top trim piece, don't be sloppy and you should be fine.
 
A

AChilton

No no, i wasn't talking about staining the stand itself. the point of the project is i'm going to get some birch plywood, sand and stain the plywood. and cover the tank with the stained plywood. sort of like a facade of a house. like a fake front to it. so it looks like it was originally made of birch. it would cover the entire stand. But is paining the tank really an option? I mean 1. wouldn't i have to sand the entire thing first? which i can't do because it's in a bedroom with carpeting and 2. the fumes wouldn't effect the fish?
 
J

Jcurry@wesketch

You just need to rough up the surface to give it some "tooth" which helps the paint stick. You don't need to sand it down to bare wood. The fumes won't bother the fish, just leave a window open and be careful not to drip paint in the tank. The new doors you can get at most big box hardware stores. Paint it first and if you don't like it then do the plywood thing.

If you are definitley going with the plywood you can attach it with construction adhesive and small screws through the inside of the stand.
 
A

AChilton

Jcurry@wesketch said:
You just need to rough up the surface to give it some "tooth" which helps the paint stick. You don't need to sand it down to bare wood. The fumes won't bother the fish, just leave a window open and be careful not to drip paint in the tank. The new doors you can get at most big box hardware stores. Paint it first and if you don't like it then do the plywood thing.

If you are definitley going with the plywood you can attach it with construction adhesive and small screws through the inside of the stand.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your help. the doors i'll make on my own. i have some crappy oak in the garage that i'll use. the only reason i like the plywood idea better is because if you look back at the pictures you can see the tank is "paneled" (couldn't think of a better word to use) rather then like solid sheets which is what i would do with the plywood
 
A

AChilton

Only problem with ply wood is that that'll make everything 3/4 of an inch thicker which isn't gonna looke great. ughhh
 
J

jtnova13

They make thinner plywood than 3/4". Maybe not in birch though.

I would definitely try painting it first. You will probably have to sand it by hand though, which is going to suck.

I am going to by painting my stand black to match the trim of the tank I have... plus black is cool looking in general.

I don't think your stand looks THAT bad anyway :p
 
J

Jcurry@wesketch

You could do it in 1/4" plywood with some glue and get new doors. Just be careful how you handle the corners because they'll look shabby unless you cover them.
 
A

AChilton

RFD4 said:
Good Luck with the build! Is your name really Alex Chilton?
Click to expand...
My name is actually Adam. I have a cousin Alex Chilton though. Why? (He's not the musician if that's what you're thinking haha)
 
adesimone1

adesimone1

The stand doesn't look bad why don't you just dress it up with a fancy knob or handle for the doors. The tank trim wouldn't match anything darker since it looks like it has oak trim on it now. You could get corner trim and put it on the corners of the glass that will dress it up as well
 
A

AChilton

The reason i don't like it is because it doesn't match my room at all. I have more of a modern-ish room where everything is sort of white, dark brown and grey. (except the walls) so it sort of stands out like a sore thumb and not in the way you want an aquarium to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top