How much would you pay for a bespoke, handmade, solid wood stand/cabinet for your tank? Not some nasty Pine affair but something made out of Cherry, or Ash, or White Oak, Maple - that sort of thing? Hood (if required) would have to be considered separately - think base only for the time being...
I'm getting one of the Aqua Essentials cabinets soon for a 60cm. They're not cheap but they look great quality and available in loads of finishes. You can can select your own unique finish too. I voted up to £300.
If I have the money, I would always get a solid wood stand or cabinet for my tanks. Personal choice and they can work out more expensive but I love the look. Gonna get an wood bookshelf for my 60cm. http://www.abodecollections.com/furnitu ... l_bookcase Sam
Luckily I never had to pay for my stand but i think that those who have seen it would agree that it is worth over £300.
I agree that the bespoke cabinets do look the biz, and if money were no object the skies the limit. But as money IS the object I will be attempting to make my own 60cm stand for the next project, and put my O level woodwork skills to the test. Beautiful oak with a dark dark stain mmmmmmm yummy. For those that don't know O levels were from a time when exams were rock hard.
My personal vote for the absolute best cabinets are the metal ones made by Deltec, for the simple reason that you can't make it yourself easily. The Deltec metal cabinets are incredibly strong and heavy and are impervious to water. The only major drawback of these cabinets are that they are so heavy and so expensive. There is absolutely no way anyone can DIY a copy of them unless they have specialist skills and equipment, and even then I seriously doubt you can get to the level of precision of the genuine thing. You can now get acrylic stands for the aquarium too, but I've yet to see one that I seriously like. Even though I can afford the ADA cabinets, there's no way I'd buy one since you can make a good enough copy yourself.
So rather than for aesthetics or user friendliness you'd go for a Deltec simply because it can't be copied? Each to their own i suppose. Do you work for Deltec?
I forgot to add the aesthetics, they are the best cabinets that I've ever seen. They also have total open space inside the cabinet so there are no barriers in the way, allowing you use of ALL cabinet space, which is very handy if you need to put a large sump inside. No, I don't work for Deltec. I was in the process of getting a large Deltec cabinet for my 6' tank years ago, but when my supplier told me the weight I decided not to, they are THAT heavy. If someone can make me a cabinet like Deltec's at half the weight I'd be interested.
you seem to doubt me, I'm serious about this. It would have taken 6 people to move it in the house at the weight he was telling me, and they are going to knock down my area so I'd have to move house in a few years time, so you could imagine the grief of that. When I have a more permanent residence I'll get one knowing that it won't be moving for a very long time. If I end up with a flat there's no way I'd have one.
i didnt know you could buy the deletc stands by themselves, i thought they just came witht the complete marine setups they do. any chance you could pm me a link to one as i cant seem to find any on the net JC
You say it like it's a bad thing mate... Your cabinet is awesome. IMHO it also looks much nicer than a Deltec, and much more suited to your interior decor and indeed, aquarium.