Plans for tank stand

[YzemaN]

Hi
I've decided to build a new tank stand for my 18"x12" tank, as the cheapo one I bought in Argos is starting to sag.
I made this quick'n'dirty drawing using Google SketchUp:

I left enough room to fit a door at a later point. Maybe made of frosted glass with "UKaps Baby" stencilled on it

I don't really know anything about wood and timber sizes, but I imagined that I'd use wodden boards at 1.5cm thickness.
Do you think it would be strong enough?
What sort of wood should I get and where would I get this cut?

 

[samc]

looks good i am thinking of doing the same thing soon but for two 12in tanks here is a link which i found that shows a diy stand ada style.
http://www.projectaquarium.com/plantedAquariumArticles_ADAAquariumStand.aspx

 

[YzemaN]

Cheers Sam. I've seen that one before. It's one of the articles that got me thinking of building one myself. I quite like the smooth front so I might make a few adjustment to my plan.

 

[samc]

he uses formica do you know who stocks it?

 

[Ray]

I used this thread to make mine with MDF and paint.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...ank-dyi-amano-picture-warning.html#post163539

I must say though, although assembly with glue and screws was straight forward it took a lot of time to paint and finish - take the price of buying one from Aqua Essentials, deduct the raw materials and divide by the hours I put in and my hourly rate was very poor - probably didn't make sense to DIY one at all....

 

[YzemaN]

I used this thread to make mine with MDF and paint.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...ank-dyi-amano-picture-warning.html#post163539

That's a nice tank I have most of the the plants he used so I've now got my head full of ideas... If only I had the talent

I must say though, although assembly with glue and screws was straight forward it took a lot of time to paint and finish - take the price of buying one from Aqua Essentials, deduct the raw materials and divide by the hours I put in and my hourly rate was very poor - probably didn't make sense to DIY one at all....

The two main reasons for me to build my own cabinet is:
1. Money
2. The joy of a finishing good DIY project. Well, I still have to finish my first project, but from what I read, it must be a bit like the Runner's High (though I can't say I get much of that either)
The last, smaller, reason is the non-standard size of the tank (18"x12"), but I actually started out with plans for a 24"x12", as I've been playing around with the idea of getting another, slightly larger tank. I guess I can use this project to get a bit of confidence. Time is not really an issue, as I spend most of my spare time poking into the tanks anyway