evilknieval69 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 hey guys. i am 15. this year in woodwork at school (6th form wood tech)i am wanting to make a tank stand for myself. i have drawn up a rough plan on paint so i can show you what i have in mind. i am going to have it wide enough for a 4 ft tank. i will have two drawers and three cabinets. the two side cabinets will just be for anything but the middle cabinet will have a big hole in the back of it so an external canister filter can be put in it and the pipes run out. i am wondering how i will manage plugs etc ..SO i thought that i would sink a 6 plug power board into the back of one of the cupboards and have it facing outward so i can plug plugs straight into the back. i have added in another picture of what i want to do with the plug box. it is a pic of the end but without the side panel sorta. any suggestions on how i could improve it would be awesome. :lol: thanks alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeroen Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi, I have just made my own stand for a marine aquarium. With regards to the electrics I would use a surge protector there we have a lot of water around it further whan making the plugs at the back make sure you can still reach them for maintenance (hard to shift an aquarium full of water). I would put the pugs at the inside of a cupboard against the backwall. Good luck with your project, Jeroen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 ok i have re-thought.....i think that i could put the plug box in the middle cupboard on the side at the back. the plugs and cords can go through the hole that will be there for the external canister filter so it will be a pipe and cord hole :lol: P.S. i will definately be putting a surge protector on it. hope to get one of those 6 way switch boards with the built in surge protector. probly wont need 6 plugs but can never have too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bounce: :bounce: **EVILKNIEVAL** :bounce: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Just remember, if you have the plugs under the tank they will get wet in case of leaks, splashes etc. A surge protector won't help if the plugs are flooded. Besides, you don't want a surge protector, you want an RCD. 6 plugs will easily be used 1. heaterstat 2. lights 3. filter 4. pump for additional bubble wall you decide looks cool 5. 2nd heaterstat for safety 6. 2nd filter (small internal to keep as standby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbuna Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Hi Evil,I`m in Te Puke and have astand and hood made some years ago for a 4 foot tank still in use.it`s a bit different than your design but you`re welcome to have a look even if it helps u decide what u don`t want.I presume u can P/M me to get my details.Cheers Brian.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Remember we in the BoP are prone to earthquakes, so make provision for fastening to the wall. I agree, don't have the plugs at the back, too hard to get to and to add a plug or remove, you'd have to have the tank about 100mm from the wall minimum. So put them to the side in my opinion. The side most often NOT viewed. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_jay_01 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 love the idea, but not the idea of having the plugs on the back either, as said above. The stand looks like it will be a good design, what size & type of wood are you looking to use for the entire design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Caryl. an rcd would be a better idea.thanks mbuna.PMed alan. will make sure i fasten it!!! dee_jay_01.i am lookin to use some sort of framing inside it and just some 20mm thick board around the outside P.s.plugboard can just go inside the middle cupboard but not rite at the back.in the middle so the water cant get to it easily...good idea???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 Don't forget that timers often take up the space of two plugs, and you may well end up using two timers so you can have lights coming on at different times. So make sure you at least have room to add a second power board later. If you can stand it use an oil based paint, if not at least use a water proof bathroom paint and a good sealer. Have a good think about the bottom of the stand, all that weight (and the odd water spill) will leave indents and marks in carpet, a completely flat bottom will spread the weight out and help a bit. If you add a lip around the top front and sides it will hid the gravel etc in the bottom of the tank and help stop the tank from falling off the stand if there is an earthquake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 I would put the plugboard inside the cupboard and just knock a 60mm hole out the back allowing you to poke the plugs thru. On the side as you drew it means that any water that runs down the side will go straight into it, which is a bad thing. You can get plugboards designed for computers that have some outlets spaced furthur apart then normal to account for wall warts that are oh-so-common on computers and cellphone chargers etc, that will accomodate the timer nicely. Also dont touch the $3 plugboards, they are crap - often if you put a plug in at not quite the right angle there will be a crunch and that socket will no longer hold a plug in properly. HPM ones seem ok and arent a hell of a lot more then the "elto" trash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_jay_01 Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 if you use 4"x4" pine stumps as the legs and 2"x3"pine for the rest of the frame then use the 20mm pineyour definately going to have a strong stand that can with stand earthquakes. Dont forget that it will be heavy so make any access points easily accessable, we have two 4ft tank, one on top of the other on a stand made completely of pine and it is extremely heavy, as you can see in the picture. we will be adding some ply hatches to cover the tops of the tanks to stop the lights abit though. Our Setup My Tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 18, 2006 Report Share Posted January 18, 2006 It isn't 'withstanding' the quake he needs to worry about so much as make sure the stand doesn't pitch forward in one. It doesn't take much of a sway to start it toppling, especially a multi-tiered stand like yours dee_jay. A stand like that needs to be bolted to the wall at the top of it. Of course, you might not get quakes in your area but we do here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_jay_01 Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 We dont get quakes here, but I agree, that attaching or bolting the top of the stand to the wall is a good idea, but in my case I am unable as I'm renting the property I am in. But suprisingly we have had a Sonic Boom caused by a F-111 Fighter close by which came up at 3.5 on the richter scale and rocked the house but didnt bother the tanks at all, But bolting the stand to the wall is an excellent idea. I might have to ask the realestate to consider allowing us to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 hey evil sounds like a good project to do. heres two pics of inside two of our tank cabinets i dont think having the plugs under the tank is an issue at all, if there is plenty of cable, then if water does run down the wire it will drip off at the bottom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 as per the above post a "drip loop", is always a good idea, bascially at the end of your main plug going into the wall, use a small cable tie, about 2 to 4 cm up the cable about 10 cm in from the plug, this loop, will stop all water, from going near the power point, this procedure is quite common with Cable tv techs, and works amazingly well. (-Tsars Partner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 And if the hole for the cables and hoses is below the 6 way powerboard in the cupboard then it will be easier to maintain drip loops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 if you make a hood as part of this project i would suggest running the power in there. i have found that i have more leads that go in through the top of the tank than go in underneath. regardless, don't forget room for a computer in the bottom so you can hook up your computer-science 'fish tank monitoring station', and if you are doing a double 'tech (metal and wood) you could make the frame for the stand out of metal and add the rest of the case around it. and hydraulics for the hood so when you press a button it goes 'pssssssh' and slowly opens the hood... and don't forget to wire one bulb so it is always on so you can see into the tank when the hood is open and the rest of the lights are off (cause you'd have those on a micro switch...) and for your electronics class you can design a neat 'lil twinkling starlight system... and get extra points for your wood and metal by inlaying design stuff around the edges of the hood or doing some carving... and sliding panels in the top of the hood for the computer readout or temperature gauges and light timer and switches... and neon... underglow neon, and a huge exhaust pipe... and a turbo! you can't have a fishtank without a turbo! oooh! and if you are taking plumbing... (they do have plumbing in schools don't they?) you can attach an auto water changer with an in-line doser and heater! and a sump and uv steriliser!! man it would be awsome! i bet it would do over 300km!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandS Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim&Dan Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 :lol: :lol: :lol: Some cool ideas there, Dark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_jay_01 Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Hey Evil, Just wondering how your tank stand is going that you are making or made? Send some pics of your progress or finished product please..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted April 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 making it ATM in wood at school. nearly have the main "carcass" assembled. **EVIL** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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