Welcome to Part 4 of 'Building a 72 gallon Bowfront Aquarium Stand.' In this EduCast, I stained and finished aquarium stand.
You should have the base and canopy support already built and trimmed from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series, which would look like this.
1) To prep the wood for staining, I used drywall compound to fill in the gaps, screw holes and brad nails. I then sanded all the surfaces with my orbital sander. Using the mud for gaps with the walnut stain gives the stand a rustic but modern look. You should have the base and canopy support already built and trimmed from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series, which would look like this.
2) Once the unit is sanded, it should be smooth to the touch.
3) For this project, I used a walnut stain. This is the aquarium stand and the canopy after 1 coat applied to it.
TIP - Always make sure to blow out any dust and debris before staining
4) Here's the stand and canopy after 2 coats of walnut stain. Don't forget the lightly sand in between coats being careful not to remove the stain in the process.
5) Next, I started applying varathane. Below are the stand and canopy with 1 coat applied generously.
6) I added 3 coats of varathane (sanding lightly in between coats), then I put the canopy on top of the aquarium to get a preview. I was pleased with the results.
7) Since I was done with the staining and clear coating, I brought the unit in the house and filled it up. The water would take a few days to clear up and cycle.
8) With the fish tank on the stand, I re-attached the canopy making sure to pilot the screw holes so I wouldn't split the wood.
9) Almost done!! I added the finishing touches by installing the lights (thanks for those Mom) and feeding the pump tubes through the holes made earlier. (I later added night lighting using flexible LED lights like I used in my 'floating shelves with built-in lighting' project.
11) 6 months later, the stand is holding up well and my fishies are doing well. I opted to re-decorate the tank for a more natural look using driftwood and real plants.
That’s it for this series. I hope you enjoyed it!!
Happy wood working!!
Brian
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How can I print these instructions and pictures?
ReplyDeleteThe stand is awsome! Mind sharing the demonsions of the tank so I can adjust measurements to fit mine.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it.
DeleteHere are the dimensions:
Width - 48 1/4",
Depth at the side - 12 1/2"
Depth at the middle - 18"
Height - 22"
DeleteNo doors? I guess I could tack some fabric to hang over the bottom so that my filter doesnt show. This is a great tutorial. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was planning on building doors but at the time I hadn’t figured out how I was going to build them with the tools I have.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome staff do you sell these ? Because I bought a 72 thing Thinking that I could just buy a stand but that was not the case so I'm a buddy my buddy was going to start building me one you are but if you sell Get back on me
ReplyDelete