# my 10 gallon tank stand/canopy



## Cory1990

i was sick of this sitting on a end table so i thought i would do a mini build before i try doing a stand/canopy. this is the style that im going to aim for when i do the stand for my 55. (except i will do stronger 4x4s and what not)


alright i built this all using scrap wood i had laying around my garage from past build projects i have done.

as you can see in the 2nd photo there is a pretty bad notch on the top piece of wood, that is because this was all scrap. 

i stained the wood put on a few coats of polyurethane ( brush on kind, and wet sanded it all repeated this all 4 times.)

if anyone wants more details on how to do it just ask and ill get more detailed.


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## Cory1990

Ugh anyone know why my pictures are not working??


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## snyderguy

Upload them to photobucket and then post them on here.


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## Cory1990

Thanks for the tips I'll have to make a account, if anyone wants to see pictures there are some in my photo album


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## Cory1990

Now that I have photo bucket here's some pictures. 




















Also another 10g stand I just built for a friend










What do you guys think?!?


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## snyderguy

Very original look. Nicely done!


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## Cory1990

Thank you, I build primitive crafts as part time work for a few shops and I thought I would do a stand for my fish tank in there style. So far I've sold 3 of my primitive style tank stands for 10g tanks to 2 different shop keepers for $150 each! I was pretty happy with that price. But it does take me about 8 hours all together for each stand


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## Cory1990

Also if anyone wants plans on how these are made I'll post more pictures each build costs about 20-30 bucks


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## Coolfish

I need a stand for my 10g can I get pics on that build?


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## chipmunk1210

Yes please, I would love to see the build pics. I would be doing one more for the size of a 20 long instead of a 10 though.  Those look great and to me better than some of the ones they sell at the pet stores.


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## Cory1990

Thanks guys, I've been doing wood work in my parents workshop since I was about 10 years old and now I'm almost 22 I've got my own fully stocked wood work shop. Don't let that scare you though. The only tools I used was a skill saw (jig saw) and a table saw. But the table saw is not needed if you buy wood and have them cut it for you. But here's a list of what I used


Bottem 

2- 24" by 11" wide boards (can be taller but this one is more for my kids to enjoy)
2-21" by 7" wide boards( top supports) 

Put the 4 together and you have your top frame work done! 

Here's the stand ruffed out but you can see the bottom ruffed out. 










Now for the shelf part. 

Your going to need 

2- I used scrap from the sides of the stand so it's 20"5/8 long. The board is also 11" wide.
Here's the picture of the shelfs I used one in the center and one on the bottom.









Next is the hardest part of this build. The doors. I had such a pain and my table saw was so dull I used my jig saw. The center part is vary imported to the doors. It adds 0 support but if you want your doors to line up years down the road you need this! 

It is 16 5/8 long by 2 1/4 wide it's only nailed into the center shelf and the bottom board. Here's what it looks like.










Now the doors they are 16 5/8 tall by 9 1/4 wide. 

Here's the doors 










I used cut up leather as hinges for my primitive style. (killed that look when I put on the stainless handles but people like them) 

I put everything together with 2" nails. I used extra long ones because it really adds a lot more support then small screws. Screws also have a tendency of cracking thin boards like this so nails really is your best bet. I wouldn't be scared to put my 55 gallon on top of this. When I first built one of these I jumped on it and I'm 160 170lbs 

Also I did not put a bottom on mine just 1 straight support board. I wanted mine open to hide cords but a lot of people like the full bottom. So I built the sold ones with full bottoms. In that case I just used a scrap peice from the sides. 

They sell the 11" wide boards for like 10-13 bucks they sell them at about 12-15 feet long. All together the bottom will coast you next to nothing.

Now as for the canopy wow I used the most basic wood design I could think of. This canopy cost me maybe 5$ to build and took me about 10 min 

It measures 22 inches long. By 6 1/2 wide. The side boards are 10 1/2 inches long by 6 1/2 wide the top is 11 1/2 inches wide by 22" long

Inside I have two simple scrap cut offs that pretty much sit on the sides of the tank here's a picture of the inside 










Another look at how it sits 










I know this is not the best right up and a lot of you are probably like what the heck is he saying. But I'm doing another stand in this style in the next couple weeks for a 20g long and I'll take better pictures of the whole thing.

And if you guys or girls try to do this, I'll be sticking around this forum for a long time and you can feel free to ask any questions or building questions.


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## Cory1990

Also just another tip, when you do a stand like this you should buy the wood with the most knots. I think personally it adds to it a lot more. It makes it look so much nicer then if you just stain a board. It gives it it's own personality and once it's clear coated it looks nice because knots also are darker when they are stained. 

Good luck if any of you try it!! I encourage people to really get off there butts and build something! You will get hooked if you take some time on something! I have made so much stuff that 70% of my furniture is hand made by me. It gives you more pride in it and you can have something to really show off and talk about with others. 

Now I know a lot of people my age have 0-10% building know how. But after I show them a thing or two and let them do small projects in my workshop they fall in love with it also. I made my own coffee table, wooden church pew for my sun room, wooden bench, dinning room table. The list goes on. Here's a snap of a kitchen table I made a couple months ago.




















I've fallen in love with woodwork and it's my number 1 hobby that I can't put down number 2 is pistol shooting and standing for our 2nd amendment and 3 is my newest and rapidly addicting hobby my fish! And since I've started with them I surch Craigslist 5-10 times a day for tanks and now instead of the 20l I was going to pick up I found a 45g for 10$ lol so I'm going to put that in my workshop


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## jlpropst00

Thanks for the post. I plan on building a stand for my 40g reef and I really like the rustic look you have going. Obviously I would have to go with a much sturdier design but the finish looks great. 
Is there any particular wood you used and what kind of stain?


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## Fish chick

That looks really great!


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## lohachata

jl...the wood he is using is pine..a good strong wood yet it is the least expensive or the lumbers..you can get oak , walnut , cherry and others but they will cost you an arm and a leg..pine is great for that rustic look...as you can see when stained there is the light and dark areas...
cory..you have great skills for a 22 year old kid..and as you continue on you will hone them to a fine edge....beautiful table too...
i used to collect custom knives and am thinking of selling most of them but i might want a few stands built for some that i am keeping...
ones i am keeping....
the dagger on the bottom..









both of these..









some for sale......
middle one is hand forged damascus steel..handle of bottom one is shinbone of giraffe.

some miniatures.....

























and a few others...

























there's something else for you to get addicted to cory...
i spent more than 26 years as a firearms dealer...i mostly specialized in more collectible stuff though...here is a pic of the pistol i bought for my daughter when she was 13....


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## Coolfish

You bought a 13yr old a pistol?


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## Coolfish

Cory1990 said:


> Also if anyone wants plans on how these are made I'll post more pictures each build costs about 20-30 bucks


Thanks. stand looks nice.


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## Cory1990

Drool- I love the colection!! I have made some grips for a few of my pistols but nothing super fancy. I've also made my own knife before. It didn't look great but it worked. I sold it to a friend for $20 for his colection a couple years ago. As for my main carry gun I made grips with oak and they have cracked  so now I'm back to the stockers. 

Also that's a huge scope on her gun! Is that a 45? Hmm the looks can be hard to tell I've seen 1911 style .22lr hit the market

Also you have a good eye loha it is made with pine. They are cheap,and are great for the rustic look. You can mess something up 50 times and not hurt your wallet. It's easy to work with And has a great look. I've jumped up and down on mine with 0 problems. 

I'm doing my 55g stand soon and am using the same style. But I'll be using barn wood and making it 3" high. They will look just about the same on the outside but the difference will be a 4x4 frame tucked inside of the design. I'm waiting until I find the right wood before I start this one but I'll do step by step pictures.


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## Cory1990

Coolfish said:


> You bought a 13yr old a pistol?




Nothing wrong with that. If you introduce them early they learn more about firearm safety and are less likely to find the gun and have a negative issue with it. 

I had my first .38 snub nose s&w at 12. 

Also showed my younger sister to shoot a 22lr plankster at 6.


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## jlpropst00

I bought my son a Ruger 10/22 for his 1st birthday...of course I get to play with it til he get s a little older. I also have a S&W M&P 40cal on my person as I type and Ruger LCP in my truck.


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## Cory1990

I never leave my bedside without putting my trust bersa 380 on my hip. I'm not sure why but I love this gun! I also have a glock 45, super brick  I ware that on open carry events only.


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## lohachata

my daughter started shooting at age 5..that day she fired a ruger mk ll 22....a s&w 686 357 mag...and a s&w 3 1/2" 29 44 mag...
the one i got her for her birthday is a full custom competition 45 acp built by scott mulcarren of SDM Fabricating in medina ohio....he built the gun for himself and it was featured in one of the shooting magazines.....not a scope on top , but a leupold red leader sight...you aim and shoot with both eyes open and you see the entire target with a red dot on it...but the dot is not projected like on a laser type sight...if you were to have a pistol like this one built it would cost between $5000-$7000.....


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## lohachata

here is my super find....it is a reproduction of a winchester model 1866....although it is for sale ; there are very few that can afford the price.....
what it actually is ; is a manufacturer's sample...only 5 were made and sent out december 15th 1965......each had a "0" serial number..first one.."0"..second one "00" and so on...the last one..(mine).."00000"...
two were sent out to magazine to be evaluated...and were eventually given to friends by the distributor...the other 3 are still with the original distributor..and possibly the 4th one as well..if so ; that would make mine the only one available to the public....


























oh yeah...it is only a .22 cal.


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## Cory1990

Wow it's beautiful, I'm not by no means a glock lover or a 1911 lover because I simply tell people I would carry both if I had all the extra money . The scope sounds nice that you keep both eyes open. I helped teach a self defense class and every single person sai if a threat came they will close one eye and shoot. Ugh took a while to teach all of them if a threat comes you have to react instead of take time to shoot that perfect bulls eye. And if your scoop teaches her that kudos to you!! Not only is it a skill I think everyone should have but it's also something everyone can do with there family. And have a ton of fun doing it. I've got my almost wife a .22lr pistol for her birthday and she was anti gun before we got together. Now she is carrying everyday and is ready for any threat that comes at her. ( an I know .22 are super small an not good defense guns) but its better then nothing. She can't rack the slide on my .380 even after I had it polished and put in a lighter spring :/. 

Anyways hopefully we don't get yelled at for all this gun talk lol  

And also loha great job introducing the kids at a young age! It teaches so much more gun safety then what they will see on tv. I hate hearing accident story's with kids simply because there parents hid them from them instead of showing them what it does.


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## Cory1990

Omg that is pure beautiful!!!! I hate to be jealous but I live them guns!!! 

My grandfather has a real one that was his fathers. I've always wanted to shoot it but we can't because of the real ruff shape it's in. He is in bad shape now as dementia is taking over I asked my dad if I can get my hands on it because I would have it restored the correct way. I was pretty much told no because my other uncle has laid claim on all his firearms. ( not if I get to my grandfather first though!) he's always been my best friends im the only grandson he had that visits him more then once a week. I do yard work with him wrench on cars and do a lot with him. So I figure if I see him on a good day he may let it go to me. 


Agh sob story but it reminded me of him. They are beautiful and i don't have as deep of pockets for that price tag. 

And I'm surprised you have on with a 0 sn. They are almost always reserved for VIPs so you must have got 10000000 in 1 lucky or you were a somebody to them.


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## jlpropst00

You shoot 500 rounds of 22lr for like $20. A cheap afternoon of plinking for the whole family. The guy that taught my Concealed Carry class said a 22lr or 32acp is a "get the hell off me" gun. 22lr will bounce off bones too. People have been shot in the leg and they find the bullet in their chest.


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## Cory1990

The .22lr is a great gun and in my cc class. They said that 30% shot with one still come after you. But a 45acp 15% still come at you. It's more about shot placement and the .22lr is the most popular gun in the streets on murder stats.

So would I put my trust in one? Absolutely.


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## lohachata

if you get shot in the head with a 22 , your brain will be like scrambled eggs....but it is not like that with larger calibers..i have seen a number of people shot in the head and still survived..and some actually functional..
and some people re actually dumb enough to think that a 22 can't hurt you....
for self defense i have 45 ACP 230 grain rounds with exploding projectiles..when it enters the body and hits bone it explodes..by the time that takes place the bullet is in the body cavity which means that the internal organs get shredded like ground meat...


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## jlpropst00

I'll be sure not to piss you off. I carry my Ruger LCP .380acp most of the time. I have a wallet holster and I can't even feel it in my back pocket. Most self defense encounters are at point blank range so I feel pretty safe with it...not the best gun for target practice though.


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## Cory1990

I trust my little .380 with my life. I carry it in a iwb holster with 2 spare clips


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## Cory1990

I also use buffalo bore +p ammo for .380acp


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