Aquarium Stand/Bookcase Help

[shotcaller88]

Hello. I plan to make a stand for a 40 gallon aquarium. It will be holding a bearded dragon, so it won't have to hold the weight of the water. The stand will be approx 36x18x30h and be made from 3/4" oak veneer. I would like to make it as similar to this picture as possible:

of the diy aquarium stand plans I have found use a frame. Since this style is frame less, I want to make sure it won't fall apart on me. Will screws & wood glue be sufficient to hold it together. Would you recommend the use of biscuits instead?

I'm not very experienced in woodworking. I've made a few things before, most recently a subwoofer box of 3/4" mdf. However, I'm pretty sure with the help of a couple friends I can pull this off. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

[Larry Blanchard]

Without any water in it, that design will work fine. Whether or not the implementation will work depends on your skills :-).

If there's any chance you'll ever fill the aquarium with water, I'd add a center divider to prevent sag in the middle along the front edge. Another good idea is to put a 1/4" thick piece of foam insulation board under the aquarium to compensate for any small irregularities in the wood and/or construction.

[D. G. Adams]

With no water this design will work fine. I did something similar for my

40 gallon tank. Mine is full of water so the sides and back were 3/4 maple plywood. Top and bottom were 3/4 maple ply. Top had a brace running the width of stand just under the plywood. Sides had rails to increase plywood thickness to 1.5 inches (think of it as a door or window header in house construction). I also put a 2x4 post in the front middle. The front was trimmed in maple and then maple doors. The cabinet has held up great for several years.

Basically it is your bookshelf design with the front beefed up to carry the water weight.

D. G. Adams

[will]

Check out Wood Magazine. This or last months issue.

[Andy]

Yes.

Would

No - this is a topic of some debate here, but single biscuits probably don't add much strength to a joint, although they are helpful for alignment if you need help with that. If you wanted to strengthen the design past the butt-joint+glue+screw plan, you could rout dados or rabbets to increase the glue surface. If I were making something like that, though, I'd feel perfectly comfortable just using glue+screws. My only concern would be visibility of the ply edges, unless you're veneering after construction. Good luck, Andy

[shotcaller88]

I think I'd skip the foam insulation because I plan on using an under tank heater.

On Jan 17, 1:19 am, "Andy" wrote: No - this is a topic of some debate here, but single biscuits probably

Thanks for answering the biscuit question. I think I'll go with the glue+screws like you said. I plan to use molding on the visible ply edges on the front & sides.

3/4" inch on the front of the side pieces & front of the shelves. then use a 3" board or piece of molding along the top. I think that's how it is in that picture.

[bf]

Screws and glue will be fine.. It looks like a basic bottom cabinent with 3/4 ply.. My brother has a 56 gallon full of water with a similiar design, but it was built with glue and brads. Focus on making it look good, the glue will be plenty strong to hold it together.

[Pete C.]

On suggestion is to put a label on the stand indicating that it is not intended for use with a water filled aquarium. Could save someone from a big mess some time in the future.