Stand buillding experience

[RockoC87]

I am wanting to build my own stand for my 60 1/2" X 18 1/2" tank (with trim) any advice on cost or design, i want to have a sump and a fuge below. i want to end up staining the wood to a glossy cherrish color but not too dark. more like a light stain.

[LoneStar]

Here are some tips that have helped me:

* Check out members stands locally. You can see a variety of them up close and get some good design ideas.

* Since you have a pretty large tank, check out the Large Tank forum section on ReefCentral. There are a lot of amazing builds listed in there that will give you a lot of good ideas. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=252

* Plan ahead. Implementing nice features that you may use or need in the future will be easier now than later. For instance, I added outlets EVERYWHERE on my new stand. I may not use them all, but it sure beats extension cords strung everywhere. Also, some of the outlets have switches attached to them. So I can turn off the return pump and skimmer without unplugging them. I also added a shoplight in the stand so when I get to doing maintenance, its not as dark

* Pick and choose elements from stands you like.

* Wood is the easiest, but steel is stronger and allows bigger openings. Overbuild if you can. A lot of 'what if's' in this hobby ;)

* If you computer savy, download Google SketchUp. Its a nifty 3d program that will help in making the design blue prints. Plus you can add water and wood grain to better grasp of what the overall project may look like.