I am following this thread closely, as I am in the process of building a 60 as well. I am working with Synergy on a sump as well. What did you decide to go with on your sump? Also, what are your stand dimensions?
Rob's Cube build
- Cube Build
- Thread starter feh
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feh
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Stand is 24 x 24 x 30. Sump dimensions are 20.5 x 22 x 15. Rick has been great to work with.
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feh
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Your sump came out looking pretty nice if its the one I think it is.
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feh
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Got a little stain done. Only did the trim. This is about 4 hours of work. Seemed so trivial when I was testing with some scrap, but when you have to lay all that tape out on 6ft of wood twice you realize just much work that little strip is going to be. Now to decide on whether I want to use the dark stain or the light stain for the rest of the stand and doors. I'm still thinking on the equipment board. Not sure if I want to put it into a cabinet like structure on the back or just build it so it can slide out and tilt forward 90 degrees. I still need to figure out my plumbing. Tank is only going to have a single return. I plan to use two MP10Ws if they will actually work on the glass or I may have to scrap that for an MP40 which I'm not too keen on so I'm going to hold out on buying those until after I have the tank. I'll take one off the old tank and see how things go. I've read it has been on 1/2" glass, but its kind of like buying an angelfish for a reef - its a hit or miss toss up situation.
Anyway here's a picture of what I meant with two-toned stain and I did do a "no-no" to accomplish this. Why? Well from what I read about doing this was even one bit of information from a professional "it can't be done (Staining the same piece of wood without any bleeding). so I took that into account and I'll just say its amazing how tight you can get blue painters tape using a penny to scrape back and forth rubbing it into the wood the best I could. The real time consumer is the taping. It has to be tight. Ok, well there was another "no-no" I did and read about this too before I did it. Its not wise to rub tape down on bare wood like that. Hince why I stuck with painters tape. The glue isn't all that strong and its meant for taping up to paint, but paint is much thicker than stain for the most part.
Anyway here's a picture of what I meant with two-toned stain and I did do a "no-no" to accomplish this. Why? Well from what I read about doing this was even one bit of information from a professional "it can't be done (Staining the same piece of wood without any bleeding). so I took that into account and I'll just say its amazing how tight you can get blue painters tape using a penny to scrape back and forth rubbing it into the wood the best I could. The real time consumer is the taping. It has to be tight. Ok, well there was another "no-no" I did and read about this too before I did it. Its not wise to rub tape down on bare wood like that. Hince why I stuck with painters tape. The glue isn't all that strong and its meant for taping up to paint, but paint is much thicker than stain for the most part.
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feh
Valuable Member
That looks really good. Here is a picture of what I am shooting for.
I like that pocket where the Apex hardware is. Here's a few more pics of why it took 4hrs. I just didn't want myself cluttering up the underside. I've seen this tank before. It has some really nice qualities in it.
Bottom trim
Top trim
ReefRMadness
Active Member
That looks really good. Here is a picture of what I am shooting for.
Thats super clean
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feh
Valuable Member
Ordered doors today. Can't wait to see them. I went with red oak flat panel doors with an oval top. They will have a 1/2" overlay using concealed hinges. Still working on the design for the equipment layout. Just to be sure I'm going to wait until I have all the equipment to work on that.
In the meantime I'm working on the canopy. I'm going with something low profile, raised off the rim of the tank, and tucked out of the way a little to allow for top down views since the tank sits at a nice height for sitting and standing. I'll take some pics once I get things put together.
In the meantime I'm working on the canopy. I'm going with something low profile, raised off the rim of the tank, and tucked out of the way a little to allow for top down views since the tank sits at a nice height for sitting and standing. I'll take some pics once I get things put together.
Steelerfan747
Valuable Member
Got a little stain done. Only did the trim. This is about 4 hours of work. Seemed so trivial when I was testing with some scrap, but when you have to lay all that tape out on 6ft of wood twice you realize just much work that little strip is going to be. Now to decide on whether I want to use the dark stain or the light stain for the rest of the stand and doors. I'm still thinking on the equipment board. Not sure if I want to put it into a cabinet like structure on the back or just build it so it can slide out and tilt forward 90 degrees. I still need to figure out my plumbing. Tank is only going to have a single return. I plan to use two MP10Ws if they will actually work on the glass or I may have to scrap that for an MP40 which I'm not too keen on so I'm going to hold out on buying those until after I have the tank. I'll take one off the old tank and see how things go. I've read it has been on 1/2" glass, but its kind of like buying an angelfish for a reef - its a hit or miss toss up situation.
Anyway here's a picture of what I meant with two-toned stain and I did do a "no-no" to accomplish this. Why? Well from what I read about doing this was even one bit of information from a professional "it can't be done (Staining the same piece of wood without any bleeding). so I took that into account and I'll just say its amazing how tight you can get blue painters tape using a penny to scrape back and forth rubbing it into the wood the best I could. The real time consumer is the taping. It has to be tight. Ok, well there was another "no-no" I did and read about this too before I did it. Its not wise to rub tape down on bare wood like that. Hince why I stuck with painters tape. The glue isn't all that strong and its meant for taping up to paint, but paint is much thicker than stain for the most part.
LOOKS GREAT!!!!! If you are planning on doing the stand 2 tone, I would maybe recommend going light on the stand and dark on the doors.
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feh
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Got a little work done with the veneering. Nothing has been laid down yet, but I did remove the corner trim to make things easier and I ripped the veneer down into the 3 sheets I needed. Also received the wood for the canopy today. Next step is to smooth things out and seal the plywood. Then I'll veneer it after giving the plywood a quick roughing up. I plan to order more corner trim when I order the lumber for the equipment cabinet.
Here's a few pics of the red oak lumber for the canopy.
Here's an idea of what the canopy is going to look like.
And a profile pic.
Here's a few pics of the red oak lumber for the canopy.
Here's an idea of what the canopy is going to look like.
And a profile pic.
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feh
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Thanks. Worked on the stand this weekend to get things ready for veneering. Corners are all smoothed out and the plywood is sealed. Also I received the hinges for the cabinet doors yesterday so hopefully the doors will be shipping soon. Also I ordered a couple tools I needed to get the veneering done and those should be here Wednesday as long as there are no shipping delays. So with that said I should have some pics after this coming weekend with the veneer on and hopefully stained. Once I have the veneer on I'll start on the canopy and get it stained.
I've been thinking on what type of finish coat I want to use and I'm leaning towards a wipe on polyurethane, but the kind I found local wasn't UV resistant.
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feh
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Picked up a trim prybar today so I can put a little space between the plywood and trim to make things look nice without having to worry so much about the cuts on the top and bottom. Still thinking on how to go about applying the veneer with this approach, but if it can be done it will definitely beat trying to cut the veneer so it is perfectly straight and butts against the trim with the same clean look it would have if it had been put on before the trim like I should have. So hopefully I'll have a plan by the weekend along with the rest of the tools I need.
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feh
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Received the rest of the veneer today and it looks like it will be another week thanks to UPS. :frusty: There are two tears in the edges. Still waiting to see if the tools show up today.
Fortunately the vendor I purchased it from was kind enough to ship me a new sheet and deal with filing a claim with UPS.
Fortunately the vendor I purchased it from was kind enough to ship me a new sheet and deal with filing a claim with UPS.
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feh
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Got a little veneering done. Still have to do the other sides, but I did manage to get it under the trim for nice clean lines. Also my doors came yesterday and I couldn't be more pleased with the quality and craftsmanship. Can't wait to get the veneer done so I can get them on and see what things are going to look like. One thing I did notice is the veneer is just a hair shy of fully covering the front vertical edge so I'm going to have to put the corner trim back on because i wanted it butted against the back edge where I plan to attach the equipment board/cabinet, but I think things look pretty good considering the veneer was a decision made after the trim was on.
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