# 42 Gallon Bow Front Stand and Canopy



## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

I've been out the planted tank arena for a bit now due to a lot of travel with a previous job but am now ready start my next project. I just purchased a 46 gallon bowfront to which I have started construction on a diy stand and canopy. The reason I'm going chronicle this because I think I've come up with a unique idea that will turn to be aesthetically pleasing. This may have been done before, but I have been unable to find any plans that simulate what I'm attempting to do. Many of the bowfront stand designs I've come across use a method of cutting smaller wood panels or planks mitered at angles to closely approximate the curvature of the bowed front of the aquarium. The problem being that are still straight pieces of wood and cannot 100% duplicate the front curve of the tank. I going to attempt to match the tank curve in the way the front doors are designed. That being said, the material I'm going to use for the front doors(and to veneer the rest of tank) is an opaque black plexiglass. What I plan to do is to cut wooden support members for the door construction. The support members will be cut with a bandsaw to perfectly replicate the curve of the tank. I will then anchor the plexiglass to the support members by taking advantage the degree of flexibility the plexiglass inherently provides. Provided my cuts are precise the front doors should match the curvature of the tank, giving it a seemless appearence. I have drawn precise plans to make for this piece but won't share quite yet as I imagine they will be subject to minor changes as the work progresses. Obviously, if you don't want a stand/canopy with high- gloss, black finish this concept won't be for you.

Currently, I have just built the internal support structure and are using regular pine 2x4's. The sides, back, upper, and lower bases will be 3/4 in plywood, which will also be veneered with the black plexiglass to give the stand and nice, uniform appearence. At any rate, I've only just begun so we'll what happens.

Stand demensions 37"x18.5"x30"

Here's a couple of pics.... More to come


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

Missed that there was a sticky for this type of thread; if a Mod needs to move it, please do so


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

DeDeuce said:


> Missed that there was a sticky for this type of thread; if a Mod needs to move it, please do so


This is right where it should be. The sticky wasn't supposed to include long detailed threads about how to build the stand, but mostly photos and brief descriptions of how it was built - a catalog of stand designs.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out. It's something I can't recall seeing tried before.


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## redman88 (Dec 12, 2008)

do two threads on thats all about the whole thing tank, stand and set up. and a summer of the build here in the diy


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*Update*

Nothing really all that groundbreaking to post pics about. Just added the back and side panels. Going to cut the base and panel this weekend, will put a couple of pics up after that. I've done some research about the cost and the properties of the plexiglass doors and veneers, I'll be using. First off, plexiglass and lexan have different properties. Lexan seems to be the material of chocie for this project. It is less brittle and more impact resistant than plexiglass, so I think the lexan will be the better choice. It's readily available on the internet and I've found a guy that will cut it no extra charge(square and rectangular pieces only). The amount I need to complete the stand/canopy looks like it's going to cost about 100 bucks with shipping. I'm probably going look around here locally to see if I can do better. 

One thing I've been racking my brain about is how to attach the lexan to the curved doors support/frame. I can obviously drill and use some decorative screws to hold everything in place though I'd rather not have anything visable on the doors other than the knobs. If anyone can offer some suggestions, I greatly appreciate it!

More to come,

Don C.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*Side Panels & Front / Back*

Added back, front and side panels.

Materials:
3/4 plywood (sides and back)
4" x 3/4" Solid select pine planks
6" x 3/4" Solid select pine planks

Pretty standard looking so far...


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I can't tell from the photo, so is the front face of the cabinet curved to match the tank? If so, how did you shape it?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Hoppy said:


> I can't tell from the photo, so is the front face of the cabinet curved to match the tank? If so, how did you shape it?


 
LOooks square to me, hope he plans on building a wooden swupport before he wraps in in Acrylic.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

Yes, right now its rectangular. The curve will come when I build the doors. The top and base panels will extend past the basic frame of the stand and have the curved cut on leading edge. The doors will be constructed of a wooden frame. Each door will have 3 horizontal cross members which will be cut with the curve to match the leading edge of the base/top/tank curve. The lexan will then be wrapped around and anchored to the door frames and hinged to base stucture I have pictured. I working the fine details out as a I go. I'll see if create some simple drawings to help better illustrate this. 

Don C.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*drawing*

I needed to start doing this anyway in the unlikely event that anyone would like to duplicate my efforts. Here is a drawing that might help you understand what I'm have trouble communicating verbally :icon_roll


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

DeDeuce said:


> I needed to start doing this anyway in the unlikely event that anyone would like to duplicate my efforts. Here is a drawing that might help you understand what I'm have trouble communicating verbally :icon_roll


 
O.k. so those horizontal support frames will be attached securely to the rectangular frame so they won't move, will you also be topping ht top with plywood so it matches the bottom of the tank frame?

Craig


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Craigthor said:


> O.k. so those horizontal support frames will be attached securely to the rectangular frame so they won't move, will you also be topping ht top with plywood so it matches the bottom of the tank frame?
> 
> Craig


It looks like you will want the top to match the tank bottom, with the curved doors matching the top, but with the lexan facing overlapping the top. Is that the idea? If so, I think that will work very well. One way to attach the lexan to the wood door frame would be to cement curved lexan pieces to the back of the panels, sticking out a couple of inches or less, then screwing those extensions to the wood frame pieces - flanges, in other words.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

Craigthor said:


> O.k. so those horizontal support frames will be attached securely to the rectangular frame so they won't move,


They'll be hinged. Think of them as 2 large doors that will actually span the entire length of the tank.



Craigthor said:


> will you also be topping ht top with plywood so it matches the bottom of the tank frame?


The plan is to cover everything that is exposed with the black lexan so everything is uniform. That's the scary part I've never worked with the stuff. I imagine I'm going to end messing up a few sheets 

Don C.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

Hoppy said:


> It looks like you will want the top to match the tank bottom, with the curved doors matching the top, but with the lexan facing overlapping the top. Is that the idea? If so, I think that will work very well. One way to attach the lexan to the wood door frame would be to cement curved lexan pieces to the back of the panels, sticking out a couple of inches or less, then screwing those extensions to the wood frame pieces - flanges, in other words.


Yep, that exactly what I'm trying to do.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

So what is going to support the front bow part of the tank? when the door are open? sorry I may have misread your post but sounded like those 2 sections will be large higned sections and don't see where the fron tank will be supported by something solid.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

I'm glad you brought this up, because I could use some advice on this. The top and base panels will be attached to the existing structure and extend out past the front of the cabinet forming overhanging lips. The panels will have the bow cuts just like the door frames. The top panel is what tank will actually sit on. That being said, there will be ~ 5" at the curves apex which will overhang the main structure. As I've right now, I'm not planning on adding any load bearing to support the overhang because the majority of the tank weight will reside over the cabinet. If I need to I can easily incorporate a load bearing beam between the overhang of the top and bottom panels, but I'm thinking it might be overkill. I've over built this thing big time already, I think it would support a school bus so I dont think having the weight distrubted off dead center a bit will be an isuue, but by all means please weigh in.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

My concern would be the long term as with no solid support when teh doors are open that would be hte first place likely to fail. Might not seem like much but when you factor in 450-500 lbs full setup that is where the pressure will be headed as it is unsupported. tanks should always be supported well around the entire bottom trim of the tank.

Craig


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## Guns286 (Sep 17, 2009)

Sorry to jump in here but maby the answer to my question can help both DeDeuce and me. I'm still in the design process of making a bowfront stand for my 75g and the ideas change as a new ones pop into my head. I, too, am concerned about the load baring ability of the "hang over" section of the top of the stand (6"). My idea is to add a 2"x2", vertically, between the upper and lower "hang overs", at the apex of the curve. I sketched it out on Google Sketchup but I cant import the picture here. The 4 corners and the rear are supported by vertical 2"x4"'s. Like DeDeuce said, I think most of the weight will be supported by the other vertical boards but, just incase, I wanted to add the 2"x2". Do you guys thing it's strong enough to hold the weight, over time? 
By the way DeDeuce, I was stuck on the doors but your idea is perfect. It should look great.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Most glass tanks have a plastic rim around the bottom, that sticks out lower than the glass, so the tank's weight is only on that rim. I don't believe it will work, for that type of tank, to leave the front edge unsupported. If your tank has a flat bottom, as one of mine has, then it might work fine without that front edge supported. The 2 x 2 vertical support between the top and bottom plates should work too, but the sketch doesn't show there being a full support plate under the tank, so it wouldn't work for that design.


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## catchandrelease (Feb 12, 2010)

I would say your only option is a minimum 3/4" plywood, with the alternating grain patterns that will provide to most strength, the main thing you must think is that wood flexes, glass doesnt. 
I would say you need support under the overhang, i would receed the support the thickness of the cabinet doors so you cannot see it unless the doors are open. I would personally also double up the plywood top to ensure no chance of flexing, glue the two sheets together and screw them with 1 1/4" screws a 6" on center. Then youll have no flex (no cracking glass).


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## JasonC (Apr 16, 2009)

I dont know guys... He has basically designed a cantilever. Cantilevers are extremely strong when built right (see:Falling Water). For a 6" overhang, I think that this could work IF the back side of the top plate is *firmly* attached to the frame... glue and screws are a definite. I also seriously agree with C&R's suggestion of double layering ply.

But caveat empateaur as I am not an engineer... just someone who has built several structures w/ cantelevers that I felt wholly comfortable putting multiple people on.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*update*

Haven't gotten much done in awhile.. Here is a pic with the top/bottom panels in place but not currently not attached.. I'll be working out of state for the next couple of weeks so there won't be much progress for a bit.Next will be the door frames and the canopy. I'm going to take the advice of the many and add the support for the overhang.

Cheers,

Don C.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I'm glad you decided to support the cantilevered top. I think the biggest problem would be, and might still be, that the doors will be jammed shut. Everything that supports a load deflects proportional to that load, except pre-stressed members, which don't deflect until the load exceeds the pre-stressing. I think what would happen is that the load would be carried by the doors, because the tank would very slightly bend down where it is unsupported - even glass will bend. That would tend to jam the doors. It doesn't take much deflection to do that. Then, you force the doors open, leave them open for an hour or so doing maintenance, and the doors won't shut again.


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## cookingnerd607 (Jun 8, 2004)

I second using two layers of plywood. If you wanted to get real crazy Dado slots on both piece and put some 3/8" flat stock (vertically of course) into the dados. But IMO thats overkill.

Definitely two pieces of ply, or support the lip from underneath.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I would do it something like this. Double 3/4 plywood top extending out to the full size of the tank. A separate 3/4 plywood form to make the top and bottom of the door. Acrylic extending above the door form to cover the edge of the double thick top.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*update*

Added the overhang brace and actually created the frame. As I thought the door frame was a royal pain in the a$!. Hoppy, I am planning to do as suggest with letting the acrylic cover cover the top and bottom panels. Do you guys really think I need to add the second sheet on 3/4 plywood? You already need a forklift to pick this thing up.

The door frame is constructed of 3/4 solid pine planks , 2x2, screws and wood glue. I'm off about 1/16 on the right side of a couple of the bow cut planks, but nothing a little sanding won't fix. One picture shows the cuts made to to get the bowed edges to line up correctly, however I had a miscalculation in my measurements and ended up having to add a 3/8 in notch on the small end of the plank. I'll show what I mean next time I post. Here are the pix. I won't post again until the all tweaking is complete and I have built the canopy. As always, suggestions are welcome.

Regards,

Don C.


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## Guns286 (Sep 17, 2009)

Looks great Don. Keep the pictures comming.


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## Guns286 (Sep 17, 2009)

By the way, have you come up with a design for the canopy yet?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That frame looks very good. The vertical 1 x 3? under the front lip should be all that is needed to support the overhanging tank. This is looking like it will be an outstanding stand.

You could put little lips on the door formers and use them as fishfood/fertilizer shelves.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

I do have a rough set plans for the canopy. It should be relatively easy to construct. Hoppy, you must be mind reader, I am planning to put a 4 inch lip on the cross beams and use them as shelves roud:


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

DeDeuce said:


> I do have a rough set plans for the canopy. It should be relatively easy to construct. Hoppy, you must be mind reader, I am planning to put a 4 inch lip on the cross beams and use them as shelves roud:


Those lips will also give more diagonal bracing so the doors don't sag.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

*Almost lexan time*

Here is the stand in the raw. I've got a little fine tuning to do (particularly trying to get the hinges so right the doors line up correctly), but its pretty much the completed skeleton. I'm going to lowes or HD to pick up a few sheets of clear polycarbonate to practice cutting/bending before I purchase the black polycarbonate. Ideas and criticisms welcome as always.. 

Don C.


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## DeDeuce (May 18, 2007)

My Lexan will be here tomorrow!! More pictures to coming soon!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

This is going to look very good, but the suspense is killing me.:eek5:


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## Kitty_Kitsch (Apr 27, 2011)

That is sooooo cool!!!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

How did this turn out? Any pics? And, would you do it differently next time?


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## monk E (Sep 25, 2010)

very nice work so far! keep the pictures coming!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The OP hasn't posted anything since his last post here, over a year ago. I suspect he is no longer reading this forum.


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