The presence of an aquarium in the house has a beneficial effect on the well-being and mood of each family member. In man, the underwater world has always caused strong impressions, and if you create an artificial aquasphere in the apartment, the room will have an unusual design. You can also follow this example without spending extra money on expensive furniture for equipment.
Unique shells, mysterious grottoes and amphora recessed in the sand fascinate anyone. If you also decided to become the owner of such beauty, then it is better not to install the aquarium on the chest of drawers, because a durable and moisture-proof cabinet made by yourself will be the best solution. If we are talking about a conventional tank, where only a few fish are placed, it can be installed on any flat surface, previously protected by Isolon.
Why you need a special cabinet
If the capacity is 50 l or more, then a flimsy little table will not work for this, you will need a strong stand. In addition to a heavy aquarium, the walls of which have a thickness ranging from 8 to 10 mm, water, soil, decorative elements and technical devices will affect the countertop. If at least one millimeter deflection occurs, a crack may appear in the bottom glass, which will subsequently cause trouble. Therefore, the issue of manufacturing cabinets should be taken seriously.
Preparatory stage
If you are going to make a stand under the aquarium with your own hands, then it is better to adjust the glass container to the dimensions of the structure. However, if an aquarium is already available, then the dimensions of the stand are best adjusted to fit it. Its basic dimensions are 1060 x 1000 x 450 mm. The future design will look like a pedestal with two doors and an upper hinged box, which will be used for lighting. It has to be fixed to the side high walls.
Material preparation
To carry out work, it is necessary to prepare a joinery. It is recommended to use laminated particleboard or MDF. It is important to consider that water from an artificial reservoir will fall on a pedestal, because you will have to catch fish during spawning and add water. If we are talking about an unlaminated surface, then it deforms quite quickly. This will cause cracks in the aquarium. Therefore, the ends, sockets with screws and mating parts must be covered with several layers of varnish.
Tool preparation
If you are going to make a cabinet under the aquarium with your own hands, then you will need some tools, among which:
- Circular Saw;
- drill;
- clamp;
- milling machine.
The circular saw should be mounted on a workbench. As for the drill, it will be needed to prepare holes for dowels. A screwdriver may also come in handy.
Preparation of fittings and blanks
A do-it-yourself cabinet for an aquarium, the drawings of which are presented in the article, should be made of joiner plate, it should be presented in two varieties, one of them will have a thickness equal to 18 mm, while the other - 38 mm.
The first type of material will be used for the manufacture of shelves and walls, the second will be needed to carry load-bearing elements. Take care of availability:
- piano loops;
- wood glue;
- wooden dowels;
- pens;
- furniture varnish.
The latter can be replaced with decorative wax.
Additional recommendations
When buying pens, you must remember that they will be installed on the door. Need screws and screws. With a circular saw you can cut all the details. This tool will help prepare the grooves and form ridges, the last of which are needed to mate parts. The main load will be on the side walls, a 38 mm shield should be used for them.
Assembly of a curbstone
When you are doing a stand under the aquarium with your own hands, it is better to get outside help, because some workpieces have to be connected at the same time, working on weight. At the first stage, ridges and grooves for the wall should be prepared. They will be located in the bottom, sides and middle cover. Such elements will also be in the blanks of the upper box.
Instead of a circular saw, a milling machine is sometimes used. The next step is to glue the details of the back wall and the upper corner. The latter will be located behind the backlight module. Planks are pulled together by clamps and left until dry. When a cabinet is made under the aquarium with your own hands, at the next stage, the 38-mm base bars should be screwed to the lower shelf, which will act as the bottom. It is on them that the entire structure will be installed.
An 18 mm plate should be screwed to the inside to install the middle cover. The leading edges should be flush with the edges of the lower shelf. The rear will be located at the level of the inner edge of the groove. The middle cover and bottom should be glued to the central inner partition. According to design features, the described chest of drawers should have a vertical partition for every 30 cm of the countertop. If you amplify in this way, you will be able to save the specified geometry.
The bottom of the back wall should be inserted into the bottom groove. One side is fixed to the middle cover and the bottom with dowels, they should be put on glue, directing the back wall into the groove of the side wall. A corner is attached to the upper part of the sidewall, this must be done in the same way, using glue and dowels. It is on the corner that the upper module will lean. All these manipulations must be repeated using the second side wall.
Methodology
The cabinet for the aquarium, with your own hands (photos are presented in the article) made, should have a top box, its assembly is carried out at the next stage. It is there that the armature for lighting is installed. That bottom of the box, which will be facing the water, will look like a sheet of frosted glass, it is installed in the grooves of the longitudinal sides.
The assembled module must be fixed to the cabinet using a piano loop, if necessary, it can be folded. Doors should be cut out of the joinery, the dimensions of each of which will be 433 x 494 mm. According to the template, it is necessary to mark the sockets for installing the loops in order to select them with a drill. Doors are mounted to the side walls using hinges with hinges.
To supply air, you need to install a compressor in the cabinet. The backlight control panel will be located here. Tubes and cables must be removed through a groove whose dimensions are 25 x 50 mm. It must be located in the lid. The assembled stand should be covered with furniture varnish, which is applied in several layers. On this, we can assume that the cabinet under the aquarium with your own hands, drawings, a photo of which are presented in the article, are made by you.
Making a corner stand for an aquarium of 150 or 200 liters
To simplify the work on the manufacture of cabinets, you can purchase ready-made chipboard panels that have laminated edges. It is especially important before starting work to determine the additional components that will be placed inside the piece of furniture. It can be a water filter that is installed externally.
To work, you need 4 panels with dimensions equal to 16 x 300 x 800 mm, two panels must have dimensions 16 x 268 x 284 mm, one panel will have dimensions 16 x 316 x 300 mm, another one - 16 x 800 x 800 mm. For technical elements, electricity must be supplied to the installation site of the cabinet. At the first stage, the side panels with dimensions of 16 x 300 x 800 mm are connected. To do this work is necessary with the help of screws 3.8 x 55 mm. Confirmation screws are sometimes used, for which holes must first be prepared.
When an angled pedestal is made under the aquarium with your own hands, at the next stage you can connect the resulting structure with the upper shelf, the same technology is used for this. The next step is to install the bottom, the hardware remains the same. The doors are installed last, then the turn of legs comes. Supporting angles should be strengthened on the sidewalls, they must be made from slices from the countertop. On the upper connection, self-tapping screws with dimensions of 3.8 x 55 mm should be used, as for the lower connection, the dimensions of the fasteners are reduced to 3.8 x 42 mm. Fasteners should not be installed too low.
Action algorithm
A cupboard for an aquarium of 200 liters is made with your own hands according to a certain technology. When designing, it is necessary to use a pattern, it will look like a piece of cardboard that needs to be adjusted to the dimensions of the panel. Once the slices are completed, you can stick the edge, treating the edges with silicone.
The tabletop is mounted on the body and connected with self-tapping screws. If you make a cabinet under the aquarium of 150 liters with your own hands, then you should not forget to make cuts in the remaining panels for furniture hinges. For this, a cutter for the diameter of the loop is used. Using the same principle, handle holes are prepared.
Next, the cabinet can be installed in a corner by placing an aquarium on the countertop. Previously, the structure is leveled with the help of legs on a level. On the wall, it is necessary to mark the lower edge of the structure in order to install iron corners on both sides of the wall. They are necessary so that the cabinet under the aquarium of 100 liters with its own hands is screwed to the base. If necessary, you can embed a furniture lock, and then install a shelf. It will be represented by a panel with dimensions equal to 16 x 268 x 284 mm. Shelf holders are installed inside the cabinet, which should be located at the height that the equipment requires.
Conclusion
When choosing the height of the cabinet, you should consider that it should be convenient for a person in a sitting position to examine the contents of the aquarium. It is important to provide the design with adjustable legs, with which you can change the height in the range from 50 to 100 mm.
Before you make a curbstone under the aquarium with your own hands, you must also determine the depth of the future artificial reservoir. This will make the stand with a width that is equal to or slightly larger than the mentioned parameter. It will be safe and beautiful. Do not neglect the internal vertical partitions. If the depth of the aquarium is 50 cm, then chipboard with a thickness of 22 mm or more is usually used for this.