I've had a CadLights 50 cube for a almost 2 years now. I tore it down about a year ago after a battle with a little known 2ft Eunicid worm! When i decided to start the tank back up, I knew that I wanted a bigger cabinet. Those 24" cabinets just don't have enough room.
Here's the main frame. The bottom is built with 2x6's because I wanted a tub in the cabinet to prevent leaks onto the floor. It's overkill for a 50 gallon, but i wanted to have something extra sturdy and large enough in case I upgrade to a bigger cube one day.
Floor going in.
I lined the tub with linoleum and sealed the seams with silicone. I decided to wrap the cabinet with 1/4" Alder faced MDF from National Wood Supply.
Top going on. At this point with my limited power tools and know how, I made the top about the only way i knew how. Face it with Alder and cover the seams with trim. I would have loved to make a solid wood top. But, without a biscuit router, clamps and a plane. There was no way it was going to happen.
Alder top on and trim going on. Wood patch on finish nails.
Stain going on! I used Rust-Oleum Kona. I wanted a darker stain, but not too dark to take away from the grain of the Alder.
This a pic shortly after the tank move. There's so much room for activities! At this point i was still waiting for the doors. I had them made at Alpine in Draper, totally worth it. Again because I lacked the tools to build doors it was the best way to go.
Here is about 2 weeks later when i was finally able to get the doors stained and mounted.
I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I ended up spending about $400 on the total build and about 3 weekends of labor. Final measurements of the stand 38"w x 31"d x 33"h.
Any questions or suggestions are welcomed! Thanks for looking, Joe.