This is a guide to how I built a beautiful aquarium cabinet to match our existing maple furniture. I will post full color photos of the process. 

First I made the bare frame from 2x4

I used paint-grade (smooth) maple plywood, and mitred the edges to create the solid shell:

I applied several coats of dark stain so that it matched out other furniture:

Applied several coats ofvarnish:

Here's a diagram of the wiring for my electronic ballast:

For reflectors, I cut a PVC pipe in half length-wise, and lined it with tinfoil. Sure it's cheap, but reflectors are over a hundred dollars to buy! Besides, it's unsee under the hood. I'll post a photo soon. 

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Sweet Joe Wilson (Unregistered) 2007-09-23 09:33:06 Love your craftmanship.. and the colour. Reply 5   3

Don't DIY light fixtures! Jonathan (Registered) 2009-11-18 06:28:48 The stand looks great but you need to reconsider the lighting. The reason fixtures cost so much more than you think seems reasonable is because they have been subjected to a battery of tests by a certification body, to ensure they will not create a shock hazard or start a fire in your cabinet. The manufacturer has to pay for this and in turn passes the cost along to the consummer. At the end of the day it's cheap insurance to protect life and property! Reply 1   2

wow micro36029@hotmail.com (Unregistered) 2011-05-02 17:41:42 im just getting into fish which i must say is more expensive then i thought and the fish i wanted was a sal****er fish but my freshwater 20gallon high tank seems to be giving my satisfaction for now. however i purchased a stand for it (almost 100.00) and didnt even think about building one but seeing this great peice of craftsmanship began to give me other cheap alternatives to my next stand purchase after i find a cheap 50+ gallon tank to began a live rock an fish tank. thank you for taking time to upload these images an share with us . the only downside i could say is the color is a little dark but thats my prefference so honestly its a great peice of furniture! Reply 1   0

:) rs7777 (Registered) 2011-10-28 10:54:02 Well thought out Two thumbs up. Reply 1   0

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