Designing a Custom Stand for a BioCube Aquarium

Custom Aquariums Majestic Stand

Ever since I was young, I have loved keeping a fish aquarium. Of course, it took many years before I really understood much of the science behind it and had my own budget to build, stock, and maintain it the way that I wanted. For the past 6 years I have had a 14 Gallon BioCube. It has just sat on my office desk looking somewhat boring and taking up much needed desk space. We finally decided to finish my office and have built-in cabinets and a desk installed. I knew the tank would not look nice just being moved onto the new desk and it would take up too much space. So, I decided I needed to get a furniture piece I could put the tank on to make it fit with my new office design and, of course, organize and hide all of the pump, light, fan, heater, and temperature probe wiring, and air line. I looked around at some of the options in the store but everything looked fairly cheap like college furniture and there were very limited options that work with my office space and fit in design-wise. Enter Custom Aquariums…I have been intrigued for a number of years with the Custom Aquariums systems and components. I have done quite a bit of research and reading looking at many of the options out there to build my own custom tank one day. I had previously noticed that they built custom stands for aquariums and I had kept it in the back of my mind for when I finally decided I needed one. Well, that day finally arrived. I initially read all the detail on their website and then went through their custom configurator tool. They have a variety of woods and finishes and styles to choose from.

I finally called and spoke with their rep, Nathan Aplin, who helped walk me through all the options and details. I mentioned I wasn’t sure on the color selection. He offered to send me a box of samples. This ended up being really helpful. I knew I wanted a natural stain finish and style to coordinate and complement the finish of my built-in office desk and the free standing desk, as well.

I ultimately chose the 36″ high Majestic Stand with Contemporary style finish with Colonial Oak stain on stain grade Maple and the Elite raised panels. I had custom dimensions at 15″L x 15.6″D to fit my BioCube. I added the Caster Cart so I would easily be able to easily move the stand during cleaning and maintenance and for access behind it. I had a hole drilled in the back to be able to feed pump, light, and heater power, air and CO2 line, and thermostat probe underneath to hide all the equipment out of view.

From the time I signed the final order paperwork, it was about 2 weeks until it was ready to ship. I was contacted to confirm delivery info and scheduling freight delivery so I could ensure someone was here to sign for it. When the crate arrived at the local freight dispatcher the following day, I received a message to schedule local delivery. The day it arrived at my house, the driver unloaded it using a hydraulic lift and then used a pallet jack to help bring it up my driveway.

The crate was incredibly strong and well put together with screws and packing straps. I needed a power screwdriver to remove all the screws so I could open it up. Once I removed all of the packing material I was able to easily to lift the stand upright and roll it on the caster cart to the kitchen door where I was going to bring it inside. I was able to tilt it up on 2 wheels by myself and prop it onto the one step into my kitchen. It took me a couple minutes to guide it over the threshold and through the door. From there it was an easy roll to my office.

I have been very happy with the look and finish of the stand and its practical functionality. It is a very high quality furniture piece and has been a very nice looking addition to my office, removing my BioCube aquarium from my office desk and freeing up my desk space. Not to mention, being able to organize and hide all of my equipment and wiring for the aquarium has been a really nice benefit. I have a smart power strip, an Inkbird thermostat, an LED power supply, and a CO2 system all nicely organized and hidden out of view but easily accessible.