Stand door possibilities

[SallyWho]

My stand is now in place, waiting for me to skin it. Something I failed to account for is room to swing the doors open. I had considered doing two pairs of doors- one pair on either side of the center brace opening away from each other- but I decided that having just two doors total will be easier. But now that the tank is in its spot, I realize I won't have room to swing the right hand door open because of the couch, which doesn't have much wiggle room due to the dimensions of the room. Instead of hinges, should I makes these doors completely removable instead? If so, what's the best way to hang them? Included on the pics below is how my freshwater tank's stand door attaches (just a frame on the inside of the door that fits snugly into the opening), but it can be a bit of a pain. So, magnets? Clips of some sort? And what kind? Thanks!

 

[Dennis McGrath]

How about 4 of these that you can just click the door back in place:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Liberty...atch-with-Spear-Strike-C08820C-UC-P/100208367

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Sliding doors.

《《《《 . . . 》》》》

 

[Dennis McGrath]

Sliding doors.

《《《《 . . . 》》》》

Doesn't look like there's enough clearance with the wall to the right.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Doesn't look like there's enough clearance with the wall to the right.

Overlapping or up sliding

 

[SallyWho]

How about 4 of these that you can just click the door back in place:

Will they stand up to the conditions of a sump area, do you think?

Overlapping or up sliding

As cool as sliding doors may be, I think it may be beyond my very amateur carpentry skills!

 

[SallyWho]

How about 4 of these that you can just click the door back in place:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Liberty...atch-with-Spear-Strike-C08820C-UC-P/100208367

Do you think they'll stand up to the harsh conditions of the sump area without causing any trouble? Humidity, salt, etc?

Overlapping or up sliding

As cool as sliding doors would be, I think they're beyond my very amateur carpentry skills!

 

[Scrubber_steve]

As cool as sliding doors would be, I think they're beyond my very amateur carpentry skills!

All you need is some 10mm alloy C channel for the ply doors to slide along

 

[jsker]

Here is a suggestion for hanging the doors with a larger overlay. link using rare earth magnets

 

[Reefer40b]

Here is a suggestion for hanging the doors with a larger overlay. link using rare earth magnets

I would use magnets. everything else will just corrode..

 

[SallyWho]

Here is a suggestion for hanging the doors with a larger overlay. link using rare earth magnets

Are rare earth magnets any different from the basic kinds of magnets I could get at a big box store?

 

[Alfrareef]

Some guys, around here, use metal sheet plaques that they get at a bricollage wholesale. I believe they are mad of aluminum or zinc or something similar and are covered with black plastic. For hold they use magnets (regular magnets) and it’s a very good solution because it’s very practical, gives very good access (full) and also looks very well.

 

[Redleg]

Lee Valley . com for rare earth magnets. I believe they are in the hardware section of the site. You want the big size and magnet cups.

 

[Billdogg]

I would use a combination of french cleats (google is your friend) and rare earth magnets. kjmagnetics.com is my go-to for them. great selection at a very good price.

 

[jsker]

Are rare earth magnets any different from the basic kinds of magnets I could get at a big box store?

That are different, the rare earth magnets are very strong and I have used them in several different applications for hold door in place.

 

[George Lopez]

I'm using 4 of these these on mine, nothing you put pretty much is made for the conditions but they last and if one breaks they are a dollar and cake to swap out. My door is a cut out though and they don't really take any weight because of this.

 

[GBRsouth]

Instead of doors, removable lift off panels attached with previously mentioned magnets. Or with timber "L" shaped brackets screwed in upside down on the back of the panels to mount over a timber hanging rail mounted on the back of the stand legs.

 

[Sleepydoc]

There are a couple options that are fairly easy.

• Check out a French cleat. I’ve seen a slight variation of this made from a couple pieces of aluminum meant for hanging pictures at Home Depot
• Another variation of this is to mount small cleats just inside the frame on each side with the top cut at an angle sloping down towards the inside of the stand. Mount matching blocks on the back side of the doors with a matching angle so as the door slides down they catch each other. (I’m on my phone now but I can draw a picture later)
• Mount a cleat along the bottom off the doors to rest on the bottom frame, then use magnets or a cabinet latch like the one pictured above to hold the top in place.

 

[Philt56]

Are you putting a sump in there? Are the openings in front or side big enough for it to slide in there? I have a 36” stand and in order to fit a 24” sump through the front, I have to remove the center beam (without the filled tank on top of course!) in order to get the sump in. My doors weren’t wide enough and stand deep enough to angle the sump and swing it in straight.

 

[SallyWho]

Are you putting a sump in there? Are the openings in front or side big enough for it to slide in there? I have a 36” stand and in order to fit a 24” sump through the front, I have to remove the center beam (without the filled tank on top of course!) in order to get the sump in. My doors weren’t wide enough and stand deep enough to angle the sump and swing it in straight.

I'm pretty sure it'll fit, but I'll do a test before I skin the stand. Basic 40b sump in a stand that's 6' long, 28" deep, and 36" tall. With proper angling, I'll bet I can slide it in without removing any braces. At the very least, I can slide it in via the sides- it'll definitely fit through there!