any carpenters here?

[monocus]

i built mine out of spruce 2x4 and put a skin (1/8) mahogany around it.i made my doors out of 1x4 and 1x6 meranti with ribbon mahogany fronts.base for the sump is 1/2 inch plywood covered in suprema mastic(blue skin).mahogany pillars to hold up my canopy(and hide the return lines) and the canopy out of maple surounded by mahogany skin-holds my 220 no problem.studs are at 16 inch centers.you dont need heavy plywood skins,its the framework that holds your tank

[Aquattro]

A good solid 2x4 frame holds the weight, the skin keeps it from shifting laterally, any thickness is fine, although I find 1/2" easy to work with and cheap. I used Oak as it's gotta look good in the livingroom, and it's not that much more money over pine. Given the cost of the entire setup, spending an extra 40 bucks for a nice skin isn't much.