I am not a serious woodworker, but I am happy with how my aquarium cabinet turned out. I was also able to build it at a relatively low cost. The large flat sides on the cabinets and doors you see are only plywood with a nice veneer, which you can pick up relatively inexpensively from Home Depot. Likewise, the trim pieces are prefabricated pieces from the trim aisle and not custom-routed. The frame supporting the weight of the tank is made up of common 2x4s.
One of the most challenging parts of this was creating a cabinet this long and keeping it true. A lot of care needs to be taken to make sure everything is level, though the tank is resting on a 3/4" foam board to reduce long-term stress on its seams, which I would recommend for any tank. There are a number of imperfections hidden in the work! The key to the finish is a lot of sanding with wood filler, a dark stain, and multiple rounds of sealant with a fine-grade sanding in between coats. If you're willing to put in a good amount of time and elbow grease you can do this!
Some finishing touches with plastic insert vent holes on the top, along with starfish handles are shown below. I found these pieces on eBay.
The cabinet doors below provide a good close-up of the woodwork, showing the trim pieces coming together on top of the veneered plywood, tacked with sunken nails, and filled. Of course, I had to finish the doors with some nice seahorse handles!
I no longer use a chiller, but when I did this screen was for the chiller fan.
Finally, I housed the LCD displays in a small wood box with the same finish.
