DIY stand

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Hi everyone i just thought i would show you the start of my DIY tank stand i'm working on. I just barely went and bought some of the lumber today to get started on it. I still need to save up for more wood such as plywood. It will be a little while before its completely done but it will be worth it. If any of you see anything on it that i could improve or something that would make it stronger please let me know. I can still change things around right now cause i haven't hard nailed it all together.

[CarmieJo]

It looks good to me. It is a good idea to leave the area open like that so you can use as large of a sump as possible. I only see one problem, that boat will not do as an aquarium ornament! But, as you have seen, we are always helpful here at TR. So, if you just send me the boat it will take care of the problem.

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Haha sure thing. Ya i didn't want to have anything blocking the front cause i'm planning on using at least a 20g sump. The little tank that is in the bottom of the picture is only a 10g and with a front center brace that little tank had a hard time fitting in. What i want to do is have two doors on the stand and also make the entire front face and most likely one of the side panels removable just so i had more room and another angle to get at my equipment. But we'll see what happens.

[rayme07]

Its looking good!

[AZDesertRat]

Thats a pretty wide span for a single 2x4 laid on edge. I would be concerned it will not provide enough support for middle of the tank.
Here are a few pics of my 60" 100 gallon stand I built 6+ years ago and its holding up well.
......Well I was going to post some pics but Photobucket is not cooperating right now!
Anyway, the top is much beefier but the general construction is similar.
Maybe I can post pics later.

Got them:


The doors are large enough I can slip a 30G long sump in and out easily.

[Paul_PSU]

Thats a pretty wide span for a single 2x4 laid on edge. I would be concerned it will not provide enough support for middle of the tank.
Here are a few pics of my 60" 100 gallon stand I built 6+ years ago and its holding up well.
......Well I was going to post some pics but Photobucket is not cooperating right now!
Anyway, the top is much beefier but the general construction is similar.
Maybe I can post pics later.

I agree 100%. I would not trust the top rails of the stand with the 2X4 laid flat. What is the total length of the stand? What size tank is going on it?

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Thanks DesertRat. Thats a awesome looking stand! My tank is a 65g. Here it is filled up with water. The front didnt have any flex to it but then again that was only water. I still gotta think about sand and rock weight. I'll probably build a second top piece with the 2x4 standing on its side rather than laying down. I like the way you did that on your stand. I still got a ways to go on it like buying the plywood for it. By the way was that a just a wood texture that you sheeted your stand with?

[AZDesertRat]

My stand is covered with 1/4" Oak Plywood and the trim is all solid oak 1x4.
Anothe rconcern I have with the recent pic of your stand is lateral support. You could easily lean on it and cause it to tumble sideways. Notice how in my first photo the 2x4s are doubled up in the corners so it has support both front to back and sideways then in photo two you see the extra 2x6 pieces blocking in the upper back corners. There is zero movement in all directions, the 2x6 pieces also gave me a place to mount outlet strips equipment up and out of the way. My Reefkeeper and modules are all mounted on them now and its safe and convienient.
I went a little overboard in tha teverything is glued with exterior grade wood glue plus screwed using countersunk galvanized deck screws then primed with Kilz and painted with three coats of latex enamel. All the lower seams are caulked too so the stand can actually contain a small overflow or flood.

[SLICKtopPOMP]

I see what your sayin about the corners. I angled my 2x4's in the corners to help with the front and side to side movement. It works pretty well but still i don't want to chance it. Besides Cali has been having some fun with recent quakes so the sturdier the better. I'll make some more improvements then shoot up another photo for some input. Thanks again i really appreciate the advice.

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Well i made some adjustments to my stand. I think it turn out way better this time around. AZDesertRat your pictures really helped me out so thanks. Here is what it looks like now. And i'm still open to suggestions.

[AZDesertRat]

Looks pretty sturdy now although I'm still a little concerned about the span in front. May be OK but I'm cautious. Maybe others can comment on what they have.

[V]

Observe bud, this is a quality stand. The core of Stands doesn't have to be flashy, all the other cosmetic stuff just bolts on later anyways, So - in no particular order, they need to be.... Strong , Stable , & well thought out.
Take the below for example, purposeful safe thought is given to design, even down to the support screws on the outer legs, & followed up with complimenting piece to cover the cross grain. This is a prime example.




Now lets have a peak at your latest project. - Kudos too by the way, im happy to see you creating your own.


Can you provide some timber specs, Its really the only way to truly advise correctly. Stands bear the burden of all the weight, so you need decent timber in general to hold its total gross weight for a start.

I think you've done well though. If you want my constructive opinions on the build, id only have a few things to share.

Firstly id assess if it can hold the future weight given your wood sizing.
Secondly id move both the internal bay front legs towards the middle about 35cm.
& thirdly, i wouldn't consider leaving those three pieces on top when the tank comes alone. Nice long lengths are ideal to spread the load evenly. I use a sheet of marine ply on top of mine. Its perfect for my applications.

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Thanks V i appreciate it. The picture of mine that you put up on your comment it the 1st way i had it built. Did you see the changes i made to it? AZDesertRat showed me the pictures of his stand and i pretty much copied his design.

[V]

no i didn't actually. I just figured out why..... i hit reply too early, & when i did scroll to pinpoint the pictures, its not showing up. Photobucket images still show though. Sorry bout that.

Yep, alot better bud. & i found your timber widths.
Ok so 250lt of 2x4, yes it can handle it, it mainly comes down the design & fasteners.

What screws do you use?

My personal fav for most projects using wood is 10x75mm (0.39 x 2.9') Type17 Bungle Heads
& the more heavy duty 125mm (4.9') Bungles. I eventually killed my cordless drill screwing these puppies & was forced to buy a new power drill, so its gota be good at keeping things in place..lol

On your next build, remember that the longest trailing edges get priority,(take it right to the edges) so then you offset the timber widths to calc & screw the width pieces on your top & bottom box framing.
Then once again, you offset the timber values first, then work out how high you want the the stand, & cut your bridging legs accordingly.



Good work.

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Cool thank you V. I used 3 inch wood screws and shot it all together with a nail gun as well.

[V]

It will hold. Just remember to take a preliminary benchmark measurement at ether ends & the centre! then once weight is applied, deploy periodical measurement there after for the life of the unit. ~ If nothing else, just so your aware of whats happening around you from a renewed risk perspective.
Just as an example though, i have a 5ft gap widith easy on mine, hence why i used thick marine ply cut to size on top. The arch can drops by millimetres even being made of steel, however the sandwiched ply acts as a great buffer evening the weight distribution. You'll find on your travels that its the culmination of the little things, that all add up to the end result. As mentioned before, note Arizona's build. Its safe by design.

Look forward to seeing you excel from here!!

V-out

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Hey when you say "marine ply" is that a specific type of plywood? Can i just pick that up at Home Depot or something? And about how thick of plywood should i drop on the top? I was thinking maybe going 1/2 inch thick. Sorry for shooting out so many questions at once.

[Amphibious]

You don’t want nor need “marine grade” plywood, way too expensive!!! Exterior grade plywood is built with water proof glue, that for your proposes will be fine. Even if you are going to cover the exterior with good finish plywood, I’d paint the whole rough stand with 3 coats of Acrylic Latex paint as a preservative. Your dealing with salt water.

Good looking design. The second one, not the first.

Dick

[SLICKtopPOMP]

Thanks for the advice Dick i appreciate it.

[V]

yeah ampage is right, painting it will achieve the same results.

I chose marine because its tuff & can withstand my water spills, to be honest i didn't even look at the price.
Mine is an inch thick easy