home made tank stand

[animal877]

if i do this its not going to be for a while due to no money atm. but i was thinking of setting up a 55 gallon tank and was wondering if there were any tips or tricks to making a stand that can saport the tank well. i had a 55 on a metal stand but that was really flimsy and i was always afraid it would fall over. so any ideas would be cool. links on a do it yourself would be cool any dos and donts. thanks for the help!

 

[jamesdong009]

Here's a thread on RC

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

It's pretty long but helped a bunch when I built my last stand.

 

[Owen386]

I have a 55 g and it came with wrought iron stand and I hated it so I simply skinned it with some wood added a lot more stability and looks a lot better pm me if u want more info I have little to no carpenter skills and very little word working tools and I think it came out pretty good.

 

[delta]

Most links will be to internal framed stands. The 2x4, 4x4, 2x6 etc stands are poor designs there is no need for them. One sheet of 3/4" ply will do just fine.
Problem with the stands with internal framing is it is not necessary and wastes space.

Don't build the stand without designing your sump first. a nice way around the 55g is to built it big enough for a 75/90 and put vertical section in the back to hide the plumbing/space behind the tank.
The you will be able to fit a nice sump in there and upgrade will be simple (why wait?)

This is the stand I built for JayM. No internal framing actually, I do not think internal framing could make it stronger

Disclaimer:
I do not make stand for anyone except maybe a close friend when the star align and the sun sets in the east. This is all for educational purposes

 

[dz6t]

Very nice wood work!
By December 21 this year, the sun will set in the east and the earth pole will reverse, all of us will be keeping reef tanks in alien space ships, you will be busy building stands...

 

[animal877]

actually b4 i made this thred i thoght about just covering the metal stand in some ply wood and i can paint that or whatever but it will look way better and i can hide all the crap under it. im probibly not building a sump any time soon due to finances i mostly just run a hand on skimmer and keep up with water changes.

 

[willray]

Don't use nails if at all possible...use screws and glue it after your done.

 

[animal877]

r 2x4s strong enof with wood glue (the good stuff) and screws? i have alot of presure treated 2x4s left over from idk what but theres enof to make a stand if there strong enof.

 

[FinsUp!]

My stand is made completely out of red oak 1x2s and 1x3s. Glue your joints and screw them together and you'll be fine. I actually think 2x4s are overkill for a 55, but there's no harm in using them if that's what you have around.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[animal877]

sweet cuz yea iv got a fair amount of them and i can get glue and screws from school and all that stuff and can make a nice stand for it. ill put up pics when i begin construction. then eventually i can just get some ply wood and make some doors on the front and get some paint or stain and make it look half decent. i took a year of carpentry at school (i go to a technical school) so i know how i can do these things. thanks for the help everyone!!

 

[willray]

Not sure pressure treat is a good choice for an aquarium stand....because of the chemicals that are in it and the humidity involved.Also might need a special glue as it doesn't take well to regular and waterproof wood glues,again probably because of the chemical treatment/s.
Maybe someone who has good knowledge can chime in.Or google it.

 

[dannyp02908]

In response to those saying 2x4 is overkill, at what size to you consider that staement a limit. I have a 5ft 110 gallon tank and i built my stand from 2x8 (didnt want center bracing). That is well over 1000lbs all things considered. I feel like 1x2, 1x3, plywood and even 2x4 would not hold. Am i incorrect?

 

[FinsUp!]

I probably wouldn't start to think about using 2x4 until I was building for a big 6' tank. Even then, I'd probably still try to design the stand out of 4/4 lumber and 3/4" plywood using similar construction style to the one Delta showed. The strength of the smaller lumber isn't the limiting factor (wood is plenty strong enough), its all about the design. You could design a stand for a 250 gallon tank using nothing but 1x4s if you wanted to. Might require a lot more work and thought, but it can be done.

I might also use 2x4s if I was building in-wall and wasn't necessarily concerned about maximizing space for a sump and the look of the stand. Pine studs are a heck of a lot cheaper than milled oak!

I'll get some pictures of my stand tonight in as much detail as I can with the sump in there so you can see how it's built. It's very minimal, but very strong. Basically a paneled bookcase without shelves. Used a kreg jig and titebond to join everything together.

For reference, here are some numbers from when I was planning my stand build:

Tank (58 gallon RR oceanic) weight: ~120 lbs.
Weight of 58 gallons of water: 484.3 lbs
Sand in tank: 160 lbs
Rock in tank: 60 lbs
Sump/fuge water (20 gallons): 167 lbs
Sand in fuge: 20 lbs
Rock in fuge: 5 lbs
Weight of rubbermaid sump/equipment/lighting: doesn't add much. Maybe 10 lbs. total.

Total weight of tank and sump: ~1026 lbs. So I'm just over half a ton and I feel completely confident that the stand could hold quite a bit more.

 

[dannyp02908]

My tank is in fact in the wall. But even if not, i dont think i would feel comfy with a 5ft span with even a 2x4. Im not saying the legs and bottom, but the top spans of the tank. My tank empty weighs around 300, add 100 gallons of water at your math is 835, over 100 lbs of rock, another over a hundred in sand. looking at over 1300 on the top of the stand. Sometimes, i dont even feel comfortable with the 2x8s. then again, i am far from a structural engineer. Something about 100 gallons of water falling out of my wall scares me.

 

[FinsUp!]

I figure if my house is made of 2x4's and it's still standing 70 years later, my tank that weighs a fraction of what's in my house should be ok on 1x3's There are some actual formulas and weight distribution figures out there, but I can't remember where I found them a while back. I do remember one site saying that it would take far more PSI than our tanks could ever produce to cause failure in the wood itself. Most failures of fish tank stands are going to happen at the joints.

There's nothing wrong with overbuilding intentionally or unintentionally, or using 2x8's... Its just that it gives you a lot more room inside the stand and it's easier to build something more refined and lightweight if you use smaller lumber.

 

[dannyp02908]

I agree with the house thing to an extent. But the spans (floors) are not 2x4. They are usually 2x12. Also, for upper floors, the lower floors generally have load bearing walls. Those are often 2x6 verticals. I do agree that a 2x4 can hold the tank vertically, i was more referring to the spanned load across the top.

 

[gweston]

I'm over in Gardner, MA. A little bit of a drive west on Rt2 from you. I bought an unfinished stand for a 125g Long. I modified/improved it and finished it. I built my own 40B stand. It is currently unfinished/unpainted, but in use. So one can easily see how it was built. You are welcome to check it out sometime if you like, just send me a PM. I built the 40B stand in an afternoon with 2x4's, 8d nails, screws, a few brackets, and a bit of construction adhesive. Pretty much the only tools needed were a hammer, portable drill, and a sliding miter saw. I glued the joints, then nailed and/or screwed.

I don't consider myself a skilled woodworker at all, but I have done some rudimentary woodworking. So take that into consideration. I have built a shed and a few other things. Making a beautiful piece of furniture is not in my repertoire Maybe someday.

Most commercial tank stands are plywood or some such. Anything you build will certainly be stronger, and most likely longer lasting. If built right. Not only does it need to take weight from above, but it needs to be resistant to racking (lateral movement). Think right/left or front/back or even twisting.