DIY Stand questions

[The Ng Thing]

I'm in the process of reinforcing a 40b stand that I bought. I'm not particularly satisfied with it's design so I'm making an inner skeleton which will fit inside the cabinet and act as the main means of support. Just for design purposes I'd like to ignore the outer shell and treat the attached dwg as if it were the actual stand.

The wood I'm using is all 2x4's. My question is to all of you experienced stand makers out there does this design look feasible? The top pieces of wood are placed on the skinny side. Is this width too narrow all around to support a 40b tank? Any input as always is appreciated.

 

[The Ng Thing]

I forgot to mention the overall dimensions are 35"Lx17"Wx36"High. The outer "shell" actually has a 1/2" lip around it that the tank was originally supposed to be placed on. In the end the tank will be on a rubber mat over a 36"x18"x1/8" piece of wood on top of the frame which will have an overall width of 2" all around the outer perimeter of the base.

It's getting late but I'll take pictures tomorrow of the stand as it is now without this frame

 

[The Ng Thing]

I've decided to eliminate the rubber mat. I think it will do more harm then good. I'm going to also eliminate the slotted joints because i think there will be too much room for error if I make so many cuts. I figure the width of the wood won't matter as long as I'm putting a flat sheet on top to distribute the weight.

 

[Joel A]

design looks fine to me, what's wrong with the original stand? a full 40 breeder isn't that heavy, say 400 lbs or so.

only reason i ask about the original stand is because building a structure on the inside of the cabinet like that will likely leave you with little to no room for a sump inside the cabinet.

 

[The Ng Thing]

New design ... I guess it's pretty much like all other stands now.

 

[Royalty]

I just woke up so I havent done anything new hahha. There weren't any comments on my thread so I may just go ahead and build it.

So far all the 2x4s have cost me roughly $20. The small sheet of lauan I bought cost me $6 but it was only 2x4ft when it typicallys comes cheaper in a 4x8 sheet. If you don't have screws/nails those are going to be another $5 for 100. This is all just the frame too. I won't be adding any paneling on the sides because I have a shell to go around it. The nice wood/hardware is where most of the money will be spent.

If you have the tools/extra scraps of wood/screws building a stand will be cheaper but if your starting off new you might as well buy a stand. Where did you see the 46 bow stand? The cheapest 40b stand I could find was $150 new but even then it was poorly made.

Bowfronts are a little more involved. The overall stucture will depend on whether you want a hexagon stand or whether you want to make a stand that matches the exact outline of the footprint. You can use the basic design I posted and add a triangle or semi circle frame to the front. The more area you have the stand sitting on the better because the weight wil distribute evenly. After you make a frame I would put a flat piece of plywood/lauan to give more area for the tank to rest on.

I found it at petco and pet smart there going to be dropping it just a bit more soon while thats what the cute girl told me at petsmart lol.. I was thinking of using MDF for the stand I was going to build the frame out of KD 2x4's and make the panels on the side inlock some how?? no idea how it would hold the weight but Im looking at my 72 bow stand that I've been trying sell and I notice that there not much to there design. over all i figured I'd be spending a bit over $100. but I'll design it with a sump in mind and enough room to put all my extra equipment like my skimmer and light fixture fans ect.

 

[Royalty]

New design ... I guess it's pretty much like all other stands now.

What kinda program are you running to crate those designs?? I could use something like that.

 

[The Ng Thing]

I'd like to make a custom further down the line that will fit inside. I just don't have much faith in the way it was built. The whole stand is extremely light. The wood looks glued togther. Some places where the stand rests do not appear to run with the grain of the wood. I'm doing it more for peace of mind + getting some woodworking practice.

 

[Royalty]

I'd like to make a custom further down the line that will fit inside. I just don't have much faith in the way it was built. The whole stand is extremely light. The wood looks glued togther. Some places where the stand rests do not appear to run with the grain of the wood. I'm doing it more for peace of mind + getting some woodworking practice.

Thats how I feel about my little project between the stand and canopy I got my wrk cut out for me!

 

[The Ng Thing]

I found it at petco and pet smart there going to be dropping it just a bit more soon

I know the ones your talking about. Petco was starting to phase out the bowfronts (which is where I got mine) along with some other stands. Avon's did it 1.5 years ago so I'm guessing others are following. That is why I can't find any for a cheap price

Also, I'm using AutoCAD because I have access to it at work/school.

 

[The Ng Thing]

I'm off to start building, I'll be sure to snap some pictures.

 

[eric-c]

If you place the 2x4's this way you will get more support. It becomes more of a load bearing item then a piece of wood holding 2 sides together. Sorry this is a little to late.