help with building a stand please

[Cozen89]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to attempt making a basic stand for a 75 or 100 gallon ACRYLIC tank that is 60x18. I know weight distribution is a little different on plexi's than glass so I need some advice. I'm basically looking to make a wood frame out of 2x4's and have black acrylic panels to cover the sides and front.


So I'm thinking basic. 4 corner posts and 1 rear and front middle vertical brace all out of 2x4's. On top of the 2x4's probably a flat piece of ply wood about 3/4's inch.

Will I need any diagonal supports or will this be fine? I'm also worried about swaying etc. I will probably use long screws to hold the 2x4 frame together, with the horizontal 2x4's sitting on top of the vertical posts. And use L brackets just to reinforce.

So is just a frame good enough, or do I need ply wood on the sides and back to prevent sway and give additional support.

Sorry I don't have a diagram, hopefully I explained it well enough.

Any questions please ask, if you have a picture of your DIY stands I'd love to see them.

Thanks.

[coralfragger101]

Brace it with diagonal supports. You could put these at the very bottom and that gives you a place to put another plywood piece to hold your sump.

Without the diagonals, you will sway. At least until the sway turns into a fall and then a smash and then your wife yelling at you for not buying a preconstructed cabinet.

[ShawnJones]

Here is my most recent design, I know you said simple, but I hope it helps.

Shawn

Here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1115572)

[DreamLand]

I totally went over board with support for a 33G 36by12by18 ..
Still working on the oak trim tho..

http://webhome.idirect.com/d/dkrypel/tank/DSC0001.jpg
http://webhome.idirect.com/d/dkrypel/tank/SSPX002.jpg
http://webhome.idirect.com/d/dkrypel/tank/SSPX00003.jpg

[GuySmilie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9943124#post9943124 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cozen89
I'm basically looking to make a wood frame out of 2x4's and have black acrylic panels to cover the sides and front.
Wow! That sounds like some expensive sheathing.
Is there a specific reason you want to utilize acrylic?
I'd think a nice 1/4" plywood skin would paint up really nice with a hi-gloss enamel or epoxy paint. It would also add lots of strength to your 2x4 stand as well.

[Cozen89]

A friend said he was going to do it, and it sounded like a cool idea with a cool look. I guess that would be really expensive now that I think about it. Was just gonna do thin acrylic (black) like 1/8 inch just for looks.

So what are some more ideas for preventing sway of a 2x4 frame?

By the way, are 2x4's expensive? Haven't had the chance to go by Homedepot yet.

[MightyWarMonger]

no 2x4's are like $3.00 a peice so they are cheap and for support I would go with a thin (like1/2" or 3/4" ) plywood on the out side skin. you can get a 1/2" 4'x8' sheet of oak plywood at lowes for like $30.00 or so and it would give you more support than the cross braces and would not restrict any access to the inside of the cabinet and you can make it what ever color you ant stain, natural, or back what ever suits you best. then maby tou could put some small corner molding on the sides to make a nice trim finish to it. that's just my opinion and how I would do it though.

[bholland]

Dreamland

I like the look of your stand. I'm looking to build a stand for a 75 gal. Overkill sounds good to me.
:D

[bholland]

Where did you get the spec's to build your stand?????

[woz9683]

Cozen, I agree with MightyWarMonger, if you use plywood to cover the stand it will give you much more lateral support (stops the sway) than a couple of diagonals could. If you want the black acrylic look I would still do a plywood skin underneath the acrylic to add lateral support. That way you could go with very thin acrylic and not have to worry about breaking it. Or you could do as others suggested and cut the acrylic out all together and just use a stain-grade plywood for support and appearance.

[erics3000]

For specs you can go to www.garf.org and go to how to aquarium construction and then stand section ...

[bholland]

Thank you I found it....

[Justin James]

Here is a link to my stand that I built. I is very strong and doesn't have the anoying center brace in the front that blocks you from your sump. I built a carrying beam to eliminate that. Take a look: http://www.masns.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=2326