Reinforcing used stand

[jbannick18]

The stand is the standard 75 gallon stand that comes from aqueon, the black pine. I know the stand sells for a pretty penny in stores but it just seems to be pretty fragile XD. Wanted to get opinions on what I could do to reinforce the stand.

On this one as you can see in the pictures the guy tried to reinforce by using a screw in the corners which actually forced the bottom part to separate a little. I was thinking of pulling the screws, using wood glue, and buying 90 degree brackets to give it more support up there.

Also the bottom is warped/moldy. Was thinking of cutting it out and just using a piece of wood under it for the sump, would taking it out this piece jeopardize the stand?

Thanks for the help!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/kamuiii/IMAG0007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/kamuiii/IMAG0005.jpg

[kcress]

I don't know what to tell you. Certainly those screws were a BAD idea. These marginal commercial stands can only get weaker if you remove or crack anything. If it seems built around that base I'd be hesitant to remove it unless you're going to replace it exactly.

[RocketEngineer]

Given that its in such rough shape, I would build a new one from scratch.

[rocking]

build stands all the time for tanks trash it and build a new one
the desine of that stand is ok for a temp sand and thats all that one is good for

[Port Richey Kid]

i would throw it away and start over unless you want to come home to a flood

[Misos Anthropos]

i would throw it away and start over unless you want to come home to a flood


+1. Why bother with that stand.....you'll only lie awake at night worrying about it.

[hllywd]

From what I can see your stand looks like mine. If it is the tops of the upright boards are rabbeted to accept the rim boards the tank rests on. If that's the case, yours is functional, but ugly due to the split wood. The screws appear to be someone's futile attempt to make an already adequate stand stronger somehow. I'd make sure it's structurally sound otherwise, squeeze some glue in the cracks, remove the screws, and squeeze the cracks closed with a clamp. Once you've done that fill the screw holes, sand it smooth and refinish the stand.

As far as the bottom, it's hard to tell what you mean by warped from the pic, "mold" cleans off with a little bleach. The bottom of mine is plywood, and would be fairly complex to replace.

IMO that stand is fine, it just needs some TLC and refinished/painted.

This is sideways, but what mine looks like from the bottom:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n81/hllywdz/For%20Sale/DSC02947.jpg

Tim

[jbannick18]

The boards are rabbeted so that makes me feel a little better although the seperation on these is alot more then what yours is but I believe thats because of the screws. I think I am going to try and fix it up and see how I feel. Not setting up the tank right away. When I spoke to aqueon tech support they told me the bottom board had no use structurally so I can remove that without worry.

Only problem is that I live in an apt now and making my own stand would not be easy ><

Appreciate the input from everyone

[hllywd]

"Seperation"... are you referring to the wood the screws split? If so, like I stated previously, work some wood glue into the splits before removing the screw while the split is still open. Take the screw out, clamp, and you'll be ready to refinish once the glue sets.

How much warp is in the bottom? It's plywood and shouldn't warp too bad, if it is the veneers separated. Unless it's worse than the pics appear and you want it to be a showpiece... clean it up, paint it , and use it. I think you may be surprised how much a little prep work and a nice coat of paint will help. Taking that bottom out is more work than I'd be will ing to put into it. If you must, cover it up with a pice of 1/2" plywood.

Mine may not have been quite the same condition as yours, but I think this will give you and idea what can be done:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1163749&highlight=the+120

Hope that helps,
Tim

[jbannick18]

Heres a picture of the seperation in one of the corners. This one is not to bad but I got one corner that is a little bit further. I removed the screws and tried to clamp them together with woodglue but the clamp I bought wouldn't get tight enough or there was just not enough play in the wood. I nailed about 4 nails with some wood glue and put the corner braces in. Was going to put water in the tank and see how I felt but my damn floor in uneven XD.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/kamuiii/IMAG0011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v410/kamuiii/IMAG0012.jpg

As far as the bottom, I am going to just do what you said, lay a piece of plywood on top of it.

[musicman1968]

I would keep the doors off it, and build a new one to same dimensions. I used this when I did mine. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964. Very strong and fairly inexpensive to build.

[hllywd]

musicman,
IMO it's fine if you want to overbuild a stand like that, but you'd be surprised how much space you lose on the inside. For me it's not worth it. The compressive strength of 1x lumber or even plywood offers strength and stability to spare when building a stand from scratch. Like it or not you could probably park a car on the "cheap" AGA/Oceanic type stands and it would hold.
Tim

BTW jbannick18, With some nice bar clamps I think you could have pulled your "separation" together. Even as it is with the corner brackets I think you can sleep well knowing it's not going to cave in.

[fishyman12]

Building a stand from scratch is easy and cheap! And pretty fun if you like that stuff