Tank Stand Material ?

[HV1990]

I have doing some research on tank stand builds using wood as the building material. I have built two for my house already. One is for a 60g tank and another for a 30g cube. Well the upgrade bug has hit me and I purchased a 120. This is alot more weight. I will be using 2x6's for the top and lower box and 2x4's for the interior legs. 1/2 ply for the walls. Here is where I need some help from fellow reefers.

Link to stand template: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

1. If Home Depot and Lowes are my only sources for wood how did you go about getting strait pieces.

2. For a 120 ( 48x24x24) can I have the front open and a support on the back?

3. Any tips I can learn from your experience.

Any comments and suggestions are welcome and I look forward to the build thread.

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Your questions are all pretty well answered in that thread, but sometimes it's hard to find info in long threads like that.

1) Don't be afraid to dig through the piles.

2) No center support needed on the front or back given your described structure.

3) Tips - practice, mock things up, and be sure you're building straight, square, and true. If something is not right, fix it. Better to waste $20 in 2x4 and an afternoon of effort than ruin your house from a tank failure caused by a crooked stand.

Your real challenge is going to be building true, not building strong enough. A typical 2x stand is well overbuilt, and skinning one with 1/2" plywood will make it extremely overbuilt. With a good design, you could ditch the 2x lumber, upgrade to 3/4" plywood, and have a simpler stand with more room inside.

[jayinh]

^^ well put willie, i tend to see way more overbuilt stands. plywood on edge is extremly strong. just get lumber as stright as possible, it may warp anyway. i used 2x4 lumber on my 7" 210 gallon tank!

90g stand using 3/4" cabinet plywood only
http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr360/jayinh/stand003.jpg

125 stand using 2x4's and plywood
http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr360/jayinh/125stand005.jpg

210 7' using 2x4 and plywood
http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr360/jayinh/210tankstandbuild023.jpg

[nanogeo]

I just finished the stand for my 120 in-wall with the same dimensions with wood from Lowes using this same templat. It's the 4th I've build using this design and all have been more than adequate. I used 2"x4" exclusively for my build, it's solid and can handle the weight well.

To your questions:

1. Eye ball the wood from one end, length wise, and take the ones that are as straight as possible. The slightly higher priced stock is straighter for the most part from my experience.

2. For my 120, I used 2"x4" as mentioned above and I feel it would be fine with no supports in the middle on the front or back since it's only a 4ft span. However, since it's in-wall, one side of mine is fully supported...but I think you'd be fine with a supported back and open in front

3. General tips - you're likely going to have to shim and level the stand for irregularities in the floor, etc, so plan on that.

Hope it helps.

[HV1990]

Thank you both. My main concern was getting it so it doesn't wobble. However part of Rocketengineer's thread people were making it out to seem if there is the slight wobble then my house is going to fall apart and my dog will hate me.

[jayinh]

Thank you both. My main concern was getting it so it doesn't wobble. However part of Rocketengineer's thread people were making it out to seem if there is the slight wobble then my house is going to fall apart and my dog will hate me.

well your house may fall apart...but your dog will always love you IMO:thumbsup:

[bid2ask]

i used 3/4 oak plywood for my cabinet, you can order the doors from home depot or lowes if your unable to make them.

[rogster]

i used 3/4 oak plywood for my cabinet, you can order the doors from home depot or lowes if your unable to make them.

I like that idea every much. Less work....

[Donw]

If you go frameless like the dark stand above in post #3 with a 120g you need a wall stiffener just behind the hinges.

Don