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crankbait09
03/08/2015, 06:28 PM
long time no talk all, hello again,

To bring people up to speed, I tried to create the DIY stand for my 135 gallon fish tank as seen on this forum. I have attempted it twice, and both times it was not square and there is no way id trust the tank on top of the unlevel stand.

I thought about trying it for the third time, but in all honesty, if i couldnt get the tank to be level the first two times, this one wont be any different. The amount of money I have spent thus far, as well as the money I will spend to do it a third time, I'm guessing I would have spent close to the same amount for an already built stand.

So I have a question. How much would I be looking at to purchase a stand, whether it be online or even a pet store? Are they really expensive? I am just looking for a level skeleton stand, cause I can skin it and add accents/trim as needed. I have confidence in that :)

my tank measures 6' long, 18" deep, 23" high
tha stand i had in mind and built was 47" high. which is big enough to house my 55 gallon sump under neath

id really like to move forward with this hobby, but the lack of a square stand is holding me back :(

stingeragent
03/08/2015, 08:55 PM
What issues are you having getting it square. Did you do the one where you have the top frame, bottom frame, and then support that with either 2x4's, or 4x4's in corners, with the added 2x4's between the horizontal ones in the corners? There's a few key things you gotta do to get it square. All the matching boards you cut have to be the same size. They also have to be cut straight. When your putting them together it helps to use a triangle to make sure they are at 90. Good quality screws (i prefer the helical (spelling) thread). A lot of times even if you get it 90 and squared, you can go through first board fine, but when it goes into 2nd board it can move it off square. Thats probably the biggest pain. If you tell me what kind of saw your using I can give you some additional tips. If your set on letting it go and buying it no problem, but you do get some satisfaction (or at least I do), building a stand holding a 700 lbs aquarium.

OrQidz
03/09/2015, 12:16 AM
if you just want the basic skeleton then maybe research if there is anyone in your area who could build one? Finished stands can be a couple hundred bucks at the pet store but are really cheaply built (like, some are pretty amazing that they don't fall apart). I'm not sure what a nice finished, properly made wood one would cost. Or if you have a buddy/neighbor, etc who is handy you might be able to reuse some of the wood from the crooked stands. Good luck! I always find I have more tanks than I do stands, for some reason....

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 11:01 AM
well, when i made the stands, I had my speed square going and I also measured from corner to corner to make sure the dimensions were the same. When I was cutting all the boards, I made sure they were all the same length and measured multiple times. I laid them on top of each other and verfied the correct length that way as well. I could swear up and down that they were all UNIFORM! the final product that you see below is not level at all. im talking front to back. the left to right is fine. but i have to pull the stand forward a good inch or so before its actually level.

going in to the build each time, the 6ft 2x's were the most difficult to obtain. those boards were very hard to find. but i found the straightest ones i could find with as few knots as possible. But if I had to guess, they were slightly twisted at the ends which then pushed the legs of the stand up or dropped them down enough to throw the "level" out of whack.

I havent touched the stand for a few weeks, ok.......more realistically, like 2 months. once i saw the unlevel stand, i stopped. when i came back to the stand i noticed the gaps between the tank and the stand increased and there are other gaps throughout that i don't recall ever being there before.........

I was using a Ridgid mitre saw to cut all wood. That, to me, was the surest way for me to get a square cut. I confirmed the saw/blade were square and I was good to go.

I used a combination of torque deck screws as well as square head deck screws. all stainless steel.

I don't have anyone near me that works with wood that I can ask to help me out. The one friend wood working friend i do have lives 2-3 hours away and is in the process of moving, so his shop is all packed up...............

I was looking on line last night for a stand but there are none in my area and the ones i do find say "pick up only", and they are 3000 miles away :(

Here is a picture of the way it stands now

FraggledRock
03/09/2015, 11:21 AM
is your floor level?

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 11:26 AM
well, at the moment, we have carpet all throughout. I realize thats a huge issue, but we are not removing the carpet anytime soon. We do plan on it, but not now. So I need to work with what I have :(

not quite sure how to check if floor is level......with it being carpet and all

FraggledRock
03/09/2015, 11:38 AM
well, at the moment, we have carpet all throughout. I realize thats a huge issue, but we are not removing the carpet anytime soon. We do plan on it, but not now. So I need to work with what I have :(

not quite sure how to check if floor is level......with it being carpet and all

you could place a sheet of plywood just a bit bigger than the tank foot print to build the stand, to alleviate minor fluctuations in measurement to skew "squareness".

yes its a word. even if its not ina dictionary im using it LOL

squareness LOL

Cymonous
03/09/2015, 11:40 AM
Put the stand in the kitchen and see if it is level there. First see if you can find a level spot first of course.

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 11:43 AM
i did move it to the kitchen thinking the same thing. i did that with both of the builds, and they both rocked from side to side when placed there. so again, wasnt sure if the stand was out of whack or if it was the kitchen. Not sure which was true

FraggledRock
03/09/2015, 11:53 AM
i did move it to the kitchen thinking the same thing. i did that with both of the builds, and they both rocked from side to side when placed there. so again, wasnt sure if the stand was out of whack or if it was the kitchen. Not sure which was true

numbers dont lie...

and a level is your best friend.

check the floor if it is level, use a long level.

when the level is on the floor see if there is space under it.

even 1/8 of an inch will cause things to rock, even if the stand is perfect

other than that you may need a solid working space like mentioned using a larger flat surface.

coffee_snob
03/09/2015, 11:59 AM
Find a local carpenter that can frame it for you, then you can skin & finish it yourself to save money. Call you local lumber store for a carpenter.

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 12:10 PM
i will try that......thank you

FraggledRock
03/09/2015, 12:13 PM
i will try that......thank you

where are you?

Im in NY if you need a hand.

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 12:45 PM
I'm in lower OHIO

JMorris271
03/09/2015, 02:22 PM
Marineland sells a nice stand and they deliver free. I paid someone $1,000 to build a stand for me and had to junk it because it was not built to specs. Paid in advance so he could buy materials and found out the braces were in the wrong places after he had left and never called back. Be careful if you pay someone to build it for you.

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 02:24 PM
marineland huh? checking now..................
thanks for the tip

billdogg
03/09/2015, 02:26 PM
How close to Grove City?

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 02:28 PM
grove city is like 1.5 - 2 hours from me (give or take)

stingeragent
03/09/2015, 02:48 PM
I can't imagine it being a whole inch off unless you just screwed it all together with your eyes closed. I have all hardwood floors in my house. Mine rocked a bit too just depending on the floor ( not an inch but a tad). I flipped the stand over , and turned it until it sat good without tilting. I'm assuming your vertical boards go all the way to the floor. Have you looked to make sure the bottom of all 4 verticals is flush with the horizontal ones? If you have one vertical board that is lower than the horizontals, the weight on that corner will rest just on the vertical board which will also make it tilt. I'd also place some blame on the carpet as well. Putting a piece of plywood on the bottom will help with any carpet issues.

Attached a pic of what I was talking about , the vertical boards sticking out farther than horiztonal ones. Thats a picture of the top but looks same way at bottom.

billdogg
03/09/2015, 02:50 PM
If you can't find anybody closer, shoot me a PM - we can bang together a stand (2x4 framing) in no time for very little $$$. If you want more, it'll cost, um, more:spin3:

I'm available some weekends and one (variable) weekday/week

I'll post a few picks of some of my work when I get home. (work blocks photobucket)

crankbait09
03/09/2015, 02:53 PM
billdogg, if you prefer to PM me, please do.....I may be interested in this!!

thank you :)

coffee_snob
03/09/2015, 07:34 PM
Get custom, have someone help you. You will be happier in long run with the results.

I just finished my new 125g oak stand.

I could not be happier buying store bought one.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22297144/75gTank/2015-03-09%2021.31.45.jpg

crankbait09
03/10/2015, 06:00 PM
I can't imagine it being a whole inch off unless you just screwed it all together with your eyes closed. I have all hardwood floors in my house. Mine rocked a bit too just depending on the floor ( not an inch but a tad). I flipped the stand over , and turned it until it sat good without tilting. I'm assuming your vertical boards go all the way to the floor. Have you looked to make sure the bottom of all 4 verticals is flush with the horizontal ones? If you have one vertical board that is lower than the horizontals, the weight on that corner will rest just on the vertical board which will also make it tilt. I'd also place some blame on the carpet as well. Putting a piece of plywood on the bottom will help with any carpet issues.

Attached a pic of what I was talking about , the vertical boards sticking out farther than horiztonal ones. Thats a picture of the top but looks same way at bottom.

i remember that view. i looked at mine over and over when building it scared to death it wasnt even. mine did end up being off a tad, but enough to where one part of the tank was touching one side, but not the other. a hair, but still off, nonetheless

crankbait09
03/10/2015, 06:02 PM
Get custom, have someone help you. You will be happier in long run with the results.

I just finished my new 125g oak stand.

I could not be happier buying store bought one.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22297144/75gTank/2015-03-09%2021.31.45.jpg

coffee snob....

that looks really good!! very nice job.
how much weight did the canopy add to the whole set up? I could attempt a canopy at a later date. its not a necessity at the moment......

coffee_snob
03/10/2015, 07:10 PM
coffee snob....

that looks really good!! very nice job.
how much weight did the canopy add to the whole set up? I could attempt a canopy at a later date. its not a necessity at the moment......

I'm bad at estimating weight...I would guess 60-80lbs?

EvolutionIsALie
03/10/2015, 07:39 PM
You can buy foam for home depot to level your tanks, just place below. Or you can visit a local store not a large pet store, a local store which sells used metal stand may run from 35-50 dollars in my opinion.

Calappidae
03/10/2015, 08:05 PM
not quite sure how to check if floor is level......with it being carpet and all

EDIT: Should've properly have read some of the other post much more clearly.

Regardless, if the floor isn't level you can try elevating the stand itself on one side to make it level.

snorklr
03/10/2015, 08:14 PM
wood sucks...especially 2x4's...they're cut from small fast growing trees and kiln dried...and promptly turn into corkscrews the minute the bundle is unstrapped in the store...when you're framing a wall,you pick the straightest ones you can find and hope once you attach sheathing and drywall they'll keep them from twisting...in a perfect world they'd be hardwood properly aged and stable before being milled...and would be 50 dollars a board...thats why the stands they sell are mdf or plywood...they're flimsy but dimensionally stable