Need Help Building a stand for a 120gl
 

I just picked up a 120gl that is factor drilled with 2 bulkhead for $120. Pretty good deal, I thought, the only problem being that it did not come with a stand. I have two options at the moment.

A. I know where I could get a 150gl of the same dimensions that has a stand and canopy for $300. Only problem with this is spending a lot more money.

B. Make my own stand out of cheap material (i.e. 2x4 or something similar). Something like this: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...7&d=1275746658

The problem with the second option is the aesthetics.

Anyone have a guess as to how much i would spend making my own stand? Anyone have any suggestions on material?

I just built a skin for a steel stand on a 180 that I'm building. It's pretty fancy but I'd figure I spent $700-800 on wood, hardware, consumables, stain, and varnish. It adds up pretty quickly. Depending on what it is, $300 may be a better bargain if the tank comes with a stand.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...20Pics/118.jpg

Build your own stand outta 2x4's/2x6's and skin it. Cheap, easy, and customizable.

mcoomer has the right idea. Build the stand you referenced with the 2x6's and then skin it with some more appealing material.

Now I don't know what you want to spend, what you want it to look like, or what tools you have. So its hard to advise.

I wrote a bunch of stuff on the cost, materials, and techniques of skinning that stand. But I realized, without the proper tools and a decent budget, it wasn't going to happen. I can't imagine you being able to build a nice cabinet, your first one, for less than $300. You need tools, hardware, wood, and finishing material. If you were closer, you could use my woodshop and I could help out and we could put something together pretty nice for alot less, but the startup is what's going to kill you.

Thanks for the generosity but montana is a ways away. Right now I am leaning towards a basic 2x6 skeleton and pretty it up later. I'll make it pretty similar to the image I attached. I will change the bottom though and have a boards all across the outer edge to distribute the weight on more places than just the 4 legs.

Do you think that 1x4s would work for a skeleton or would it not be strong enough?

1x4 will not work. You have 1500 lbs on the stand once you get the tank filled with water. Look up Rocket Engineer's design in this forum. Use 2x6 for the top horizontal support and 2x4 for the verticals. Here is my 120 gal that I built using that design. I made it with nothing but a chop saw and pre-shaped molding from Lowes. You can do it with a circular saw as well. I used 3/8" smooth sanded ply on the outside and painted it to match the cabinet work in my living room.

Actually, properly constructed, 1x4's are incredibly strong. But considering the cost and the risk, I wouldn't do it.

I build a nice looking stand for a 40 gallon once, now that I think about it. I built a structure like you discibed and then skinned it with tongue and groove knotty pine panels that I got from HD. Made a simple door by making a wood frame from 1x2's and using the same panels on them. It could all be painted black if you didn't like the natural pine look and it would resemble shaker furniture. A few well place moulding and you might have a nice look.

1500 lbs, is nothing in terms of load vs wood. 2x6 is ridiculous overkill, for this small load. I have 240s sitting on plywood stands with NO lumber. 1x4s are just as strong, but just as MCary, I probably would not go there, if for no other reason than the extra joints. I am very concerned with liability vs risk: I sleep well at night.

Jim

Here is my 120 stand that I built. Probably have about $650 in total materials in it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...s/IMG_4812.jpg

2 x 4 base then skinned with solid maple.

Those are great looking stands. I want to have my tank sit higher so it is closer to eye level. Would there be a problem with it being 1' - 2' taller than a normal stand?

As long as the base is stable enough to prevent tipping, you should be fine. You may have to make a wider than normal stand to do this.

i made the top of my stand at 38" high. There's no problem as long as you provide proper shear support for side loads/racking. I used notched 4x4's as the corner posts and rested my 2x4's on them.

I'm actually starting a stand this weekend for a 240 gallon tank. I plan to go a little higher. Not just for the athetics of being closer to eye level, but also becaue I have decided not to go into my crawl space and have all the equipment in the stand.

The problems associated with going high, you'll need a good step ladder for maintenance. The longer the wood, the more in can bow, putting stress on not only the wood, but the joints. However, considering how strong wood is, I doubt that this would be a factor for this application.

Maybe ill put a cross beam inbetween the front and back legs just in case

Check out my build. I think I did what your talking about with the cross beams. My stand sits at ~39".

alright stand is done. I used this template (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...ineer+s+design) and am going to leave it just as a skeleton for now so i can make my 55gl DIY sump a show sump

Overbuild it. 2x4's are dirt cheap and carpet cleaning/water damage is not.

My 40b stand is about 3' 6" tall and is build with double boxed contruction. this means the legs and the skirt supporting the tank are essentially two sets of squares made out of 2x4 and then glued and screwed together. The 'skirt' board is then further re-enforced by additional 2x4 uprights. because of the boxed construction, it is all very ridgid. The top of the stand was then made out of a single piece of 3/4" thick hardwood plywood. Not hardwood *skinned* ply, but hardwood.

The actual difference in cost between a 'bare minimum' stand and a "holy ****! all that for 40B??!" stand is about $50 in wood and materials.

By the by, tipping is a hazard once you get about 2.5x-3x as high as your tank is wide. depending on the ammount of deflection in the floor wherever you happen to be living.

Despite the fact my stand is over built and solid as a rock, the deflection in my floor can cause a visible distrubance in the water's surface when still. No where near causing it to tip of course, but enough that I'm contemplating moving it to a different location.

place the stand backing onto a supporting (load bearing) wall only and make sure the floor is capable of supporting the weight.

No worries about deflection. I live in a 200 year old house that is solid as a rock. I will be putting the 120gl in the place that currently has my 90gl in it and I have never had any problems with it.

I might put just some plywood on the bottom and maybe on the back. I would still like to keep the front and sides open, though.