90 gallon build (DIY plywood stand)

[Sinclair81]

I agree. No one wants to see a thread about a tank that fell over

I also agree, thanks for chiming in.

Yes there are lots of plywwod stands, but they still need a frame. All you have is plywood, again if you fill that tank and push on the side of your stand it's going to fall over. No one is putting you down were just trying to help.

I dont think you are putting me down, but I am curious where have you seen plywood stands in this forum? It seems all I ever see are Rockets design with a plywood skin. Also I am sure that Rabbet joining the ends of my "box" would prevent wracking. Either way I am going to add more stability just for peace of mind.

 

[Sinclair81]

The Door

The Door

Next I needed a door, so using the same idea with the rabbet joints, I busted out the router with 1/4" bit and cut out the door. Using 1 X 4's as a guide again, this is how I did it.

and a 2by4 to keep the door from splitting the wood and falling into the "box"

Voila

 

[Bretts05jeep]

That looks stronger than the expensive stand that held my 150 gallon tank but Im not an expert.

 

[Sinclair81]

That looks stronger than the expensive stand that held my 150 gallon tank but Im not an expert.

Thanks, it feels really strong.

 

[Ron Reefman]

And with the back closed in the sump area is going to hold a lot of humidity. I'd seriously consider a vent and a fan.

 

[sponger0]

Thanks, it feels really strong.

Feeling very strong to a person as compared to 900 lbs is a big difference.

 

[funkyfish77]

Agree with humidity prob. A few comp fans should work pretty good

 

[Bretts05jeep]

Feeling very strong to a person as compared to 900 lbs is a big difference.

Im not sure if you noticed but he used oak plywood for the sides not pine. I dont know how much downward force it would take for that to give out but I would be willing to bet it is much much more than 900lbs. As long as it is level when you put the load on it.

If there is even a shadow of a dout test it. Fill that thing up with water in your garage.

The stand for my 150 gallon was made out of partical board and when I put the empty tank on it it would wobble if you pushed on it with your pinkie. That stand also only had 6 points of contact with the floor.

 

[sponger0]

Im not sure if you noticed but he used oak plywood for the sides not pine. I dont know how much downward force it would take for that to give out but I would be willing to bet it is much much more than 900lbs. As long as it is level when you put the load on it.

If there is even a shadow of a dout test it. Fill that thing up with water in your garage.

The stand for my 150 gallon was made out of partical board and when I put the empty tank on it it would wobble if you pushed on it with your pinkie. That stand also only had 6 points of contact with the floor.

The problem I forsee is the hole that was cut. This guy has a 4 foot tank. You should have a brace or something to withstand the weight two feet apart. So that IMO will effect the intergrity of the stand. We can disagree all day...but thats my opinion.

 

[Sinclair81]

And with the back closed in the sump area is going to hold a lot of humidity. I'd seriously consider a vent and a fan.

Yea, that is a great idea, trying to figure out how to do that right now. Do I was passive or active air movement?

 

[Sinclair81]

Now for structural reasons I wanted to add a little more peace of mind, so I cut 1 by 4's to "frame" in the inside of my stand, using glue and pocket holes to screw it all together.

Then siliconed all the spaces/gaps in the wood.

Then a 1 by 4 oak trim for the top, to cover the black trim on the AGA tank.

silicone

 

[Ron Reefman]

The 'extra' structure will go a long way to making this stand more stable over the long run (as in years). And you have done a really nice job making it look good, in fact it looks great. Are you planing on painting it or staining it? I'd do it insde and out while you have the opportunity. And I'd consider a shower pan liner in the bottom. It will catch every little spill and protect your nice workmanship from a leak or overflow in the sump or other equipment. It's not expensive, it works great and it can be done so it looks as high quality as the rest of your build! I did it on my stand and I'd never build another stand without one.

You asked about fans. I'd consider a small fan (Radio Shack sells a nice 6-8" fan for like $20) in one end pushing new air in (pulling air out will just cause the fan to rust away in a year) and putting a small vent grille in the other end for air to flow out. I had 2 of those fans on my 75g canopy and they worked great. But I had them pulling air out and they rusted up in no time. The 2nd fans I installed pushed air in and worked for the next 3 years (when I sold the system).

 

[Michael cicco]

make sure you have some 2/4s holding up becaus eof the weight the ply wood prob wont be enough ,

 

[uncleof6]

I also agree, thanks for chiming in.



I dont think you are putting me down, but I am curious where have you seen plywood stands in this forum? It seems all I ever see are Rockets design with a plywood skin. Also I am sure that Rabbet joining the ends of my "box" would prevent wracking. Either way I am going to add more stability just for peace of mind.

Here is one--with butt joints. The reason you don't see many plywood stands (with no lumber,) is the typical DIY'er knows very little about structures, and decides that overkill is the only way to feel comfortable enough to sleep at night, understandable, but does not alter the point that any standard sized aquarium ( to prevent the one person from asking about a giant custom tank) can be supported by nothing more than a structurally sound plywood box--with no lumber--save for special concerns. (Long open spans in the plywood--and perhaps not even then) Not even the 1 x 4 inside would be necessary.

Someone mentioned 4 x 4's. The point to be made here is that 4 x 4's are about the most dimensionally unsound of all dimensioned lumber. For whatever reasons, they warp, twist, and crack to a far greater extent than any other dimensioned lumber. If such strength is really needed, you will get better stability out of "laminated" or doubled 2 x 4's.

I haven't really ever addressed the desparity between RocketEngineers stand design, and that which is really required. It is a great thread, a solid design, geared toward the typical DIY'er, that does not have a background in sturctural design, material strength, and the knowledge to put it all together properly: engineered strength. But even with all that lumber, if it is not put together right, it will all hit the floor.

What is unfortunate though, is that if you build a stand indentical to many manufactured stands--required for use if wanting the warranty of the tank honored--there would be no shortage of well meaning folks, that will say: "That just is not safe."

In the end it is all about "sleeping at night." There are not any stands that I have ever seen, plywood, lumber, or steel, that an F5 tornado, will not toss down the block around the corner, and up in a tree--right next to your car. A couple thousand pounds is just not really a significant load.

A word about the humidity: Not really a problem, after a couple coats of primer, and a couple coats of paint. To keep mildew out of the picture, you may wish to cut some openings in the back panel for ventilation.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1213499&page=19

 

[Sinclair81]

The 'extra' structure will go a long way to making this stand more stable over the long run (as in years). And you have done a really nice job making it look good, in fact it looks great. Are you planing on painting it or staining it? I'd do it insde and out while you have the opportunity. And I'd consider a shower pan liner in the bottom. It will catch every little spill and protect your nice workmanship from a leak or overflow in the sump or other equipment. It's not expensive, it works great and it can be done so it looks as high quality as the rest of your build! I did it on my stand and I'd never build another stand without one.

You asked about fans. I'd consider a small fan (Radio Shack sells a nice 6-8" fan for like $20) in one end pushing new air in (pulling air out will just cause the fan to rust away in a year) and putting a small vent grille in the other end for air to flow out. I had 2 of those fans on my 75g canopy and they worked great. But I had them pulling air out and they rusted up in no time. The 2nd fans I installed pushed air in and worked for the next 3 years (when I sold the system).

Thank you, I am trying to make it look good as well as be solid. I think I am going to paint the inside with some oil based primer and stain the outside. The shower pan is a great idea, but I am not sure I will need it. So you would recommed to push air in?

 

[Sinclair81]

Uncleof6,
Thank you for the post, I have been studying many posts on RC, inparticular the one you pointed out, and that is what I have based most of plans off of. Thank you for the input and I hope you will lurk around to watch the progress.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Thank you, I am trying to make it look good as well as be solid. I think I am going to paint the inside with some oil based primer and stain the outside. The shower pan is a great idea, but I am not sure I will need it. So you would recommed to push air in?

1) The shower pan liner is pretty cheap and if it saves your stand from just one minor leak (mine was a reeflo pump) or one good spill, it will pay for itself. You can buy the exact lenght you need (remember to add for the vertical sides at the ends) and it comes in 3 & 4 foot widths. Painting the inside with an oil based paint is a good idea.

2) Push air in with the fan. That way you have less humid (no salt) air going thru the fan itself. If you suck air out thru the fan, it will be humid and salty air and the fan will rust up in under a year. And make the vent at the other ens a plastic one because a metal vent will rust too. BTW, I covered the fan opening with an 8" marine speaker grille that had a metal surface which was easy to pull off. I could wipr the dust off and if needed, pull the grille and rinse it in the sink. It looked good and was convenient.

I have to admit, when I saw your first picks I was really concerned about your build (could you tell from the post?). But with the extra 1x4's, your attention to detail and quality workmanship... you'll have a really nice stand!

 

[Sinclair81]

1) The shower pan liner is pretty cheap and if it saves your stand from just one minor leak (mine was a reeflo pump) or one good spill, it will pay for itself. You can buy the exact lenght you need (remember to add for the vertical sides at the ends) and it comes in 3 & 4 foot widths. Painting the inside with an oil based paint is a good idea.

2) Push air in with the fan. That way you have less humid (no salt) air going thru the fan itself. If you suck air out thru the fan, it will be humid and salty air and the fan will rust up in under a year. And make the vent at the other ens a plastic one because a metal vent will rust too. BTW, I covered the fan opening with an 8" marine speaker grille that had a metal surface which was easy to pull off. I could wipr the dust off and if needed, pull the grille and rinse it in the sink. It looked good and was convenient.

I have to admit, when I saw your first picks I was really concerned about your build (could you tell from the post?). But with the extra 1x4's, your attention to detail and quality workmanship... you'll have a really nice stand!

Ron, the shower pan is a good idea, but I think I am keeping everthing in the sump (i.e. return pump, reactors...) so I dont think I will try the shower pan, but maybe when I go bigger. The fans are a good Idea and I will have to swing by grainger to pick some up.
Thank you for the compliment, I want some thing that will be able to look good and be able to hold close to close to half a ton.

 

[PAZE]

What??? that stand was ROCK SOLID everybody on this site blows there stands way out of proportion that stand would have never moved I've built stands for 20 years like that and they don't move, to bad I never caught this stand build earlier. All the power to you for adding extra to it, I would have left it alone, To all the guys that disagree with me, go and see store bought stands let me know how there build and the average joe that don't know any better buys it uses it and never has one issue. 750lbs on the edge of that ply is peanuts. Nice stand by the way.

 

[Sinclair81]

What??? that stand was ROCK SOLID everybody on this site blows there stands way out of proportion that stand would have never moved I've built stands for 20 years like that and they don't move, to bad I never caught this stand build earlier. All the power to you for adding extra to it, I would have left it alone, To all the guys that disagree with me, go and see store bought stands let me know how there build and the average joe that don't know any better buys it uses it and never has one issue. 750lbs on the edge of that ply is peanuts. Nice stand by the way.

Paze, thanks for the comments. I knew that structurally a plywood box would hold 900lbs easily but I didnt want to be one of "those people" that post there ideas online and recieve comments and feedback and still do their own thing. When researching this build I looked at many of the designs here and found many 2X4 frames with 1/2 or 3/4 inch "skins". A design that is VERY strong but weighs a lot, I wanted a stand that I alone could move. I then went to the LFS and looked at the manufactured stands, and they seemed to be built of 3/4 ply. So I made a hybrid model with a 1X4 frame inside, so far looks and feels great, and if all goes as planned should have water in it within two weeks.