Another Custom Stand Construction Thread- 120 Gal.

[fishb8]

I prefer good custom built stands to any store bought ones any day.

 

[customcolor]

u did the same finish as i did i love it!<BR>

 

[ThrowinRoost89]

hey, very work


im also buying a 120AGA with overflow and looking to do that same stand and canopy.


i got a couple question tho

what size maple boards did you used? i looked at home depot today and they have up to 1x6. im guessing you ised 1x12 to skin the frame? ill look at james lumber or somewhere.

one the inside of the collums, did you cut off the edge of the trim to make it skinnier?

im tossing around the idea of using maple like you, or using birch plywood to skin it, and maple for the collums. can you tell a diff between the woods?


the only diff im going to do, is make the canopy shorter for my t5 lighting. i dont think it will be high enough to put collums on that. and im going to have the

 

[marino420td]

I used various sized maple boards purchased from a cabinet supply shop. Nothing as wide as 12" though.

On the inside of the columns I used a different (smaller) molding. Looks similar to the larger molding.

The inside of the columns is made from plywood on my stand. That is the only part. It does look a little different but still looks good. I went with solid maple because I was matching a bar that is in the same room with the tank.

If you can find a cabinet supply shop, they will probably have maple plywood.

Good luck.

 

[laud]

Ok, here is the fruit of your hard work...

It looked fine until the pictures revealed the shoddy sanding job. Now I see what you mean by sanding and more sanding. You really can't see it too much in person, thank goodness.

I still have to get the tank. Run the electric and water line through the attic and do everything else. LOL

A friend of mine LOVES the color of the wall behind your tank. Do you know the name and brand

 

[skins4life]

I'm running into space issues with my 120 stand build...

So to maximize the space inside the stand, I was wondering if it would be ok to lay the 2x4's on their wide side for the floor, this would net me 2 inches vertically. (I have a 29" skimmer that needs to fit in the stand H&S A200-1260)...

Also, I plan on having a ~60 gallon refium/return for the tank made out of acrylic (45x12x22)... (I plan on getting at the sump though a hidden side panel.) So the aqua screw boards really get in the way Would I be better off using lap joints to support the top frame of 2x4's to the vertical supports or pocket screws?

3rd issue. I will be running 2 vortech's on the back wall of my 120 so I am building the stand 28" deep to give me 3.5" inches for the vortech's... I will have side panels to cover up the drivers (still thinking of best way to access them)… The extra 3.5” will give me enough room to have a CO2 reactor setup under the stand with maybe a small ATO… So utilizing this space to its fullest is a big priority.


Thanks for the help!

 

[marino420td]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10688586#post10688586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by laud

A friend of mine LOVES the color of the wall behind your tank. Do you know the name and brand

Funny, I have had several people ask this. The color is copper and was chosen from a swatch at Lowes. I don't know the brand of paint as my paint contractor purchased it but most places can match the color with any brand.

 

[marino420td]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10689839#post10689839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skins4life

So to maximize the space inside the stand, I was wondering if it would be ok to lay the 2x4's on their wide side for the floor, this would net me 2 inches vertically. (I have a 29" skimmer that needs to fit in the stand H&S A200-1260)...

Also, I plan on having a ~60 gallon refium/return for the tank made out of acrylic (45x12x22)... (I plan on getting at the sump though a hidden side panel.) So the aqua screw boards really get in the way Would I be better off using lap joints to support the top frame of 2x4's to the vertical supports or pocket screws?

On the first issue, 3 of the 4 2X4's for my bottom lay flat. Only the one for the back is on edge. Check the pictures of my frame on page 1 of this thread. Doing it this way give you a nice support structure for the plywood bottom.

Not sure what the aqua screw boards are you refer to. My stand has doors on each end to allow plenty of access underneath.

 

[ThrowinRoost89]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10689839#post10689839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skins4life
I'm running into space issues with my 120 stand build...

So to maximize the space inside the stand, I was wondering if it would be ok to lay the 2x4's on their wide side for the floor, this would net me 2 inches vertically. (I have a 29" skimmer that needs to fit in the stand H&S A200-1260)...

Also, I plan on having a ~60 gallon refium/return for the tank made out of acrylic (45x12x22)... (I plan on getting at the sump though a hidden side panel.) So the aqua screw boards really get in the way Would I be better off using lap joints to support the top frame of 2x4's to the vertical supports or pocket screws?

3rd issue. I will be running 2 vortech's on the back wall of my 120 so I am building the stand 28" deep to give me 3.5" inches for the vortech's... I will have side panels to cover up the drivers (still thinking of best way to access them)… The extra 3.5” will give me enough room to have a CO2 reactor setup under the stand with maybe a small ATO… So utilizing this space to its fullest is a big priority.


Thanks for the help!

i have some of the same probs as you, im using a 55g thats 21in tall. im making the frame 40in tall to accomodate the tall sump and to have room to get in the sump. ill have 13.5in of room above my sump.


im making the stand frame .5in deeper so the back board of the frame will not mess with the bulkheads for the overflow(board will be flush on the inside trim).



and im not using a plywood across the top(afraid of water getting under it, and rotting the wood)



and i might make the stand wider so my 48insump will sit all the way in the back of the stand(vertical posts in the way).

i dunno if id like the wider top rail tho.

 

[skins4life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10691405#post10691405 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by marino420td
On the first issue, 3 of the 4 2X4's for my bottom lay flat. Only the one for the back is on edge. Check the pictures of my frame on page 1 of this thread. Doing it this way give you a nice support structure for the plywood bottom.

Not sure what the aqua screw boards are you refer to. My stand has doors on each end to allow plenty of access underneath.

Laying the 2x4's flat is great... I was thinking about using lap joints to join the bottom 2x4 frame together and then use screws to join the bottom frame to the vertical supports.

Aqua boards... Sorry about that, I merged your thread and RE thread [link ] together... here is a stand template I was speaking of that had the aqua boards...

Thanks!

 

[skins4life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10693810#post10693810 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ThrowinRoost89
i have some of the same probs as you, im using a 55g thats 21in tall. im making the frame 40in tall to accomodate the tall sump and to have room to get in the sump. ill have 13.5in of room above my sump.


im making the stand frame .5in deeper so the back board of the frame will not mess with the bulkheads for the overflow(board will be flush on the inside trim).



and im not using a plywood across the top(afraid of water getting under it, and rotting the wood)



and i might make the stand wider so my 48insump will sit all the way in the back of the stand(vertical posts in the way).

i dunno if id like the wider top rail tho.

My 120 tech has a very narrow and wide overflow 2.5x17" so that rear 2x4 that sits under the stand is also an issue. This makes me want to run cross supports from front to back over the 28" wide stand and not have a horizonal 2x4 under the rear of the tank. Then my vertical supports would be 2 2x4's in the front 2 corners, one in the middle on the front of the tank and then 1 2x4 on each of the rear corners of the tank. Then have 2 2x4's on each of the rear corners of the stand, and maybe a center rear support.

This would give me a very open stand with of 45.5x25x32.5"...

Still have to figure out where to place the electrical but thats about it.

I was thinking of using a plywood bottom and painting it white, just incase I went BB I would have something there.

I didn't like the idea of not having supports under each corner of the tank so thats why i went deeper rather than wider.

What do you all think?

 

[TandN]

lol looks like theres gonna be a few houses just like yours

 

[ThrowinRoost89]

im going to wrap the frame in birch, and use maple for the collums, doors and the trim.

ill start building tomorrow.

 

[poknsnok]

come to Florida and make my stand .. Im planning a 72" stand for a 240 that is 30" wide. i want to make the stand 36" wide for CL and other stuff.. I saw in rocke rngineer's template he states that center braces arent needed.. what do you think?

 

[poknsnok]

dbl.

 

[marino420td]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10700291#post10700291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by poknsnok
come to Florida and make my stand .. Im planning a 72" stand for a 240 that is 30" wide. i want to make the stand 36" wide for CL and other stuff.. I saw in rocke rngineer's template he states that center braces arent needed.. what do you think?

Maybe for a couple of plane tickets to Miami and tickets to a Dolphins game, that can be arranged

As far as a center brace, I think you can certainly engineer a stand to span that length without a brace. But you would need to use pretty beefy materials. Maybe laminated beam used in home construction.

 

[poknsnok]

I can get tons of tix... not hard to get Dolphin tix. Im Miami born and raised. Ill be there in 2 weeks for Dallas.. I have attended many a classic Dolphin game including Chargers playoff game in 82 and Bears in 85..

 

[marino420td]

Two classics. I can remember watching the Monday Night Bears game knowing the phins were going to win. Even though they were having a tough season.

Been a tough road since Dan retired!

 

[laud]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10700291#post10700291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by poknsnok
Im planning a 72" stand for a 240 that is 30" wide. i want to make the stand 36" wide for CL and other stuff.. I saw in rocke rngineer's template he states that center braces arent needed.. what do you think?

In rocketengineer's thread he had a link to the specs on wood bearing qualities. I've got the specs from "all-glass aquarium" and they have a 210 gallon that claims full weight is 2450lbs. Assuming that the weight is doubled for your tank (with rocks and all) 5000lbs divided by 6' you would only be supporting 69lbs an inch. Add the back 6' support and you're down to 35lbs an inch, all on the 2x8s.

Like I said in his thread, the way the commercial stands are built on 1x4s of pressed wood, I feel confident that the 2x8s are overkill.

IMO

 

[ThrowinRoost89]

where did you get the smaller egg and dart from?

i bought all the larger stuff and just realized its to big. and my local home depot doesnt have the smaller stuff.



it took me 1.5 hrs to frame the stand... its taken me 6hrs just to make the sides and partially make a collumn.