DIY custom elos style stand
- Thread starter sgammon1
- Start date
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
I had a big guy friend fall into mine and catch himself. You should have seen the wave he created. Fortunately, the stand held, but I'm glad it wasn't even the slightest bit less solid. You can see my build thread in the MARS forums (MARS site, not RC.)
psykobowler
New member
My 150 gallon cherry stand from 7 years ago was made entirely of plywood. I ripped/tore this stand apart before we moved to Roseville. It wasn't hard to do because it was already in its weakened state. While the stand served its purpose, the water damages from any small spillage do add up over time and there were definite warpage. It will wrap and saltwater will get in between the plywood. You have to know what you are doing to pull off an all plywood stand. That said I only trust 2x4 wood and powder coated steel stand for support. I've known jack at aqua depot, Dennis at h2o exclusives and John at yr. I don't think any of them will recommend an all plywood stand unless it was built by a factory like mine.
sgammon1
New member
Where at on the Mars site?
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
Oh noes. Webshots came down and switch to a new thing. I thought my old images would still be available...
http://marineaquarist.org/forums/index.php?topic=623.0
They say temporarily unavailable. I'll go see if I can find the images.
http://marineaquarist.org/forums/index.php?topic=623.0
They say temporarily unavailable. I'll go see if I can find the images.
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
That was with no nail or glue or anything. It was just balancing to see how it all fit together.
You can see the end result here before doors:
And here's a shot with doors:
Pink Dolphin
Member
That center support will limit room by a lot.
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
Everything I read says you're going to want a piece of 3/4" or 1" plywood across the top and 1" styrofoam over that to prevent loading issues on the glass. I'm not sure how you do that and maintain the aesthetic.
fishnerd
Active member
Steve,
Since you dont have a floatig bottom pane of glass lile the 160xl I would recommend placing a flat board on top. The 160Xl has a 13 piece glass bottom pane that is over an 1" thick and the bottom is made to accomadate any imperfections of the many braces. With yours being a single pane bottom I would place a board and adjust your stand accordingly.
Bryan
Since you dont have a floatig bottom pane of glass lile the 160xl I would recommend placing a flat board on top. The 160Xl has a 13 piece glass bottom pane that is over an 1" thick and the bottom is made to accomadate any imperfections of the many braces. With yours being a single pane bottom I would place a board and adjust your stand accordingly.
Bryan
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
After reading an argument that said that a collapsing stand/tank would very likely kill a child, I decided to overbuild my stand. I would frame it with 4x4s and I would add cross braces \/\/\/\/ like a bridge to help with lateral forces.
HV1990
New member
your still going to get deflection of the front plywood. Basically when you put the weight of the tank full with water it is going to bow out and push hard against the front pain. This will stress the silicon and eventually lead to a leak. Since your going to use plywood you basically have different types of wood together held together by glue. Saltwater and glue work against that glue. Once that glue is compromised your whole stand then become very weak.
Everyone on here wants to see you succeed and have an awesome tank and the stand is one place that everyone here seems to agree is to do right and tried and true.
If you look at all the tanks out there most are 2x4 or 4x4 stands. The only other ones are metal which has a higher tensile strength and no deflection.
Everyone on here wants to see you succeed and have an awesome tank and the stand is one place that everyone here seems to agree is to do right and tried and true.
If you look at all the tanks out there most are 2x4 or 4x4 stands. The only other ones are metal which has a higher tensile strength and no deflection.
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
Right.
psykobowler
New member
Honestly Steve, everyone here wants you to succeed and a lot of us here have over a decade of experience and had gone through so many tanks and stands through out that time. Everyone had their share of DIYs, successes and failures in keeping marine life that just wants to guide you in the right direction. A lot of people start and quit this "hobby" quickly because of failure, finances and most importantly - failure to listen to those that are already successful and know what they are doing. Nothing in this hobby is by accident. Again, I have never seen a lfs that build their stands entirely out of plywood. My point is that the stand is not something that you really should compromise with based on price or budget or a really super cool elos design. There will be people viewing your tank that will be up really close to it. Name it, kids with their nose or face directly touching the glass looking at the inside. They'll be like "wow, that's nemo" then bam, your aquarium falls in the floor. Can you bear the risk of having your tank collapse in front of people? Most people use 2x2, 2x4 and steel stand for good measure. I've used all of them and they helped me sleep better at night. I'm sorry. I know you are a newbie and probably think that getting the coolest equipment or technology such as an LED fixture that simulates lighting storms will help you grow sps or get an advantage over other reefers but it is simply not true. I still use metal halides because I know they work. Radiums really grow corals, has all the light spectrum to grow anything you want and is tried and true. Money is not an issue to me and I could have replaced all of my lighting with the coolest technology out there but I don't because I know what works best. I would use 2x4, 2x2 or steel stands because they work. Reef keeping is not cheap and any cost cutting you do will end up biting you in the end. If your plywood stand fail, you'll realize the additional $200 it would cost to get that steel stand was not a bad idea after all.
sgammon1
New member
Ok, well here is a stand i built that should definitely support the stand.. I went off RocketEngineer build thread
Top using 2x6. The only reason I added 2x4 in the center bottom is so that I can add plywood for the sump to be lifted off the floor.
I would paint the lumber white before building.
Top using 2x6. The only reason I added 2x4 in the center bottom is so that I can add plywood for the sump to be lifted off the floor.
I would paint the lumber white before building.
Saltwaternooby
SPS junkie
Much better, pretty much how i did mine. I did add a center support in the back and 2 in the front but only 6" away from the sides to maximize access underneath.
Similar threads
