DIY In-Wall Stand Design

[Natterjak]

I posted this in the DIY forum, but haven't gotten any responses, so I'm hoping this might be a better place to ask.

I'm planning out a 180g I'm going to be putting in-wall in my new house, and I need some advice on how to design the stand. I've never done any framing or stand building before, so I've tried to do a lot of research, but I still have a lot of questions.

Here's a rough sketch of what I have so far (apologies it's a bit messy, I just drew it on paper):

The back of the tank/stand is towards the front of the drawing, and the plan is to have the back form a 6" ledge behind the tank, so the dimensions of the stand would be 72"x 30".

The top frame would be constructed of 2x6's - the reason for this is because I have holes drilled in the bottom front of my tank for a closed loop - the holes are a bit close to the front and sides, so there's not a whole lot of room for much more than one 2x6.

This top frame would sit on top of the bottom frame, made of 2x4's. I plan on using the existing wall studs for the in-wall side of the frame. The ? marks are where I'm thinking of putting additional 2x4s - would two be enough for the back side? I did plan on doubling up on the 2x6s on the top frame to compensate. (There is a missing 2x4 in the back left corner - it's drawn in as a dotted line in the back right corner.)

My questions are (other than if this design would work at all):

1. What would be the best way to connect the 2x4s forming the top and bottom frames?

2. What would be the best way to connect the 2x6 frame to the 2x4 frame? (Screws coming up from the underneath the 2x4s into the 2x6s?)

3. Should I build the stand completely, and then sheetrock around it, or is there a better way to do it?

4. What additional bracing should I have? I plan to put plywood on top, but I'd like to leave the sides as open as possible - what would be best to reinforce it to keep it from twisting, etc.?

Thanks for any help!

 

[elliotklinger]

1.) Screw from underneath into top pieces- Maybe use 3" drywall coarse screws.

2.) Screw underneath the 2x4 into 2x6, use same screw, make sure you space each screws at 12" apart.

3.) Yes, you should build it completely and put sheetrock on it.

4.) Sort of tricky because you have one side completely open while other side is open which would put stress on front section. You should have at least 16" spacing between any foundation meaning putting up 2x4's in front. However, you may design it well like I did with mine, I was able to work around it a bit and use 16" spacing, yet leave me with sufficent opening for access.

I wouldn't recommend for anyone to have so much opening when going with tank over 100g. I was in construction business and I know woods especially 2x4 may be resilent but there's point where it would bends or worse yet, breaks...

You can use hurricaine brace, sold in any hardware for very cheap- it would not really prevent bending but still reinforce well enough to hold for 5 to 7 years... If yo're feeling a bit nervous then you can go with ordinary thick metal braces and attach on each corners, top and bottom.

 

[elliotklinger]

Come on, guys- let's toss in our opinion and advices so we'll help making this lady's or guy's dream come true and safely!

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Well, I built one very similar to your, except I didn't leave the back open. Its way overkill, but it make me feel better

 

[Natterjak]

Thanks for the responses!

I do plan on putting additional 2x4's in the locations where I have the ? marks in the drawing - either singles or doubled up like Fiziksgeek did. I'm also doubling up on the 2x6 on the top frame in the back. Hopefully that will be enough?

I don't know if I need the additional 2x4's on the sides, or if I can safely leave the sides open, as it will be a roughly 30" span. It would be nice to leave it open to make it easier to get the sump in and out, but not entirely necessary.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

My tank has a span of about 25 inches. (Top dimensions are 73x30) Its not a problem at all. The stand we've built are way over kill. Just look at an AGA stand that you would buy from the LFS. If you think about it too much, they would scare you a bit. But of course since they are produced commercially, alot of engineering has been done to ensure they are plenty strong. This stand could hold the tank (full) and my car!

Although I''ll let you know for sure when I fill the tank in a couple of weeks, hahaha.

 

[Natterjak]

LOL.

Your wall layout looks very similar to mine. Did you build the wall, or was it an existing one? Mine is an existing wall (put up by the previous owner). I'm trying to figure out if I need to remove all the sheetrock from that side, or if I can just remove part of it and patch it up.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

The wall was exisiting, but when I started to cut into it for the stand, I ended up tearing it down completely. Which is ok by me, it was originally a 2x3 wall, I rebuilt it as a 2x4 wall. If you wall is in better shape then mine, you might be able to patch it when you have the stand in place. I was refinishing the entire basement, so it didnt matter much. It also gave me the opportunity to use green board on that wall.

Here is my build thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=855413