DIY Stand - Like your opinion

SuperNemo

New member
Hi,

Looking to do a DIY stand for a 180 gallon 6'x2'x2' AGA tank.

The stand will be made with 2x4. The four corner legs and the two center legs will be three 2x4s and the back will have two 2x4s inbetween the corner legs and the middle leg. Will that be strong enough?

THe top box will be three layers of 2x4s and the bottom box will be 2 layers of 2x4s. I did not have any cross brace because I would like to maximize the space. Is the 2 layers on the bottom sufficient to keep it steady? Also will be suing .75 inch plywood for the top and bottom which is not shown. This to stiffen up the top and bottom somewhat.

The center along the 6' side will have a 2x4 nailed in place with a cross 2x4 in the middle held by one of the three 2x4s in the center. Don't know if that can be seen so clearly. This I think will create an I-Beam in the middle after the plywood is placed on top.

The four corners will have a piece of 2x4 approximately 6-8 inches to help secure the corner legs to the top box. The 2x4 inbetween the middle and the corners will also have a 2x4 block to help hold the top box. Thought about using metal L shaped hindges, but didn't like the look.

The short (2') side will have removable legs as well so it would make removing and sump easier. Can that be done with my setup? Or would the middle legs for the 2' side need to be permanently attached for strength.

195929180_BottomUp.GIF


195929180Top-med.GIF


The pictures did not come out so well due to the size, but hopefully my description is okay.

Please give me your comments. If there is anything to make this stand stronger, please let me know.
 
That appears to be an extremely heafty design. I dont see the 2x4 on the side your talking about removing for sump. You definitly dont need another stud in the center of the 2' walls. Are you going to sheet this with something? Other than the top and bottom?
All the lumber you have there will carry an immense amount of downward weight, but if that weight was pushed from the top of one end (side to side) The structure could "rack" and weaken substantially...does that make sense? a diagonal 2x4 across the back fastensed well to one top corner and the opposite bottom corner would keep it from racking if you arent going to sheet it.
 
And I thought I over did the stand for my 30...
standstructure.jpg


My design would be enough to hold 180, if you want to scale yours down you could.
 
did you say 180? or was that 1800???lol you have way overbuilt it my friend. (not that that is such a bad idea - i tend to go that way myself) It will certainly be strong enough - just don't call me on movind day!!!
 
I incorporated jbird69 idea about a diagonal 2x4 across the back. However, I did two 2x4 horizontal accross the back to keep it more ridgid.

Any additional input is appreciated.
 
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1169964

There is no need for so many layers. A decent 2X8 upper frame and a 2X4 bottom frame are more then sufficient. The legs need to be DIRECTLY under the top frame which I don't see in your design. If you want to use only 2X4s for the upper frame then include a center leg on the long sides. Other then that, a facing of plywood will help keep things square. Wood glue all the joints and clamp and screw the pieces together.
 
RocketEngineer: The legs are under the top frame, the additional 2x4 you see floating is to accent the frame and give it additional support.

Would this hold if I don't want to face it. Only have a face on the bottom and top. Is the sides required? I will brace it with two 2x4s in the back connecting the five legs. Is that sufficient.
 
Super, in essence you're laminating those 2x4s. Laminating wet dimensional lumber (if it comes from any box store or lumber yard it's wet) is not a good idea. Each of those boards will move, shrink, and dry at different rates which will put lots of stress on whatever you use to fix them. 2x4's are not my favorite choice for cabinet work, especially not tons of them :) If you want the cantilevered look around your perimeter, there are better ways of achieving the same result with much less material.

The mention earlier of racking forces is often overlooked. The static downward load is easy to build for, but forgetting the racking forces for be ugly.

2x4's don't make the best joints, so any design you can make that eliminates as many joints as possible will be a better design. On a quick scan I saw 50+ joints. You should be able to drop that count way down without losing anything structurally.
 
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