DIY Stands Template and Calculator

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Matt!
Great Build there!

OCEAN SIZE - Thanks! I agree 100% with you as well. It's extra security, and a bit more strength.

Let me rant a bit (keep in mind I AM not an engineer, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night!)

The only problem I have with using the L-Brackets and mounting brackes for joists is rust and corrosion. I believe that the stick wood mounting brackets are susceptable to corrosion. Particularly in the salt water environment that we're going to put our stands into.

This is why rocketscientist has built such a great stand. it's all butt joints and direct wood support. If you built the stand and rubber banded it together, it would actually probably still support most of our tanks. (until the cat knocked it over) - but it would definately hold the tank up!

To prevent corrosion - This requires, a very good, and very complete seal. Otherwise there may be problems. Particularly for direct load bearing type Joist brackets.

So for me - the L brackets were used in places that were not load bearing. Rather only in places that were "placekeeping". So that if they ever did eventually fail - the failure mode would not be catastrophic.

If I used the metal joist hangers - (which I did not) and one rusted, and then failed - the failure mode would be a tank that falls through the top of my stand. NOT acceptable.

Where as if an L-bracket above fails - I would then have a stand where a support leg could possibly be shoved out of position. Not an easy proposition with 3000 lbs on it.

Anyway - just my non-engineering thoughts on using metal in the stand.
 
AWESOME pics SPSfreak!

Good points on the metal - not sure how much moisture my stand will see - my sump is going on the other side of the wall. That said, I still need to waterproof any steel - great point!
 
dogfrog,

I would NEVER make the stand smaller then the tank. There is honestly no reason to do so. Build the top and bottom frames and then dry fit the legs. Take the legs off, pull everything into the room, place the bottom frame, re-install the legs, and install the top. Build it wherever you want but make it so it can be disassembled and then re-assembled in the room.

LoneRegister,
Not a bad stand design. I assume since you have all the extra supports across the center area that you will be supporting an acrylic tank.

Oh, and I am an ENGINEER.

OCEAN SIZE,
I like the term screwdriver gimmicks, I think thats really funny. Now, to answer your question with another question, why do builders use those metal plates? Expedience, loads coming from different directions, and to keep things in place when faced with say lift from high winds. In our case we are trying to transfer a load from under the tank into the floor. To keep things from turning into a parallelagram, plywood facing with a screw every foot or so will keep the sides square and the legs can take probably an order of magnitude more weight then we place on them. Hope that alleviates your concerns.

spsfreak,

Nice looking stand. I especially like the doors with the nice tight joint and the black finish.
 
I'm just finishing my build and have a question.

Would it be ok to line the bottom of the stand with felt strips? The kind you buy at home depot or lowes to protect your hardwood floors from getting scratched.

My stand will be on a hardwood floor and to avoid any damage to the floor, I was thinking of applying the felt strips to the entire perimeter of the stand.

Any thoughts?
 
RocketEngineer- my stand owes all it's credit to you. Your detailed posting starting this thread gave me the courage to attempt a stand build rather than pay thousands for a stand that I really wanted - or skimp to save money for a stand that would only suffice.

You are correct - it will be an acrylic aquarium.

Thanks again!
 
Thanks for the explanations, and sorry if I sounded contrary. I was questioning the physics of screws inset with jigs.

At the hardware store, I see thick steel brackets with dozens of holes for screws - it seemed those, if waterproofed, made more sense.

I appreciate your explanation and am here to follow everyones lead. I really appreciate the pics, explanations, and inspirations. Real nice tanks here. :thumbsup:
 
Excellent thread. Lots of excellent stands.

So now I want to build a stand for my 90g. I want to put a 75g sump/fuge under it. So that means I need a stand bigger than my tank.

So... What top rail do I need to use, assuming internal supports for the tank, to hold a 90g??? The stand will be 5'-6' long, with no center support like the template. Will have a center support in back.

Second... what is a pleasant height? My current stand is only 24" internally. I can kneel on my knees to look at the tank. Getting in isn't too tough. What is a good height for internal clearance, and still being decent to view? In general.
 
i made the stand for my 20" tall tank 36" high....puts more at eye level. i have one of those fold-up kitchen ladders that i can use if i need to get into the bottom of the tank.

i like it better w/ the tank higher for viewing vs. the minor inconvience if/when i need to reach the bottom for some reason
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11745906#post11745906 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RocketEngineer
jck9, if i remember correctly, saltwaterfishlover used the joist hanger to support the beam when initially assembling the stand. He then put screws into the end of that joist to improve the strength of that joint. The weight is carried by both the screws and the joist hanger.

patel, nice job on the stand.

Haxer, 2X8 should be more then strong enough. I would just make sure that you install a couple small stringers running between the front and back of the upper frame to keep things from bowing and twisting.

tinnghe, If I were to build a stand for that footprint tank, I would make the top frame out of 2X6, 2X4 legs, and a 2X4 bottom frame. Other then that, its the same design as the template on the first page.

I'm glad folks have found this thread to be useful. Keep the posts coming.
Click to expand...
RocketEngineer ---
I'm also looking to build a basic stand for my future 180 gallon tank / 72"x24"x24".
I would like to know if you are structually satisfied with Patels' stand?
I would like to know because I do not wish to have a center support just as his stand does not have one.
Please let me know what you think.

Thanks ---
Chris :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14028858#post14028858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by james3370
i made the stand for my 20" tall tank 36" high....puts more at eye level. i have one of those fold-up kitchen ladders that i can use if i need to get into the bottom of the tank.

i like it better w/ the tank higher for viewing vs. the minor inconvience if/when i need to reach the bottom for some reason
Click to expand...

Thanks James. I was looking at it today. Based on my sump, I figured I would have 9" if clearance inside if I had a 36" stand. Not too tall at all and a lot more room than I have now. Could even go taller.

It will give me an excuse to buy more reach rods. :)
 
I used this thread to build my tand this weekend...Thanks Rocket for starting this, it was very helpful! The only problem that I am having is that my stand seems to sway slightly front to back.

Did anyone else have this problem?

What do you reccomend to correct this?


Thanks
Ben
 
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I did not use wood glue, but I did use 3" screws...and plenty of them. Is there any type of support beam that I can add that will help with the sway??? Maybe run one 2x4 inside the stand on the left and right sides and on the back???
 
Wood glue would have been the best. You could try running 2x4's along the base from front to back. Add maybe Four 2x4's separating each 2x4 evenly.
 
benihana,

The sway is caused by not having enough stiffness in the corners. This can be caused by not clamping the legs to the rails while assembling or by not adding glue. I would disassemble the stand, glue and clamp the legs onto the bottom frame and then once the glue has had a day to set do the same for the top frame. The key here is the clamps. You want the glue to contact as much surface as possible.

Instead of skinning the entire stand, think about adding plywood triangles across the outside of the corners, the more the better. I would use 6-12" squares cut on the diagonal at the top and bottom to give the corners some added support. This way you get the benefits of the skin without covering the entire area of the tank.

HTH.
 
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