DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[gguertin]

i will have to figure that out... I just dont feel it is save this way...

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

Here is the frame of mine...
I have since added a vertical leg/brace on the back right in the middle, I didn't have it in me to leave it COMPLETELY open :lol:

http://www.erikengstrom.net/Aquariums/75G/Frame1.jpg

I am currently skinning it and will have updated pictures... It is going to be covered in 1/2" maple ply and various trim pieces and stained a mahogany red.

 

[sea-horsea]

WOW!!! Finally after searching from forums to forums from this side of the earth to the other side(though its www), I found this site and I am so ready to build the stand this weekend!!! after reading 15 pages of great builts and suggestions and comments...I have a few questions...

--For the bottom, do you put a piece of plywood on the bottom? or just a piece above the bottom frame...
---After putting top frame and bottom frame together, do you screw the nail strips(green beam) to connect the top/bottom first or you put the vertical(purple) beams in first then the green?
---what kind of screws do you use? should I just screw the pieces together or pre-drill holes first?
---I will be building the stand for a 28Lx16Wx18H...do I need the center beam(blue) on top frame to avoid bowing?
---the stand where I am going to put can fit exactly 28"L...and I want to skin the stand for a better finish...do I need to consider the thickness of the skin? sorry this is my first time so I don't know how thick the "skin" is or if its just a thin piece of wood.
---will the 1x4s enough for my tank size?
---I was confused that 1x4 is not really 1x4"? is it true? if not then what's the exact measure?

last, I don't have a saw to cut the wood, do you know if they cut them in HD or Lowes?

thank you all in advance for the help and suggestions...thank you thank you.

 

[sabbath]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12537194#post12537194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SHOmuchFUN
Here is the frame of mine...
I have since added a vertical leg/brace on the back right in the middle, I didn't have it in me to leave it COMPLETELY open :lol:

http://www.erikengstrom.net/Aquariums/75G/Frame1.jpg

I am currently skinning it and will have updated pictures... It is going to be covered in 1/2" maple ply and various trim pieces and stained a mahogany red.

Your corner seems line up vertically. I don't believe it is as strong that way?

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12538831#post12538831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sabbath
Your corner seems line up vertically. I don't believe it is as strong that way?

You mean instead of parking a cement mixer on top, I can only park a mini-van on it?

I'm curious as to just how much "weaker" this is...

 

[cardiffgiant]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12539889#post12539889 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SHOmuchFUN
You mean instead of parking a cement mixer on top, I can only park a mini-van on it?

I'm curious as to just how much "weaker" this is...

I think that you are both talking about the screw board inside of the corners. If so, a couple of pages into the thread there is some discussion about the intention of the board is to hold the supporting legs in place, and not bear much of the weight of the tank.

Leaving some distance between the top and bottom of that board and the stand prevents the weight of the tank from putting pressure on the board, and causing it, or either of the supporting legs to turn.

The stand looks good, by the way! Can't wait to see the next step!

 

[sabbath]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12540009#post12540009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cardiffgiant
I think that you are both talking about the screw board inside of the corners. If so, a couple of pages into the thread there is some discussion about the intention of the board is to hold the supporting legs in place, and not bear much of the weight of the tank.

Leaving some distance between the top and bottom of that board and the stand prevents the weight of the tank from putting pressure on the board, and causing it, or either of the supporting legs to turn.

The stand looks good, by the way! Can't wait to see the next step!

No, I talking about the upper and lower frame and the legs. I'm not a Carpenter. But work with them. And have always heard them say to new ones to stager the joints. So it is just a question about it, from me.

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12540265#post12540265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sabbath
No, I talking about the upper and lower frame and the legs. I'm not a Carpenter. But work with them. And have always heard them say to new ones to stager the joints. So it is just a question about it, from me.

I did it the way I have it because I thought that having the top/bottom frames resting on an entire 2x4 would be stronger than only having them rest on the edges or half of a 2x4. If I were to stagger the joints, the side frames would only be resting on 3/4" of the 2x4 on each leg. This way, the ends are resting on all 1.5" of the vertical 2x4 leg.

 

[sea-horsea]

on top of the questions a few posts before...I have a few more questions...

I am trying to build a rack holding 2 stands and I got the plan from the previous posts....my question is that where do you put the "green" 2x4s at? From the picture it seems like it was on the outside of the 2 sides but it seems to be running from top to the bottom(floor)...help?

 

[sea-horsea]

bump

 

[randomworker]

--For the bottom, do you put a piece of plywood on the bottom? or just a piece above the bottom frame...

Put the plywood just above the bottom frame, you can then put your equipment on top of there.

---After putting top frame and bottom frame together, do you screw the nail strips(green beam) to connect the top/bottom first or you put the vertical(purple) beams in first then the green?

You'll probably have to put the bottom frame in place. Then the purple legs and the green strips all at the same time. Repeat this four times. Then place the top frame in place. It's probably a good idea just to put in a few screws during the initial construction. When all the pieces are in place, screw everything down.

---what kind of screws do you use? should I just screw the pieces together or pre-drill holes first?

Standard drywall screws will work. Make sure they are long enough. There's a reference to screws somewhere in this post. You'll probably have to drill pilot holes for some of them, because it's hard to drive in 2"-3" screws at the edge of a board without splitting the boards.

last, I don't have a saw to cut the wood, do you know if they cut them in HD or Lowes?

Sure, they do that.

 

[Mako Shark II]

Sea-Horsea
Use exterior grade (Galvanized) screws, not Std. drywall "streakers".

Regular Heat treated steel drywall screws (blueish, black) afford no corrosion resistance and your introducing a corrosive enviroment with a Salt water sump. (!) There will be a ton of humidity inside the cabinet, due to an open sump, so spend a few pennies and keep your top-coat paint inside the cabinet (becuase you will paint / seal the inside of the cabinet, right?!) looking clean and rust free, by using exterior grade screws and waterproof glue / adhesive.

 

[sea-horsea]

thank you for the suggestions...what kind of paint should I use for the interior? or any waterproof/weather proof paint will be ok......thank you again for the help

btw I got my pieces together today...the guy from HD was awsome..I made like 15 cuts or so and he didn't charge me any extras...can't thank him enough!!!

 

[SHOmuchFUN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12557065#post12557065 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mako Shark II
Sea-Horsea
Use exterior grade (Galvanized) screws, not Std. drywall "streakers".

Regular Heat treated steel drywall screws (blueish, black) afford no corrosion resistance and your introducing a corrosive enviroment with a Salt water sump. (!) There will be a ton of humidity inside the cabinet, due to an open sump, so spend a few pennies and keep your top-coat paint inside the cabinet (becuase you will paint / seal the inside of the cabinet, right?!) looking clean and rust free, by using exterior grade screws and waterproof glue / adhesive.

If you're crafty, you'll keep all your screws on the outside of the stand anyway. I used regular drywall screws, but made sure most of the heads to my screws were on the outside.

Coating the inside with a few coats of kilz will seal them anyway.
It's a good suggestion, but not a deal breaker.

 

[Mako Shark II]

Agree with SHO -
Use KILZ Exterior Grade Primer Sealer, Inside your cabinet, and as a prime coat if you plan on"painting" the exterior of your cabinet. (Obviously not if you plan on staining & Poly-sealing the exterior esthetically.

http://www.kilz.com/pages/default.aspx?NavID=26

 

[Mako Shark II]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12097758#post12097758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RocketEngineer

......the screw strips are intended to only keep the legs between the top and bottom frames. The legs themselves are hideously strong. There is no need for so many screws.

Rocket -

Thanks man. This thread has taken off and you've obviously given direction to a lot of us.

Here's a question:
Because I'm going to have a Remote Sump, Chiller, Cal Reactor, etc. apart from under the tank area (inside the cabinet), the inside of the cabinet will actually be presenting to the room, as an open area, bookshelf, what-have-you.

Accordingly, I was curious if I could "deck" the orange and blue lower frame pieces with 1/2 ply, BEFORE affixing the vertical purple & green uprights (which I'll pocket drill (ala-"toenail") to the lower frame), or would that cause too much lateral in-stability? (Having read this entire thread about four times, I know those uprights are good for like 19,000 pounds of downward force, so once my new 120 AGA is resting, loaded and filled, (and will be skinned with an exterior plywood), I should be cool by not affixing the Green screw strips to the Blue & Orange 2x4's. Yes?

The alternative is to "deck" it later, but it just means more work with a jigsaw to let-in the vertical studs, but I was going for a cleaner look, with a "square" base deck.

Thoughts? Thanx!

 

[sea-horsea]

ok...I got it done this afternoon when the outside temp was 105 at the highest at my area...

beginning with pieces of 2x4s...

got it to stand up...

fill in rest of the pieces...

got a couple of extra pieces so I put it on the back of the tank(toward the bottom of the stand...the stand is lying down with the front facing down)....

I am gonna put in the plywood and paint the interior with kiltz latex and then stain the stand(wife's decision ) tomorrow...


btw...I also made a small "storage room" toward the top of the stand, you can see the support beams on the last picture...
the reason for that is because I decided to show the bottom tank but don't want to show the accessories so I built that little room for bottles and containers and stuff...

any suggestions welcome

 

[bpiermat]

Every time I see one of these 2x4 aquarium stands...and I see the poster is in a seismic zone such as S CAL...I start to wonder, if this is reasonable or not. In S. Cal a stand like this must resist a lateral force equal to the weight of the aquarium (roughly...at the mid height of the aquarium)....since these frames are just nailed together...there is no real lateral resistance only the friction between 2x4s (if any)....please add plywood or bracing or else guess what...the freight train noise will end with a giant splashing sound if you know what I mean. Just don't place your toddlers crib next to it...

My 2 cents

 

[Slakker]

My shot at it. There ended up being a slight downward bow in the rear crossbeam, causing a barely noticeable gap between the 2x4 and the tank trim. However small it is, I don't want to risk it, so I'll be filling that space in with wood putty to level it out.

It's an Oceanic 58 gallon Reef Ready show tank (36x18x21)

I'll have to trim the screw-board on the back left with a router so that I can plumbing through there, unfortunately that 2x4 just barely interferes with the drain hole.

We used cheap rough-cut lumber (the screw-boards were select grade), which probably made it harder than it should have been, but this design is PERFECT. The more we got the stand assembled, the more it squared itself up. It's solid, I'm convinced I could park my car on it (and I drive a 1988 Buick.)

Thank you SO MUCH for this design, Rocket. I feel extremely comfortable putting my tank on top of this.

 

[Slakker]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12567827#post12567827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bpiermat
Every time I see one of these 2x4 aquarium stands...and I see the poster is in a seismic zone such as S CAL...I start to wonder, if this is reasonable or not. In S. Cal a stand like this must resist a lateral force equal to the weight of the aquarium (roughly...at the mid height of the aquarium)....since these frames are just nailed together...there is no real lateral resistance only the friction between 2x4s (if any)....please add plywood or bracing or else guess what...the freight train noise will end with a giant splashing sound if you know what I mean. Just don't place your toddlers crib next to it...

My 2 cents

The design is only a frame, it is meant to be skinned in plywood.