DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[TheFishMan65]

Your at the wrong party C-Rad . Try this thread it has pictures of the stand.

 

[Dustin1300]

I have a few questions before picking up the stand materials:

- Do I need to buy treated wood if I'm priming/sealing and then painting with an exterior weather proof latex?
- I'd like to put plywood/OSB on all three tiers. This is not really acting as much of a support but is rather distributing the load. Can I go with 1/2 inch OSB coated in primer/sealer? I'll have joists every 10-12" even though they may be overkill!
- Foam board on bottom layer with 1/4"+ since this is only tank without rim around bottom?

Thanks again in advance for all the help. I seem to have all the other answers and if I can get these nailed down I can pick up the wood tonight/tomorrow night!

 

[C-Rad]

I'd like to put plywood/OSB on all three tiers. This is not really acting as much of a support but is rather distributing the load. ... I'll have joists every 10-12" even though they may be overkill!

I don't think you need to distribute the load on the top two levels. Since the tanks are glass, and presumably have raised bottoms (weight rests around the bottom rim) you'll have beams directly under the front and rear long edges of each tank, right? If so, that's enough to carry the load, without any cross members or plywood. The weight is all carried by the front and rear long beams. If you add plywood and cross members, they will take some of the load, but that's optional. Am I missing something?

Foam board on bottom layer with 1/4"+ since this is only tank without rim around bottom?
I think plywood and foam is a good idea for the sump (bottom) level, just to guard against point pressure from a pebble or imperfection in the wood surface

 

[Dustin1300]

Makes sense. What about the wood being treated or not? What would you suggests? From looking at all the pictures in this thread it is not treated deck wood that I was pricing over the weekend

 

[hobbzz]

I would run a board at the front and back even with the tank. Then joist hanger for the sides. This is not rcommened, but then this is a small tank 45 gallons)

If that's not recommended, what would be the correct way to accomplish this then?

 

[TheFishMan65]

I avoid pressure treated. Even painted eventually you will scratch the paint or drill a whole or change something. Then you either paint it and hope the fumes don't bother anyone or hope the untreated area never causes problems.

 

[RocketEngineer]

I don't think you need to distribute the load on the top two levels. Since the tanks are glass, and presumably have raised bottoms (weight rests around the bottom rim) you'll have beams directly under the front and rear long edges of each tank, right? If so, that's enough to carry the load, without any cross members or plywood. The weight is all carried by the front and rear long beams. If you add plywood and cross members, they will take some of the load, but that's optional. Am I missing something?

Thats right. you don't need plywood on the upper shelves but I would put some there simply to have a place to put things while working on the tanks. I have a 1.5" overhang along the front of my tank and you would be amazed at how often something is sitting on it while I'm working on the tank.

Dustin1300,

I painted the wood in my stand. Pressure treated lumber uses some pretty nasty chemicals including copper. Why risk it having such things around the tank when regular pin will do fine.

I didn't use treated screws and where the paint didn't fully cover the screws some have started to rust. Because of this I recommend coated screws, primarly deck screws (stainless steel is expensive and weak).

RocketEngineer

 

[TheFishMan65]

hobbzz
The best option is to build the stand the size of your tank. Since you don't want to do that I listed what I saw as the best available option.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Double Post.

 

[Dustin1300]

Thanks Rocket. I will not use OSB then as I was not aware of the problems tied to it. Not worth the risks and I'm just trying to save money where it may not be needed.

As far as the 2Xs used, treated or not?!

 

[TheFishMan65]

NOT

I painted the wood in my stand. Pressure treated lumber uses some pretty nasty chemicals including copper. Why risk it having such things around the tank when regular pin will do fine.

- RocketEngineer

 

[bruce 1]

I am building a 72x27x27 tank it will have a 2 inch sand bed. I do not want the sand to show around the tank. What is my best option? Recess the tank in the molding or would it look ok to build a flat top on the stand then take a price of wood and make some trim to go around the bosom of the tank?

 

[Dustin1300]

Thanks Fishman This is my first stand build(s) and not claiming to be a professional That's why I'm asking you guys! Tonight I'll be picking up the plywood and 2Xs so I can move forward on this build! Saturday/Sunday I'll be focused on building this stand as well as figuring out how I want to design the water mixing station and stand. I'll post pics of my stand once complete! Thanks for all the help!

 

[TheFishMan65]

bruce either way should work if I understand you. I would just build the stand the size of the tank and cover with plywood.

 

[bruce 1]

:bounce2:

bruce either way should work if I understand you. I would just build the stand the size of the tank and cover with plywood.

My smart phone changes words to what it thinks I want to say.. I have seen some stands that look like the tank sits down in the stand so you do not see the sand bed. I like that look. But some one told me that is a place to trap spilled water and cause problems. Would it look Ok to just put molding around the tank and have a flat topped on the stand.

 

[C-Rad]

As stated, build the stand frame as show in this thread, the same, or slightly larger than the tank, and then skin it with plywood, allowing the plywood to come up and cover the bottom few inches of the tank to hide the sand bed. That would create a crack for water to run down into. You can handle that by running a bead of caulk between the glass and the plywood, which would cause spilled water to run down the front of the stand. You could also cut grooves in the top of the stand frame beams so that water can run under the tank and drip inside the stand if you prefer that.

 

[TheFishMan65]

I had not thought of that water drop problem. I don't see why the plywood top couldn't stick out past the frame (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch) to hold a molding cover. The stand should still be sized to the tank.

 

[UCT]

Building my stand for a 40 gallon breeder according to the template. Going to skin it with 1/2 inch plywood to which I have glued 1/8 inch oak veneer plywood. Top is 3/4 inch plywood. Everything looked perfectly level on carpet where I am placing the stand, but when I moved it to the tile floor to attach the plywood I discovered that one corner is between 1/32 inch and 1/16 inch lower than the rest of the stand. Do I need to correct this? Should I do it by cutting the plywood sides such that the plywood at the low corner is 1/16 inch higher than that the 2x4 inner frame?

 

[hoju74]

Hi,

Was wondering if this stand will be sturdy enough for a 50b display and a 40b sump. I plan to skin it in 1/4" or 1/2" plywood. I'm not particulary good at woodworking, so some input would be great.

I know I could use plywood exclusively, but I have a very limited amount of tools. Plus, the extra beefy stand will give me piece of mind.

Josh

 

[Dustin1300]

1) Can you give a better idea of the stand dimensions and the tank dimensions?
2) I'm not sure why you have the horizontal run of the red 2X4 I assume?
3) You should have a vertical 2X4 running about the height of the stand as Rocket outlines in first page of thread.