DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[FuzzyZipperbaum]

It takes me 10 hours what it takes some of you 10 minutes in sketch up so you will have to just see the ugly drawling's...

There are 2 tanks of approx. 500 gallons. They are 94x40x30H. They are on the second floor. The back wall is a concrete load bearing wall....the right side is an added load bearing wall.... I also added a 5 1/4 x 16" beam underneath ALONG with another load bearing wall about 5 feet from that (made a fish room under it). The floor joist are perpendicular to the tank. I just started a build thread if anyone is interested....Lunatic Fringe is the name.....


Anyway these are acrylic tanks. I am using LVL around the top.... I THINK I could get away with not using the 2 2x4 in the middle of the front part but I would still be more comfortable with the middle posts I put in behind them.....

If you have any thoughts let me know

 

[ganjero]

I have a stand that I originally made for a 48x30 tank. The tank is gone and I'm getting a new one 48x24. The stand has plywood on top of the frame. Will my stand work or does it need to be sitting on the frame?

Thanks

 

[Lubecky]

Well,I've read about 25 pages and have done as many searches as I can but not had much luck. My goal is to build an oversized stand for my 60x18x21 acrylic tank. I would prefer to make the tank 6'x36"x42" tall. I understand I need to be sure that the top frame and the tank align but not sure how the dimensions change from the original design? Or how to calculate the top frame work and what it would look like? Thanks in advance.

 

[Astex]

Ok all, I know I've marked it before, but does anyone know which post had the drawing of a decent design for stacking two tanks?

I've tried all the search terms I can think of and nothing is popping up.

Thanks,

 

[RocketEngineer]

Ok all, I know I've marked it before, but does anyone know which post had the drawing of a decent design for stacking two tanks?

I've tried all the search terms I can think of and nothing is popping up.

Thanks,

Best I got. FYI Post 2700

 

[Astex]

That's the one I was looking for, just wanted to confirm my memory of the details before I started building something.

Thanks,

 

[heyyoitsnicky]

hi guys, id like to get an opinion on the stand im currently working on. the tank is a traditional 40 breeder. 36x18. i used selct pine 1x4 and glued and screwd everything. i wasnt checking for square and be for i could fix it the glue was almost dry.i built the stand according to the typical colorcoded blue print in the beginning of this forum.

so after i relized the stand was 1/4" out of square i decided to go pickup a peice of 3/4" 6 ply cabinet grade ply wood. sinned the side front 3/4 of the back and the top. i managed to get a little of the tweak out but i think itll do. the way i skinned it is the top where the tank sit is sitting on top of both the fram and the skinned sides and front. like i said the enire thing is glued and scred, plus i plan to epoxy and 4x2ft peice of granit to the top.


now for the question. do i have any worries? for the tank or the stand? will it hold being under stress like that from me cheating the plywood to square?
since im using a granite top no worries right? i mean its essentially two stands in one...a 3/4 ply wood stand with a 1x4 stand inside of it...right?
thank guys

 

[Lubecky]

Can anyone help or direct me to a cut sheet for the following. My tank is 60x18x24. I will be building the stand larger than the tank and need a cut sheet for a 72x36x40 stand. I would like the tank centered but pulled all the way to the front of the stand. Here is what I'm aiming for. I want to use the 2x6 for the top didn't want to have a center brace.
Thanks for your help.
<a href="http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/?action=view&current=EE0A27A3-63C6-4129-A2F2-B6DBC0EAE659-2833-0000058F1215406D_zps22a17a47.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/EE0A27A3-63C6-4129-A2F2-B6DBC0EAE659-2833-0000058F1215406D_zps22a17a47.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

<a href="http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/?action=view&current=07A1259E-7E4A-4A25-9BC5-4AE935B6520C-2833-0000058F12AF15EB_zps8a1844eb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/07A1259E-7E4A-4A25-9BC5-4AE935B6520C-2833-0000058F12AF15EB_zps8a1844eb.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[Psionicdragon]

man you guys wanna build a stand and canopy for me?!? those are some killer work of art!

 

[DHyslop]

Before I build this stand I'd like a little bit of feedback from our resident engineers. It's for a 48x24" 120g tank. I plan to use 2x4 SYP with a center support, but use pocket screws instead of the green nailer and omit two of the front corner supports. I need to get rid of them to have enough room for framless cabinet doors from my local Swedish megastore. As I understand it, the compressive strength of a single 2x4 at each front corner will be more than adequate to support the tank, but I may have to add gussets or plywood to the sides to prevent racking?

Thanks!

 

[davidgnome]

Dt is 48x36x24, trying to place two 36 x18 forty breeders as a sump/ refugium. Stand build where the stand is bigger then Dt? hope you guys can help. thanks If its better I could do a 55gal lengthwise with a 40 breeder,but then I have same issue with my tank not actually sitting onto of half the purple 2x4 s..what to do?

 

[davidgnome]

Here would be with the 55 and one 40. the papers are my 2x4's and hopefully you see my point. In order for my Dt to be in contact with the purple 2x4's I would only have it sitting on half. so if I do two 40's they take all 36" width of my Dt. or if i go with the 55 then the length is the same as my Dt...either way I don't sit Dt on all eight 2x4's. sorry typing on phone is not fun.

 

[Lubecky]

Here is my stand for my 110 gal. I'm pleased. Went with 61x26x41
<a href="http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/?action=view&current=5163EDEA-FCB3-4439-AD88-68A6C50F664E-543-0000011D1CE5B7A9_zps7c46794f.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/5163EDEA-FCB3-4439-AD88-68A6C50F664E-543-0000011D1CE5B7A9_zps7c46794f.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
<a href="http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/?action=view&current=128F8D6C-B0A4-4B5D-AACB-3559A8E97817-543-0000011D190853E0_zpsf08a8da5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/128F8D6C-B0A4-4B5D-AACB-3559A8E97817-543-0000011D190853E0_zpsf08a8da5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>
<a href="http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/?action=view&current=649D2804-D0E1-4701-83A4-BE84E8D7B1F6-543-0000011D082B90BD_zps8850937b.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh542/lubecky1/649D2804-D0E1-4701-83A4-BE84E8D7B1F6-543-0000011D082B90BD_zps8850937b.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[Twin Reefs]

I can't believe I read all 114 pages of this thread!!

But glad I did, as I have learned quite a bit from everyone here.....a special thanks to Rocketengineer for starting it!

Ok, now I'll be off to start my build for my 120 gallon 48x24x24 tank. I'll be using the framework as designed by Rocketengineer and will be skinning with Oak. I'm sooo excited to get started!

 

[hobbzz]

What do you think about this design? It's the stand that came along with a 120 I picked up today. Sufficient or no?

 

[hobbzz]

Forgot to say there are two removable braces for the back span that are not pictured.

I'm specifically wondering about the joints on the bottom corners, but of course any other problems as well. Thanks

 

[biecacka]

Are 2x6's sufficient for top horizontal support for a 48/48/24 cube or would 2x8's be better?

Corey

 

[DrPat]

Hi guys I have been building my own stands since 1986 from a design I got out of fama at that time .I still have that stand and have built everything that ever needed support with this design .It is both time tested and weight tested as I have had a 180 gal that I built in 1986 from 1/2 inch glass 60Lx30Hx24W. also 2 ,110 gallon tanks for the past 4years,follow this link for a well done instructional video the only difference in my stands as compared to teds is that I use 5/16 inch carriage bolts instead of screws. I recently built a 2 tier rack for 4, over 4, 20 gallon tanks with the screws and its the same strenght I use a dado blade on my table saw to cut the 2x4 ted will show you how to with a circular saw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ffely-t4iw

 

[laxb0rder]

Hey everyone, im looking to upgrade and the plan is to have a 75 display with 40B sump. I just got the 40 from petco in their 1$ a gallon sale and not im thinking about building a stand using the guide up here. My question is does anyone have a 75 with a 40 in the stand and what dimensions did you use? Also does anyone have a stand with a lip in front of the tank with the tank not going all the way to the edge? I was wondering how this would look. Thanks

 

[RocketEngineer]

Hey everyone, im looking to upgrade and the plan is to have a 75 display with 40B sump. I just got the 40 from petco in their 1$ a gallon sale and not im thinking about building a stand using the guide up here. My question is does anyone have a 75 with a 40 in the stand and what dimensions did you use? Also does anyone have a stand with a lip in front of the tank with the tank not going all the way to the edge? I was wondering how this would look. Thanks

If you scroll up you can see a plan that has the ends extend beyond the back of the stand. Lubecky built pretty much that design. I like to have about 6" behind the tank for wires and plumbing.

You need to support the front edge of the tank. However, on my stand the top is large enough that I have a 2" lip running around the perimeter of the stand. This lip isn't supported but it is big enough for me to put small items on when I'm working in the tank. Just keep in mind that the tank sits over top of the structure while the top extends beyond the structure.