DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[ndrwater]

Rocket is correct. It isn't necessary to have a router to make doors. It Is even possible to make a raised panel door as pictured above, with a table saw. I would say that a recessed panel(flat center panel) door is probably the most cost effective way to make doors at home.
There is also another option for those of you who have a go with the stand, but feel intimidated by the prospect of making doors. Check with your local lumber yard, chances are they or have other professional customers that could potentially make the doors for you in any flavor you have your heart set on. Just a thought..

 

[dangros]

speaking of wood working, I'm considering steam bending my red oak plywood around the corners. Has anyone done this??

 

[ChrisVaught]

75g Stand

75g Stand

I started my stand build on Thursday evening and have about 90% of the framing done. I joined RC on Saturday and stumbled upon this thread about a day later. Cool thing is I built pretty much what you guys have detailed here. Obviously I did a lot of research and didn't come up with all by myself but I'm glad to see what I decided to go with is recommended. All my cuts are square and I put it together on a level surface but it has some wobble.
Will the weight of the tank square it with the floor? Is this going to stress the tank? There's a local granite store who sells scrap fairly reasonable. I thought maybe putting a granite top on the whole thing to dress it up and maybe the weight would help level it out. Anyone done this? Any suggestions?

 

[RocketEngineer]

I started my stand build on Thursday evening and have about 90% of the framing done. I joined RC on Saturday and stumbled upon this thread about a day later. Cool thing is I built pretty much what you guys have detailed here. Obviously I did a lot of research and didn't come up with all by myself but I'm glad to see what I decided to go with is recommended. All my cuts are square and I put it together on a level surface but it has some wobble.
Will the weight of the tank square it with the floor? Is this going to stress the tank? There's a local granite store who sells scrap fairly reasonable. I thought maybe putting a granite top on the whole thing to dress it up and maybe the weight would help level it out. Anyone done this? Any suggestions?

The top needs to be perfectly flat. As long as the stand pieces don't move relative to each other, the bottom can be shimmed to get the stand stable. Being on carpet, the stand is going to settle into the carpet as the weight of water compresses the carpet and padding so you will likely need to adjust the shims more than once.

 

[ChouDawg]

Geez, I could never build anything half as good as what you guys. I'm building a stand for my new 60F 24"x12"x7", only 7.5g so I was planning to go with 2x1 instead of 2x4 like I used on my 40BR stand. My question for any of you gurus out there, do I need the top middle frame support? What kind of wood top/bottom would you guys recommend. The bottom isn't as relevant since it wont be seen just needs to be flat and clean. The top I really want something that won't require any prep to paint/stain. I've used high quality pine in the past which was nice and smooth and I stained right on that but figured I'd ask beforehand this time. Another option I was considering for the top was to use a piece of black acrylic. This would already be "painted" essentially, be waterproof and cheap/easy. I'm just worried about the acrylic bowing in the middle if it's not a super thick piece. I'm thinking with acrylic I'd want to keep that middle brace to help support it?

 

[rs1831]

Need a little help..

Need a little help..

Hello, I would like to build a stand and since I have never done something like this before I decided to make a workbench as practice. In this picture, everything is square but one corner is a little off the ground. When I put weight in the middle and on that end it goes flat without a problem. Could someone please tell me what I should do to correct this.

Thanks!

 

[RocketEngineer]

Hello, I would like to build a stand and since I have never done something like this before I decided to make a workbench as practice. In this picture, everything is square but one corner is a little off the ground. When I put weight in the middle and on that end it goes flat without a problem. Could someone please tell me what I should do to correct this.

Thanks!

1) Get a 4' level. These are the longest straight edges you can get on the cheap.
2) Check that the floor you are comparing to is flat. Given that its concrete, I would hazard a guess and say it isn't flat.
3) Buy straighter boards. The one downfall to this style of stand is that the typical 2X isn't the straightest thing you can get.
4) Depending on the amount, I normally recommend sanding down the high spot until the top is flat, you can always shim the bottom.

 

[saf1]

Read for a bit and get the idea of the overall design. Quick question thought but I think it may be ok. I have a pair of 40 breeders and wanted to know if this stand build would work for me.

Standard 40 breed up top for the display with a light weight canopy on top. The bottom of the tank I want to put the sump which is also a 40 breeder. I meant to buy a 20 gallon for it but for some reason brain farted and picked up another 40. So the question is can I have the 40 for display with another 40 down below for the sump? I need a bit wider anyway because I'm going to be adding a skimmer which would need to sit outside the sump.

Just wondering since the tank vs. weight distribution will be not centered with the legs, etc. So basically 2 40's stacked (display/sump).

Thanks.

 

[RocketEngineer]

saf1, the big determining factor would be how wide you wanted to go with the stand. If you wanted it so that the sump barely fit, minimizing how far the display was from the legs, you should be able to build the stand without a problem.

 

[saf1]

saf1, the big determining factor would be how wide you wanted to go with the stand. If you wanted it so that the sump barely fit, minimizing how far the display was from the legs, you should be able to build the stand without a problem.

That is what I was thinking too. It comes down to weight distribution or spread I guess. Thanks. Maybe what I will do is just wait for another dollar sale (just missed it) or use one of the bio-cubes I'm merging together. Either will work.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.

 

[IPT]

Will corner braces like this suffice instead of skinning it on a 120? I want to save the interior space, weight, and I will be using pocket screws to joint the uprights to the upper and lower frames.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Why add something that a) is going to rust, and b) isn't needed. If you use pocket screws, you don't need the screw strips or other types of bracing. Just make sure you use the correct hole positioning and length screw for the size lumber.

 

[IPT]

Why add something that a) is going to rust, and b) isn't needed. If you use pocket screws, you don't need the screw strips or other types of bracing. Just make sure you use the correct hole positioning and length screw for the size lumber.

Thanks Rocket - was hoping you'd chime in. So with the pocket screws (used what Kreg recommended for 1.5" lumber) I am good on the lateral stability?

I was going to add a 5" wide strip of 3/4 ply in the back as an additional upright. It will also aide with controlling any potential racking. I know with a 2x6 and 40 inch span I should be fine (120 gal) but I figure it can't hurt to have additional vertical support being that it will also control racking.

 

[moulton712]

On a 2x4 use 2.5 inch blue coated pocket screws. Make sure you adjust the kerg right.

 

[ndrwater]

speaking of wood working, I'm considering steam bending my red oak plywood around the corners. Has anyone done this??

Dangros-
What you describe would be tough if not damn near impossible depending on the radius. Even using a plywood called "wiggle Wood" the smallest radius I would even thinking about would be 3-4". PLUS... you would then have to skin the Wiggle wood with something else. Probably not what you had in mind.

 

[moondoggy4]

warped

warped

Hello, I would like to build a stand and since I have never done something like this before I decided to make a workbench as practice. In this picture, everything is square but one corner is a little off the ground. When I put weight in the middle and on that end it goes flat without a problem. Could someone please tell me what I should do to correct this.

Thanks!

The problems is with the wood today, if you get the kiln dried wood 2 x 4's they can warp, I like to go to real lumber stores and get patio wood quality lumber I had them cut everything and put it on a pallet, it was cheap and great quality wood, less warpage.

 

[bengeeee]

Rocket Engineer... First of all thanks for creating this thread and helping out so many of us. I looked through most of the 138 pages and either missed it or didn't see the answer to my question.

I just purchased a 300 gallon marineland deep dimension and need a stand. The tank is 72 long by 36 wide by 27 high. I would like the stand to be approximately 40 inches high. I bought douglas fir 2 by 10s. Will these be sufficient to avoid a center brace with a tank this size?

I plan on building the stand ASAP. Thanks in advance! This thread is awesome.

Ben

 

[Fish N Coral]

Can I follow the exact same template and dimensions for using a 1x4 instead or are there minor adjustments that need to be made?

I plan on having a 40 breeder w/ sump.

 

[Nortamzzo]

Is it ok to make the stand with no bottom piece, the bottom blue and orange pieces? Instead attach the legs to a 3/4 plywood base? Or if not, how about building without the front orange piece? Trying to leave as large of an opening as possible.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Rocket Engineer... First of all thanks for creating this thread and helping out so many of us. I looked through most of the 138 pages and either missed it or didn't see the answer to my question.

I just purchased a 300 gallon marineland deep dimension and need a stand. The tank is 72 long by 36 wide by 27 high. I would like the stand to be approximately 40 inches high. I bought douglas fir 2 by 10s. Will these be sufficient to avoid a center brace with a tank this size?

I plan on building the stand ASAP. Thanks in advance! This thread is awesome.

Ben

A 2X10 is definitely enough. You could probably get away with a 2X8 so you should be fine.

Can I follow the exact same template and dimensions for using a 1x4 instead or are there minor adjustments that need to be made?

I plan on having a 40 breeder w/ sump.

You need to account for the decreased width of the boards when calculating the yellow and blue board lengths. Those are now 1.5" less than the stand width instead of the 3" for a 2X4 style.

Is it ok to make the stand with no bottom piece, the bottom blue and orange pieces? Instead attach the legs to a 3/4 plywood base? Or if not, how about building without the front orange piece? Trying to leave as large of an opening as possible.

I recommend against this as doing so could allow the bottom of the legs to twist out from under the tank over time. If you need a larger opening, you could just make the stand taller.