DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[Poriferan]

I am building a stand for a 10'x5'x12" tank.

My plan is to run 2x6 around the top with an additional 2x6 bisecting the 10' length. The 2x6's would be supported at all 4 corners and at the middle of the 10' section. This is the freehand, not to scale drawing. It will have crossbracing on then ends and both sections of the middle. Topped with 3/4" plywood and lower shelf with 3/4" ply as well.

Will this work????

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[pdiehm]

Lastly , I always get stuck making the doors, so I never end up making them

Is their a thread to show how make doors?

Thanks for your help

On my tank, (should be in the thread), I didn't make doors per se. they look like doors, but in reality they are 5 removable panels.

Used 3/4" x 3" wood for the door frames, used pocket screws to attach them and glue. Then I got 1/4" wood for the back and nailed those onto the frames I just built, leaving a 3/4" gap from the edge.

the door overhang sits on the front frame creating a seal so to speak.

If you search the thread, you'll see my stand. If you don't, shoot me a PM and I'll zip you some pics.

BTW, the tools I used: Jig saw, Wood Glue, Finishing nails, Pocket screws and 2 clamps.

Dat's it!


PS: IN hindsight instead of making my stand 18" deep on the bottom, I should have gone with my first instinct and given myself 24" to work with. If I build one next time, I'll know better.

 

[RocketEngineer]

I want to start off by saying thanks to everyone with their info that they've posted and the photo's there have been lots of ideas to play with.

I'm going to be moving soon, which will be great because i can upgrade, sad part is looking for something that i like, which lead me here to make my own, hopefully my design won't need too much modifications(built completely out of 2x4), i'll be moving into a 90G, the stand will have 2 compartments on each side for doors and shelving for all fish supplies and will have a hood built in as well, the picture shown is the core the shell will be added later.

i also wanted to try and track down the most cuts i can get from a large size of 2x4 so i made something in excel and figured if anyone who really knows excel better than i do could improve on it, but for the most part the stats work, some have to be manual (needed cuts and so on, any extra's will show up as a negative, also tax has to be put in with a decimal like 7.50% would be .0750) and math should be pretty good. if not i'm sure you'll let me know about it. anyways here's what it looks like.

The design looks pretty good. My only recommendation is to make sure each end under the tank is large enough for items you would eventually put there. On my stand, the two end compartments are just slightly too small for a 10g tank and getting a 5g bucket in there is tight. It really limited my options down the road. If I were to do it again, I would have made the stand just a couple inches longer so both ends are more usable.

I am building a stand for a 10'x5'x12" tank.

My plan is to run 2x6 around the top with an additional 2x6 bisecting the 10' length. The 2x6's would be supported at all 4 corners and at the middle of the 10' section. This is the freehand, not to scale drawing. It will have crossbracing on then ends and both sections of the middle. Topped with 3/4" plywood and lower shelf with 3/4" ply as well.

Will this work????

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/130512381@N04/21425586853/in/dateposted-public/" title="001"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5706/21425586853_512fe4c40d_c.jpg" width="800" height="614" alt="001"></a></script>

Poriferan,
Please DO NOT use 4X4s. They are very poor quality wood and because they are so large they tend to still have a lot of moisture in them when you purchase them which leads to twisting and splitting down the road. Instead, you would be much better off using two 2X4s screwed together. They will be much stronger and dimensionally stable long term.

Also, A single sheet of plywood screwed onto one side will give you a lot more stability than a cross brace plus it gives you a place to mount items later.

 

[_Snuffles]

The design looks pretty good. My only recommendation is to make sure each end under the tank is large enough for items you would eventually put there. On my stand, the two end compartments are just slightly too small for a 10g tank and getting a 5g bucket in there is tight. It really limited my options down the road. If I were to do it again, I would have made the stand just a couple inches longer so both ends are more usable.



Poriferan,
Please DO NOT use 4X4s. They are very poor quality wood and because they are so large they tend to still have a lot of moisture in them when you purchase them which leads to twisting and splitting down the road. Instead, you would be much better off using two 2X4s screwed together. They will be much stronger and dimensionally stable long term.

Also, A single sheet of plywood screwed onto one side will give you a lot more stability than a cross brace plus it gives you a place to mount items later.

I've updated my plan a bit also noticing an error on my end with length , for some odd reason I'm unable to edit the post, I'll be fixing that soon but for the most part the height was more made for my height but I've figured the sump being about 12or 14 inches tall and having 8-10 inch mobility would seem fine.

 

[Goldmund]

Got the 180 stand primed and ready for paint tomorrow.

I'm really happy with how this is turning out so far. It's making me want to redo the manufacturer stand on my 120g. I'm considering plywood only for it now that I have a Kreg's jig, anyone know of decent plans for that?

 

[djam]

Thanks and a new question

Thanks and a new question

Hey RocketEngineer, thanks for the help last year. I put up a 240 + 180g sump using your design, works great.

With all that extra space my clownfish got busy while I was on vacation. I have come back to a huge, about to hatch nest.

I have a spare 15g tank for rearing them, but no stand. Would 1x2' be have enough strength to hold a 15g tank? Assuming it never gets more than 3/4 full and will start at 1/4 full. I need to build the stand today and I'm hoping to not have to run to the store to get wood as I have 1x2s already here. at home.

I can throw a sheet of 3/8" plywood on top.

D

 

[pdiehm]

If I would ever re-do my stand, this is how I would redo it.

60" tank, with a 40 gallon sump under, and a 40 gallon breeder standalone refugium that would gravity feed the display tank.

 

[Freemananana]

For a 96" tank, 30" wide, what size timber should I use for the top rail? Would 2x6 with a center support work?

 

[RocketEngineer]

For a 96" tank, 30" wide, what size timber should I use for the top rail? Would 2x6 with a center support work?

How tall is the tank? It makes a difference.

 

[Reef Mortician]

How tall is the tank? It makes a difference.

I'm planning a similar stand, but to hold 2 tanks (125 and a 75) on top. The top frame would measure 125inx18in.

Could 2x6 top frame, supported under the corners of the 2 tanks, be enough to have unsupported spans under both tanks? The stand will be 40-45in tall.

I want to be able to get full access to a 75 gallon sump under the 125 gallon, and full access to a 40 gallon refugium under the 75 gallon. Thanks

 

[geekengineer]

I build this based of Rockets first design, but with pocket drilling. Its big enough to hold a 20L below and 29G above. In hindsight I should have probably made it a bit bigger and made it so the sump fits in easier I didn't think about it of course till afterwards doh. I didn't catch the post about the same sized tank/sump design either till tonight oh well. I can make it work I just put the sump tank in from the bottom. I feel like I got too much work into it to go back now. lol I can't say im the best wood worker yet but its better than what I done in the past hehe.

 

[touchingstoves]

Hello I am new at making stands. I followed theengineer's template and got a shorter stand than I wanted. My questoon is how do you make a stand that houses a sump that's the same length? Is there rules about how that can be done?

 

[geekengineer]

The layout I find easiest is below:

The gap behind the display lets the sump have enough room plus all your plumbing and wires now have a space to run.

(oh well I can't sleep anyhow..) I would presume you only have to make sure the distance from inside purple to purple fits your length requirement of your sump. This might have worked out better for my setup but I still wanted to put some sort of noise barrier around the sump in my case.

 

[GrimReefer555]

Hi, and thanks for what you do for us here. I've got a 240g 8x2x2 that I'd like to use your design for. According to your plans, I could use 2x8's for the top rails with no center brace? I really like how clean it looks with no center brace, and would beef it up further to do so...

 

[geekengineer]

I just curious I haven't run through all the posts but has anyone made a web based calculator for this design? That be sort of sweet. Maybe even have different design options like sump or no sump etc...

I wonder if what happens like to some of us is we are thinking of the tank size and forget to take into account the lost size due to the wood frame itself. I added some margin for extra room, but not quite enough as I should have so I ended up with a tighter fit than I hoped for.

I also wanted to ask how critical is it for the top to be level I mean at least with in a milimeter or two? I wanted the look of the same wood so I went with doing a glued together top piece but friend mentioned that might not be good idea. I sanded it down really good so it would be as level as I could get it and I thought the tank wasn't wobbly when I put it on there. I tested it with water in the tank and it seemed fine. So wouldn't that be ok you think?

 

[touchingstoves]

DIY Stands Template and Calculator

(oh well I can't sleep anyhow..) I would presume you only have to make sure the distance from inside purple to purple fits your length requirement of your sump. This might have worked out better for my setup but I still wanted to put some sort of noise barrier around the sump in my case.

Ok sorry, I didn't explain better. My tank size is 48.5 x 18.5 x 31.5"tall, the sump is 48.5 x 15.5 x 17tall. I probably will need some wiggle room around the sump.

How much can I lengthen before compromising the tank?

How many inches can I extend on each side before the tank begins to bow... Given there is no middle brace?

How tall can I make the stand so that I can have a total height of 65"?

I'm looking to buy the lumber, but I don't know what my cut sizes are.

Help!

Not sure if this info is necessary but the tank is not rimless and I have a padding for it.

 

[geekengineer]

well I would let that rocket fellow answer as tbh I am not totally experienced about all of this as much as I sure others probably are. I was just answering partially based on what I ran into and thought it might be useful.

I would say that you probably want something that would fit at least an inch or two wider than your 48.5" on the inside. What wood you need will depend on what size you use like 2x4 or 2x6 or what not. That's were it would be nice to have a calculator already setup or something plug in the numbers and it give you a list of what you need essentially all compensated for. Could make it a bit smarter support more configurations as ideas progress etc. I see how hard that is to do but I don't know if would be getting it done tomorrow. lol

BTW Would you be looking at the design I found that I posted? I guess 65" tall seems pretty high to me if I understand correctly? Would it be up against a wall? I think that design sort of assuming it is going against a wall.

 

[Freemananana]

How tall is the tank? It makes a difference.

34" tall. Should be in the 400g range.

Tank should be 96"x30"x34" (LxWxH) OR less. It has not been built yet. The water level will likely be around 30" though.

 

[GrimReefer555]

96" No Cross Brace

96" No Cross Brace

For a 96x24 with no center brace, the main post says 2x8s for the top beams, others say 2x10, and others say it's still sketchy to do a 96" span due to warping. Then there's a double 2x10 put out there at one point... I think I've covered all the pertinent posts, but remain unsure.

My stand will be tall at 40-42". Guess I can cave and put a center brace, but if there was a definitive safe option, even if heavier or more elaborate, I'd do it. Thanks

 

[touchingstoves]

well I would let that rocket fellow answer as tbh I am not totally experienced about all of this as much as I sure others probably are. I was just answering partially based on what I ran into and thought it might be useful.



I would say that you probably want something that would fit at least an inch or two wider than your 48.5" on the inside. What wood you need will depend on what size you use like 2x4 or 2x6 or what not. That's were it would be nice to have a calculator already setup or something plug in the numbers and it give you a list of what you need essentially all compensated for. Could make it a bit smarter support more configurations as ideas progress etc. I see how hard that is to do but I don't know if would be getting it done tomorrow. lol



BTW Would you be looking at the design I found that I posted? I guess 65" tall seems pretty high to me if I understand correctly? Would it be up against a wall? I think that design sort of assuming it is going against a wall.

Yeah it's going against the wall. But 65" is stand + tank. So the stand let's say is a total of 30", 3" styrofoam or 1.5" yoga mat, 32" tal tank gives it around 65" give or take.

These are my measurement based on the engineers first "design"


2 49" 2x6
2 16.5" 2x6
4 30" 2x4
8 23" 2x4
2 49" 2x4
3 16.5" 2x4


I still feel like I can't fit the sump in. Thoughts?