DIY Stands Template and Calculator

[abIngenui]

So I am building a stand for a 24 gallon aquapod. I built the stand as in the original template by using all 2x4s. I am having a problem, despite cutting all legs exactly the same length, where one leg board is just a hair too short. I think it is because the bottom edge of the box frame is slightly uneven between the boards. Thus, I fear that some weight will be applied to the screws as shear. Will this be okay? I am thinking I can just add more screws to distribute whatever shear there is across more screws. Should I scrap it? Redo the box frames? Thanks.

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[bvaughn7]

You should purchase the tank before building the stand for this exact reason. There are several different types of "reef ready" tanks with different hole locations.



The plywood top isn't required but most folks include it.



For a 84" x 24" tank you are going to need a center brace unless you use a 2X10 which is overly large IMO. If you have further questions, post them here as this is one of the best ways to reach me. Its one way to get to that 10 posts fairly quickly.

Hey Rocket - I just want to take a minute to really acknowledge you for sharing this information, and everyone else who has added to these threads. I want you to get how many people are impacted and helped by this. People chiming in, people just reading it. It gives people a sense of possibility that they can do it, and we take the chance too try and take our ability further. So you are creating possibilities by sharing this and I want to thank you for that, for your time, for all of it. Rocket=possibility maker.

 

[Rhodophyta]

I have built my stand(s) with crowns all facing up, that is actually the proper way to do it. Even if there is no load, over time, if it does decide to sag, be it gravity, humidity, whatever, it's good practice to have them facing up.

Crowns facing up is right. Even, if possible, the crowns of the wood grain should be up too. If there are center posts or an attached skin, the flattening of the top shelf will be transferred to the bottom.

 

[Mishri]

working on a 96"x24" 300 gallon tank.. The stand that came with it is 10 3"x6" posts that are 36" long, topped with 1/2" plywood, and then holding it together were 2x6s on the outside edge at the top, and on the inside on the bottom, screwed into the posts. and then placed ontop of that was an oversized piece of wood that resembles a counter top. (It sticks out about 6" in all directions from the tank/stand)

The 2x6s are cracked and water damaged, I need to replace them. I think the 3x6s were overkill for the weight load, but I think the way the 2x6s were screwed to them didn't lend a lot of side to side support.

I'd like to re-use the 3x6s since I have it.. Trying to figure out how.. I think I'd remove at least 2, possibly 4 of the 3x6s, just having a tough time figuring out how i'd tie them all together. I was going to cut down the 3x6s, as 36" is pretty tall for a stand with a 30" tall tank... but If I want to put 2x6s or 2x8s around the outside edge at the top, and bracing in the between each leg in each direction then that cuts down the space to get into my sump, which is 18" tall..

Any thoughts? Am I better off just using 2x4s similar to how zachtos?

 

[SNTLewis]

200DD Stand...

200DD Stand...

Marineland 200DD footprint is 48x36 and 200 gallons...

Pursuing through the info it looks like:

1) should use 2x8 for top because of gallons
2) could use 2x4 for top because of span

so if I use a single 2x4 back/front vertical in the middle would put me safely in the 2x4 top rail calculations. Right?

The 200dd stand is one-piece to go through doors but is very short for viewing and sump underneath.

 

[Crete]

New 150 Cube Build

New 150 Cube Build

I've been running a 55 gallon long for a year now that I pieced together from a freshwater tank that I had and a lot of inferior equipment and technologies (I had yet to discover Reef Central at the time and got advice from less than knowledgeable sources.) I have added so many different filtration systems and pumps that my tank and stand looks like a laboratory.

About a month ago one of my hang on the back refuguims that feed down to the sump lost suction while me and the wife were cleaning the tank and spilled 5-10 gallons of saltwater on our wood floor. This is the 3rd time this has happened along with a lot of other random salt water spays and spills. There is currently no way to isolate spills or clean under our tank as it is.

So, after this latest spill I have been tasked by the wife to do a complete redesign and rebuild of every aspect of our system with the following requirements.

1. First and foremost to minimize or negate chances of saltwater making it to the wood floor. Save for a major catastrophic event, i.e. tank breaking.

2. Create one single sump/refugium/filter area that is easily serviceable.

3. Increase the total volume of water in the tank and sump area.

4. Move and/or replace RO/DI and automatic water change system to interior garage wall that backs up to fish tank location. (No more buckets inside house.)

5. Install aquarium contollers to automate as much as possible and allow remote monitoring.

6. Be slightly modular as our current house is small and we will be moving once our son graduates in three years.

We are not by any means rich but we do have some disposable income so some of the items I've selected and designed are kind of expensive and maybe overkill. Savings advice is appreciated but I'm not outright looking to cut corners at the expense of the final product.

I am only posting this in this thread right now to get advice on the stand I've designed to make sure it will hold what I want it to. As not to clutter up this already massive thread I will make a separate thread in the tank build section when I get closer to having everything ready.

My original design was to make the stand out of square stock stainless tubing and have a 6" clearance under the stand for cleaning up spills. However, when I picked and calculated the weight of the new tank it became clear that I wouldn't be able to put the weight on feet because the point loading would be too great for the floor.

I knew I needed to have the tank I wanted on hand before I got serious about stand design and construction so I've already bought it. The tank that I've selected and is already sitting in my garage is a Marineland 36x36x17 cube it holds 150 gallons. I've found that this is an odd shape to find stand plans or DIYs for.

I did find one other stand for a 30x30x24 that was my inspiration for this stand. http://www.3reef.com/threads/rambos-reef-135g-cube-build.146764/

The wet weight is 150x8.55=1,282.5+238(tank)=1,520.5lbs.

I have designed the stand using SketchUp Make and I will share the model files if anyone is interested.

I will start with the base.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Stand%20Only_zpsnsm2pmdl.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Stand%20Only_zpsnsm2pmdl.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Plain Stand Only_zpsnsm2pmdl.png"/></a>

The base is approximately 50x50 square and 36" high. All boards are 2x6(1 1/2x5 1/4) and interloaced so that screws or nails only touch two boards at a time. Not shown is the plywood floor because I had to remove it to take a photo of the top interlocks(shown later). All of the doors on my house are only 3-0 and as I said before we will be moving in 3 years so fully assembley this will not fit through or our of a door, hince the need for modularity. Two to four of the top cross boards will have to be either screwed or lag bolted into place after moving the base into the house.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Top%20Only_zpsfixgzlia.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Top%20Only_zpsfixgzlia.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Plain Top Only_zpsfixgzlia.png"/></a>

This is the stand top unfinished. The center 36" square is 1x1 to make a spot for the tank to lock into, the actual size of this will have to be adjusted for the tanks bottom frames.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Top%20Only%20Showing%20Interlocks_zpsfwqhgalp.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain%20Top%20Only%20Showing%20Interlocks_zpsfwqhgalp.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Plain Top Only Showing Interlocks_zpsfwqhgalp.png"/></a>

Stand top unfinished showing bottom interlocks to prevent top from sliding on base.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Interlocks%20In%20Blue_zpsusiznfce.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Interlocks%20In%20Blue_zpsusiznfce.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Interlocks In Blue_zpsusiznfce.png"/></a>

View into bottom of stand showing top interlocks set in place highlighted in blue.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain_zps3wyse7yz.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Plain_zps3wyse7yz.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Plain_zps3wyse7yz.png"/></a>

Unfinished stand with top.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Stand%20Only%20Painted_zpsjviro45e.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Stand%20Only%20Painted_zpsjviro45e.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Stand Only Painted_zpsjviro45e.png"/></a>

Finished and painted stand base. The black material that you see in the bottom is a spray on shower pan liner that my company uses in commercial construction, it will effectively make all of the wood in the bottom six inches of the stand waterproof and provide and area for spills to happen without worry. The rest of the stand is painted white right now because I'd like to light up the refugium more during service. I have LED strips that will come on only when the doors are open and I hoped the white will reflect them. I am, however, concerned that it will also reflect refuguim grow lights into the adjoining chambers and facilitate algae growth in unwanted areas. If any one has experience with this I'd love your input.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20Top%20Only%20Painted%20and%20Tiled_zpsimnyrxci.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20Top%20Only%20Painted%20and%20Tiled_zpsimnyrxci.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled Top Only Painted and Tiled_zpsimnyrxci.png"/></a>

Top finished and tiled. The center will be the leveling pad. Again the bottom of it is painted gloss white to reflect light in the sump area.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/Side%20Panel_zpsin2uwbqm.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/Side%20Panel_zpsin2uwbqm.png" border="0" alt=" photo Side Panel_zpsin2uwbqm.png"/></a>

These area panels to cover the sides. They will be attached with counter sunk magnets to the metal plates that I've modeled. 1/4" felt strip will be placed around the perimeter to block light from leaking out of the refugium at night. This model is currently sized for my original 42x42 stand that I had to scrap due to sump not fitting. I will remodel it soon. The inside face of these would also be gloss white to reflect light to the refugium.

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20With%20Tank%20and%20Refugium_zps9bdjonx1.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20With%20Tank%20and%20Refugium_zps9bdjonx1.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled With Tank and Refugium_zps9bdjonx1.png"/></a>

<a href="http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/BizarAdventure/media/50x50%20Assembled%20With%20Tank%20and%20Refugium%202_zpsu7fygizd.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1303.photobucket.com/albums/ag155/BizarAdventure/50x50%20Assembled%20With%20Tank%20and%20Refugium%202_zpsu7fygizd.png" border="0" alt=" photo 50x50 Assembled With Tank and Refugium 2_zpsu7fygizd.png"/></a>

These two views are the stand assembled minus the side panels showing the tank placements and two different sumps.

The first refugium is 45x15x17 if it runs 8" deep it will increase the total water volume by 45x15x8=5,400/231=23.4 Gallons. This refugium is custom made but its sitting available at my LFS right now.

The second refugium is 30x30x17 if it runs 8" deep it will increase the total water volume by 30x30x8=7,200/231=31.2 Gallons. This refugium is custom made and would take 1-3 months to get depending on the fabricator's load.

So I guess for the purposes of this post I am looking for input on:

1. Will it hold the weight. I am 95% sure it will but it never hurts to double check.

2. If I make two of the top boards removable for transport and installation by using lag bolts when I reassemble them in the house will that effect the load it can handle to the point that it would eventually fail? Maybe it would be best to just leave the two boards out while fabricating it and permanently screw them in once I get it into the house. It would have to be unscrewed when we move though.

3. Will using gloss white interior paint cause refugium algae to spread out of it's compartment?

4. Any other advice or comments that would prevent headaches down the line. I am a measure three times before I cut type of guy so anything I can fix before putting blade to wood would be awesome. Hell, I've made so many changes and revisions of this already in ScketchUp that I would have built this six times since my pen and paper drawing.

 

[Elricsfate]

I have built a stand to support my 180g tank (72x24x24). I included a vertical center support. However, I am finding that fitting the sump in the stand is a challenge.

I used 2x6 throughout. Do you think I could get away with removing the center posts (or at least the front center post) in order to open up the space? The last thing I want to do is fill this thing up and have it collapse under the weight.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BrettDS]

Did you build the stand according the the template in this thread? If not then people would need to know how your stand has been built to offer any ideas about whether the center post could be removed.

 

[Elricsfate]

I built it according to a video by "The King of DIY" on Youtube.

Basically, the top and bottom are connected by a 2x6 "guide", and there are 2 2x6's on each corner running between the top and bottom frame to support the weight. Currently there is also a 2x6 weight bearing vertical post in the center, front and back. I'd like to remove the front post so I can access the sump more easily.

It occurs to me that I could run one additional support on each of the two front corners, and run and additional 2x6 across the front (basically making the front edge double thick) to support the weight across the span.

 

[Elricsfate]

 

[Elricsfate]

Sorry, it appears the image won't load.

 

[Elricsfate]

Tried uploading an image as an attachment. I apologize if I'm screwing this up. Relatively new to these forums.

 

[choss]

Need some opinions

Need some opinions

I'm in the process of upgrading my tank from this 40 cube to an approximately 88 gallon tank measuring 42X24X22. I would like to use the stand I build for the 40 in this picture:

<a href="http://s172.photobucket.com/user/choerenz/media/Tank%20Build/Stand%20construction/P4260246_zpsxohagrqe.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/choerenz/Tank%20Build/Stand%20construction/P4260246_zpsxohagrqe.jpg" border="0" alt="Finished stand with dry tank photo P4260246_zpsxohagrqe.jpg"/></a>

The base is made from 7" gator piping which is extremely thick and sturdy. The table top is 1.5" thick walnut (two pieces glued together with double rows of biscuits).

You can see from the picture that the old tank, which measured 24" long, by 20 deep, sits nicely above the legs. No issues, no concerns. The legs are about 6" from the lengthwise edges of the table top (and 1.5" in from the front edge). The new tank is a reefsavvy PVC bottom tank which will sit on a layer of rubber.

So the question I have is two fold: first, is there any issue with the weight of the new tank being supported by 4 legs that do not transfer the weight across a frame to the floor - rather 4points? Second, I can order longer pipes to extend the lengthwise pipes to approximate the 42" length of the tank (rather than the 36" length of the current setup) - is this worth it or overkill? The pipes are expensive so if I can avoid it I would.

 

[GQsmooth]

I have built a stand to support my 180g tank (72x24x24). I included a vertical center support. However, I am finding that fitting the sump in the stand is a challenge.

I used 2x6 throughout. Do you think I could get away with removing the center posts (or at least the front center post) in order to open up the space? The last thing I want to do is fill this thing up and have it collapse under the weight.

Thanks in advance.

You don't need a center brace if you used 2x6's. I built the same dimensional stand as you out of 2x4's, but I kept the center brace for that reason.

 

[Zacktosterone]

this is a little bit different from the original template. will this still hold a 60x24x18" tank with no center brace?

 

[awais98]

So I'm building a stand for a 96x24x24
My question: can I replace the front end purples from 2x4s to 2x2s? Doing so will help tremendously with European hinges and flush doors.
Yes I am using 2x8x96 for the top reds and will also have a center front and back vertical support too .
Thanks


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[Mishri]

my tank is an extra 60 gallons, 96x30x24 and I was considering going up to 2x6s on the red and yellow, and adding additional green in the middle, in addition to what you have added in there.

is 2x8 necessary? i saw someone earlier went with 2x6 for a 300 gallon tank, with 2x4s for the purples.


I just don't see 2x2's having the necessary strength, 2x4s are already only rated at 371-571lbs capacity depending on type and grade... when you use 2-2x4s the capacity goes up nearly 500%

 

[C Dog]

What kind of glue is everyone using? Liquid nails??

 

[GQsmooth]

What kind of glue is everyone using? Liquid nails??

No glue, just screws...

 

[MicroMan419]

my tank is an extra 60 gallons, 96x30x24 and I was considering going up to 2x6s on the red and yellow, and adding additional green in the middle, in addition to what you have added in there.

is 2x8 necessary? i saw someone earlier went with 2x6 for a 300 gallon tank, with 2x4s for the purples.


I just don't see 2x2's having the necessary strength, 2x4s are already only rated at 371-571lbs capacity depending on type and grade... when you use 2-2x4s the capacity goes up nearly 500%

Have the same size tank and built the stand with 2x6. I doubled the 96 inch long span (top and bottom) to help eliminate any twisting and put in the blue cross braces under each of the 3 braces of the tank. Also used multiple cross braces on the base to support the 72 inch refugium sump. Even more overkill, I added 2x6 vertical braces every 10 inch span but left an opening in the front for 2good size cabinet doors. Like I said it's overkill, but for a little more work to add the extra pieces I'm not worried and will sleep sound not wondering about the stand not holding up to the weight of the tank.