Help with Stand Plans

[Spartanman22]

I have been out of the hobby since I am currently a student and living in the dorm, but some recent black friday shopping has sucked me back in :spin1:. I already have all the equipment just waiting on being done with school and having my own place. I have been attempting to come up with some framework for a stand and this is what I've come up with:

The tank is a 40 breeder with 20L sump so the sump should fit just perfectly inbetween the white vertical 2x4's if my calculations are correct. The tank would sit on the back dark blue and purple giving me a 6" ledge in front of the tank. The reason for this is that the 20 breeders width plus the 2X4's added width leaves the sump practically on top of the doors and I wanted a little more space so it doesn't seem too crowded. Now my question is is this structurally sound? Are the front two white vertical supports necessary? Should there be more vertical support on the purple cross beam? Looking at it and considering an entire 2x4 construction it seems a overbuilt, but I am nervous about having the front of the tank supported by that purple lateral piece.

 

[jrpark22000]

Holy Over kill Batman!

If all of the verticals are 2x4 and the horizontal are 2x2 you are overbuilt by a very large factor. You could change all verticals to 2x2 and omit the middle vertical supports, leaving the middle horizontal support the tank rim. If you were to skin the stand in ¼ plywood using glue and screws you could further reduce all of the 2x2 to 1x1 and still be safe. A properly built and jointed ¼” plywood carcass alone could support the weight of a 40.

 

[Spartanman22]

Thanks I figured it was way overkill especially for a 40 breeder which shouldn't weigh more than 200 lbs but was nervous about having the front edge held by a horizontal board with no vertical support. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[PowerNap]

I agree with jrpark. Way overkill for a 40g.

 

[jrpark22000]

Thanks I figured it was way overkill especially for a 40 breeder which shouldn't weigh more than 200 lbs

NP, I always overbuild when engineering but you far exceed overkill. Also you are a bit off on your weight estimate. Depending on rock, sand, and equipment you can estimate a 40g to be 500-600lbs. The 20 sump half or so of that.

 

[Spartanman22]

Oh ya hah idk what I was thinking when I said 200 lbs he'll if I could get a full blown 40 gallon reef to weigh only 200 lbs then I'd be golden! I was planning on skinning front and back in 1/4" to 1/2" (haven't decided yet) extending 6" past the length of the stand on both sides. I plan on putting an electrical cabinet on one side and some selfs for supplies on the other. So considering that can the vertical corner posts be reduced to 2x2s if I have the added plywood skin?

 

[jrpark22000]

Yes, if you skin with ¼” you can reduce to 2x2. This is assuming you make good, square glued joints and do not over or under utilize screws. Structurally, if you build a cabinet to fit directly under the rim of the 40 and used interlocking miter joints, glue alone and ¼” plywood could support the weight. To negate lateral force when leaning on the stand, putting 2x2 inside the corners would significantly increase gluing surface preventing joint failures. As you are building the top larger than the tank, it is a good idea to include framing under the top under the tank rim as you have in your plan. This is to prevent a tank seam popping due to uneven suppor

 

[Pool_shark]

Check out this link. 'RocketEngineer' provides some good plans based upon actual engineering data for the common materials used for a given size tank.

 

[Spartanman22]

Thanks for the help I think I'll remove the white and green boards and switch the vertical corner supports from 2x4's to 2x2's

 

[badazztealcobra]

Definitely overkill..... Personally though, I would use 2x3's around the entire build and not mess with 2x2's..... Other than that, keep the middle open for working in the sump.....

Here's a few of mine:
Current 90g rimless with 40B sump, 2x4's top and bottom rim, 2x3's for legs, 1x3's for screw and glue suppot on the insides....

Stand for my brothers display, standard 90g with 40B sump, all 2x4 construction....

My 180g old setup was 2x6's for top rim and legs, 2x4's for the bottom rim, 75g sump....

 

[Pool_shark]

No way I would use a stand built like this without an outer "skin" to keep it from wracking. Maybe I'm missing something, but this seems very dangerous.

 

[N3gative Cr33p]

No way I would use a stand built like this without an outer "skin" to keep it from wracking. Maybe I'm missing something, but this seems very dangerous.

You slap the outer skin on the custom stand once you have it all setup and running... that's what I did. Easy peezie.

 

[badazztealcobra]

No way I would use a stand built like this without an outer "skin" to keep it from wracking. Maybe I'm missing something, but this seems very dangerous.

The main structure is ridiculously solid and I've never had a problem and have known dozens of reefers who also did these exact stands and you actually linked the largest thread to it in here.... I would park my car on top of that thing and not worry about it.

Once you build the stand with this much lumber you would only need to skin it with a ridiculously thin (and cheap) piece of plywood, this structure is what holds it and not the plywood. With as much titebond III and screws that are used there's no way I could see anything happening. I wish I knew who bought my 180 because Im guessing the stand is still going strong.

Especially with him just talking about doing a 40B I would just build a stand out of nothing but 3/4" plywood and be done with it.

 

[badazztealcobra]

You slap the outer skin on the custom stand once you have it all setup and running... that's what I did. Easy peezie.

Exactly, and you can make the skin completely removable for ease of access. The skin is nice but not necessary by any means....

Yours actually came out really nice Keith.

 

[jrpark22000]

Especially with him just talking about doing a 40B I would just build a stand out of nothing but 3/4" plywood and be done with it.

3/4" alone is even serious overkill. My 45 stand is 3/4 alone. It has 2 very large doors and is on wheels. Any 2 wheels can have no weight on them and there is zero deflection corner to corner.

 

[Pool_shark]

snip... I would park my car on top of that thing and not worry about it. ...

It's not downward force from your car that I would be worried about, it's any type of force from the sides that could topple this without the skin on it. E.g., a friend's (or your own) kid runs up to it and pulls on the front trying to climb up for a better view. Your screws and tightbond may hold it pretty well, but the fact is that this design is intended to have the skin on it to prevent racking. Without it, I believe you are rolling the dice if your stand experiences this type of force. I like my living room dry, and my kids not flat.

 

[badazztealcobra]

I understand racking, I also have seen no issue with my stands even with people bumping it or anything.... I'm still unconcerned and have no worries about a wet or flat anything. If I even built a skin for it I would have it be completely separate and removable anyway.....

I trust this stand over any pressed wood cheap stand sold by companies all over, but if you feel it has to be there then go for it. :thumbsup:

 

[taylor t]

I don't see any problems with it.

I have a 210 I made my own stand. I took 2x4 and cut them down to 2x3's so they were really, really truly straight. I didnt' skin it for a couple years. Rock solid, 2x3's holding a 210. I have a 4' span in front to pull a 75 tank out the front, but I went with (2) 40 breeders for a sump to pull out sideways. They are on some regular old plywood with a couple screws. Maybe a little underbuilt... I think the key is be REALLY REALLY anal about having very solid, 90* corners on your lumber, NO splits in the lumber, use wood glue, and pre-drill your screws. A sloppy joint is no good. A 40 gallon? Really? PHFFF... I've tried shaking/rocking my 210. It's not going anywhere.

 

[badazztealcobra]

I think the key is be REALLY REALLY anal about having very solid, 90* corners on your lumber, NO splits in the lumber, use wood glue, and pre-drill your screws. A sloppy joint is no good. A 40 gallon? Really? PHFFF... I've tried shaking/rocking my 210. It's not going anywhere.

This is very true, I spend a ton of time in the lumber aisle and then double check all pieces with a 6' Empire level to make sure everything is square and straight. After that I setup my compound saw with a jig to make sure all the legs are identical in length, lots of titebond III and coated deckmate screws all pre drilled and then plywood tops and bottoms to hold the tank and sump.

On the 180 I even did a 1x3 around the bottom to seal it incase it leaks.... Add two coats of kilz premium and then two coats of exterior gloss white and I'm good to go.....

No worries here.....

 

[KJAhp098]

I wish I knew who bought my 180 because Im guessing the stand is still going strong.

His tank and stand are both still going strong. Very well built stand.