oversized DIY stand questions?

[booyaa138]

I'm going to start on my oversized stand this weekend. I have a few questions and I hope you guys can help out. My tank footprint is 60x18. I wanted to make the stand bigger because 1st I have a 40g breeder for a sump which is the same depth as the DT. 2nd reason is of course to fit everything under the stand with plenty of room inside the stand to do changes if needed. I was thinking about going 10 inches bigger in the width and also 5 inches in the depth. I would hide this with either a 1x6 or a 2x6 which would be a shelf at the base of the tank. Is this possible? If not can you guys give me some ideas?
Let me know what you guys think

 

[booyaa138]

Also to add I want to try and use the plans from Rocketengineer

 

[Dmorty217]

Just so the structural supports of the wood (2x4,2x6) is what the tank footprint is sitting on you will be fine. If you make the stand wider than the tank but don't have the footprint sitting on the 2x4 structurally that won't be sound. You could always put some OSB board on top of the stand to fix that problem but it won't look nearly as clean

 

[rwb500]

I have done the same thing with multiple tanks. I currently have a 48*18 tank on a stand that is about 60*27.

The top surface of the stand is a layer of high quality 3/4" plywood and then in addition to the top rectangle of 2x4's there are 7 dimensional lumber supports going front to back underneath the plywood, including one only a few inches from each end, to sit directly underneath the true ends of the tank. it sounds like a lot but it was like $3 extra worth of lumber and this method is easy and safe. I even used joist hangers on most of the supports. They are also glued at the ends and glued to the 3/4" plywood top.

short version - build the rectangular frame as large as you want, and reinforce the top to spread the load. you may need a center brace.

 

[booyaa138]

So as long as I have supports (joist) under the tank edge and plywood over that i should be ok?

 

[LadyG]

Yes, you will be good to go. You need the 2x4 under the edges of the tank to distribute the load to the legs of your stand.

 

[booyaa138]

I'm going to use 2x6 boards for the top frame. I plan to have a support on the sides of the tank and also the front edge. Then I plan to put 3/4 inch plywood on the top. I hope this is good for support.

 

[booyaa138]

Didn't get to it this weekend. I hope I can next weekend