Anyone here built a fish tank stand before?

[Robert Mayer]

Looking for some pics if you have them too. I bought my wife a 50 gallon tank and I am going to start on the stand pretty soon. The tank is going to weigh around 450 pounds. The ones at the pet store are seriously flimsy, not to mention ugly and expensive. They have almost no inside bracing on these things. I amazed they can hold that much weight. I was thinking of finding the straightest 2 x 4's I could find and framing it out to hold at least 10 times that weight.

I think I am going to make my own cove molding for the top and bottom on the table saw. I saw the show where david marks used that technique. Looks like it takes awhile, but looks really good.

[Robert Mayer]

Heres what i was thinking the inside should look like!

http://www.bennett.com/blog/pitchers/stand/assembled.jpg

[John Lock]

Never built my own stand (just the hood) but if you do a google search you should find plenty of information for it. I considered doing the same thing myself for my 75 gallon, and I know there are lots of examples out there. Here's the result of my google search

Google search (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=diy+aquarium+stand&btnG=Google+Search)

[Jim Barrett]

Sascha Gast has several huge saltwater tanks with stands that he built. I am sure he can fill you in.

Jim

[Bob Aquino]

Some 2x material should hold most of the weight. A 50G tank isn't that big in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, the commercial tank stands arent that pretty and truth be told, are not that heavily built either.
Building your own, you can also optimize the area underneath for whatever filter system you have. If it is salt and you are putting in a sump, you may also try and work out extra storage. Always lots of chemicals and other stuff to store on any tank.

[Robert Mayer]

Some 2x material should hold most of the weight. A 50G tank isn't that big in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, the commercial tank stands arent that pretty and truth be told, are not that heavily built either.
Building your own, you can also optimize the area underneath for whatever filter system you have. If it is salt and you are putting in a sump, you may also try and work out extra storage. Always lots of chemicals and other stuff to store on any tank.

Compared to some of them they had there 50g is middle of the road. I was shocked to see the 150 gallong tank stand built horribly. They probably hold up fine until you lean on them. Mines going to be a freshwater right now.

[John Hemenway]

Take a look at http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=3 .

Lots of ideas and discussion of tank,stand and other parts DIY.

Most of the DIY examples of stands I've seen seem WAY overbuilt. I believe the commercial stands concept is good just wish they would not use particle board. Marine grade ply or MDO would hold up to the moisture much better. There is never enough storage under tank so using 2x4 (or larger) lumber just eats up available space.

[Tom Sontag]

Yep:

http://www.aquaticphotos.com/details.php?image_id=231

I used 8 walnut 2x2s for posts and 3/4 ply edged in walnut for the top of the cabinet for this 75g tank. Panels and hood are solid walnut. Keep the cabinet top flat and level and everything should be fine.

[Steve Evans]

Mines going to be a freshwater right now.

I thought you said that you bought it for your wife :D

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Robert

I just got the go ahead this morning to build a stand for a 50 gallon saltwater tank. Yes the commercial stands are junky, but with a little bit better joinery, the same construction holds true. Most of the weight is downward after all, and the stand should not really be subjected to shearing forces.

I will be using 4/4 wormy maple for this stand, with birch plywood for parts that will not be seen. I am going to put a small plywood frame behind the face frame just for my own piece of mind, but it will be virtually invisible even when people are inside the stand working on the equipment.

I don't know how much help I can be, but if you have some questions, I will be glad to try and answer them.

Bill

[Chris Padilla]

Water weighs about 8.8 lbs. per gallon so round it up to 10 to cover rocks and other items that will be in the tank and don't forget the empty weight of the tank itself.

One thing to keep in mind is to build the stand thinking about water, water spilling, water leaking, water staining. Also think about the finish carefully as well. Water WILL get on it.

[Dan Mages]

Chris beat me to it. You want to build the stand to hold 12-15 pounds a square foot. I would go with 15 just to be on the safe side.

Good luck with the stand.

[Bruce Page]

Robert, if you look through this thread you will find a couple of examples of aquarium stands.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=3235

Remember to post some pic’s!

[Roy Fleming]

Havng built a stand for a 150 gallon tank, just be sure that the surface thatt the tank will sit on is perfectally level & smooth. If there is any twist to the surface, the tank will rack and come loose on the corners.

[Dave Wright #2]

One of our architectural clients has tanks in many of their waiting rooms. We detail them with cross braced square section steel tubing structural bases to handle the load, double check space requirements of the filtration systems that go inside the frames, wrap them in non-structural woodwork, and set the tanks on a 2" thick bed of extruded polystyrene foam to give the tanks a nice soft & conforming bed. These tanks are pretty large, so your requirements may be less. Best of luck!

[Robert Mayer]

Robert, if you look through this thread you will find a couple of examples of aquarium stands.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=3235

Remember to post some pic’s!

i did a search before posting this thread and didnt see that link. The tank with cherry wood is nice. Looks pretty close to what i sketched.

[Dale Thompson]

Robert,
Don't go overboard on the wood that you use. Visibility into the aquarium is of utmost importance and shouldn't be blocked by unnecessary structural members. I have a 150 gallon aquarium and a "store bought" stand. :o
I couldn't build it for what it cost me. The "footprint" is about 74" by 19" and, as you can see from the pics, there are no internal structural supports. The stand has been in place for over five years with NO problems. The trick is to transfer the weight (force) to the front, back and side supports. This is done with 1"x4" rails. The base is 3/4" Oak with a lot of openings in both the front and the back as you can see. If the frame is square, all of the weight is in the form of compression on the supporting members.

Consider this before you waste a lot of wood and obscure the action in the tank. Red Oak can support a load of nearly 4,500 lb/sq." in compression. What does that mean? DUH? What it means is that a standard 1x4 (3/4"x3 1/2") can support a load of close to 12,000 lbs in compression parallel to the grain. While this is an extreme example, it is theoretically true.

At 8.34 lb/gal, the water in my tank weighs 1251 pounds. Add 100 pounds for gravel and stuff and another 100 pounds for the "top", and we are dealing with something less that 1500 lbs.

OK! My point is: DON'T COVER THE FISH WITH A LOT OF REDUNDANT CONSTRUCTION MEMBERS!! :) :eek: ;) :D

[Mark Patoka]

Here is the stand I built for our 42 gal aquarium. It is 3/4" oak plywood except for the solid oak raised panel in front. Since it's a hexagon stand, I have 4 vertical pieces that hold up all the weight. It's very solid and I'm not worried about it giving way. After seeing the stands in the stores, I built this for half the price and it matches our existing furniture.

[Dale Thompson]

Here is the stand I built for our 42 gal aquarium. It is 3/4" oak plywood except for the solid oak raised panel in front. Since it's a hexagon stand, I have 4 vertical pieces that hold up all the weight. It's very solid and I'm not worried about it giving way. After seeing the stands in the stores, I built this for half the price and it matches our existing furniture.


Mark,
The aquarium looks great and your view is totally unobstructed. It's obvious that you planned this well and didn't block anyone's view. KUDOS to you! :) ;) :cool:

I was planning to build my own - but I didn't. :o A dealer in Green Bay had a 150 gal. system which he was trying to "dump". It matched our rec room furniture and was priced at $550. That included the stand, tank, heater, filters, thermometer and gravel. I had to buy the rocks, plastic plants and the fish. I even got a 20% discount on those. What could I do but "cop out" on a "store bought" unit? :o ;) :) Forgive me!? ;)

Dale T.



Dale T.

[sascha gast]

finally somebody getting into fish.
i have built these 2 systems withing the last year. 90g reef with 24g refugium and my monster 300g. i did all the woodwork, designed the filtration and had is built for me, did all the plumbing. the 90g is bubinga, the 300g is mahogany. i did overbuild, but the 300g weighs in at about 3500 pounds, it's built out of 13 2x4's. i love saltwater tanks, if you have any questions, let me know

sascha

[Dale Thompson]

finally somebody getting into fish.
i have built these 2 systems withing the last year. 90g reef with 24g refugium and my monster 300g. i did all the woodwork, designed the filtration and had is built for me, did all the plumbing. the 90g is bubinga, the 300g is mahogany. i did overbuild, but the 300g weighs in at about 3500 pounds, it's built out of 13 2x4's. i love saltwater tanks, if you have any questions, let me know

sascha

Sascha,
You do OUTSTANDING work my friend. Talent never ceases to amaze me and make me VERY jealous! :) :) I have never gotten into salt water fish. Even ONE of those beautiful creatures is worth more than my house and cabin combined. ;) Anyway, I have always heard that a salt water aquarium is a hobby in itself. I just don't have the time for another hobby.

At my age, I'm stretched. My hobbies are woodworking, 1:32 slot cars, air hockey, snowmobiling, boating, 97+ year-old ladies and lots of naps. :D :o :) GADS! I need a nap just THINKING about it! :o

Dale T.

[Joe Scarfo]

Robert,

I've built a number of stands for local restaraunts and Dr.'s Offices.

In short....

First I build the toe kick. Basically 2 x 4 frame with the same skin that will cover the stand.

Atop the tie kick goes the base (usually 3/4 plywood) for the inside. It's screwed and glued to the toe kick.

I kreg jig (glue and screw) the 2x4's to the base. Two in each corner plus 1 every 18" or so along the front and back. I'll expand that distance on the front of the stand if I'm building doors for the front.

I also kreg jig (glue and screw) the top to the 2x4's. This top piece of 3/4" ply is where the aquarium will actually sit and MUST be dead flat. if it's not, the corner joints on the aquarium and may cause a leak.

Once the frame is build, I add the skin. usually raised panels made to fit. I keep the back open by only putting ply 1/2 up the back. This provides ventilation for both humidity and heat from the pump. O'wise the water may heat up.

Drop me a note if you need more info. I've built a number of these things for different clients. A local Aquarium Maint Co has found my number and contacts me to build them for their new clients.

Good Luck.

Joe

[sascha gast]

on a different note, i am very passionate about fish, but if you think about doing salt water, think twice. it's a ton of money. so far i have had about 8 tanks from 12 to 300 gallon. the last 2 that are left are about $6000 each in just equipment. my electric bill is about $850 for 2 months. the reef get 1100 watt of light for 12 hrs/day, the big one 880 watts. and that's just lights. both tanks have about 4000g/hour of waterflow on huge pumps.
please think twice to do salt, the critters will thank you.

sascha

[Robert Mayer]

Were definitely doing fresh water. My wife likes the Cichlids (sp?). We saw some people who really overstocked the tank with them and it looks very cool. The cichlids are pretty cheap. Right now I dont have a joiner. I just acquired a couple old stanley planes, but its going to take a couple weeks until I can get them tuned and learn how to use them. So I am limited to using wood that is already flat and square. I like the poplar the local lowes here has so Im going to use that for most of it and get some or the veneered plywood from the local woodcraft.

Any ideas for which type of veneered plywood to mix with poplar and what stain looks the best?

[Aaron Heck]

Anyone ever build a stand and canopy for the bowfront tanks? I had a 90g reef a while back and would like to get back into the hobby. I've been looking at the smaller tanks and the 47 bowfront looks really nice, excpet for the fact that they don't build a canopy for it. I guess you'd have to get into wood bending? Never done anything like that before.....

Aaron

[Bruce Page]

Were definitely doing fresh water. My wife likes the Cichlids (sp?). We saw some people who really overstocked the tank with them and it looks very cool. The cichlids are pretty cheap. Right now I dont have a joiner. I just acquired a couple old stanley planes, but its going to take a couple weeks until I can get them tuned and learn how to use them. So I am limited to using wood that is already flat and square. I like the poplar the local lowes here has so Im going to use that for most of it and get some or the veneered plywood from the local woodcraft.

Any ideas for which type of veneered plywood to mix with poplar and what stain looks the best?Robert, just an FYI on cichlids. You will rarely find cichlids mixed in with other fish at the fish store. The reason, cichlids are very aggressive and will kill just about any other tropical fish. Cichlids come in a wide range of colors and live for years, even decades, but they are not community fish.

Enjoy!