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60g Stand Build (Need some guidance)


Spencer7

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First time building a stand, I don't want any folding or bumps in the night.

 

Starting from the ground up, I will describe to you what I envision. I want carpenters or forum dwellers knowledgeable on the topic to express their thoughts...

 

Dimensions

Tank= 36" 24" 18"

Sump= 30" 18" 22"

Stand= 36" 27" 40"

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Stand1_zpsc4b77a31.png

 

This 2x4 frame is made with wood screws (size?) with braced joints will be the first process, on the bottom of poorly drawn frame is a 1" Baltic plywood sheet that is also attached to the bottom rectangle.

 

On top of that very same bottom frame is another 1" plywood piece (this time its corners are cut out)

 

Plus one on top of the structure where the stand will sit, making three plywood pieces total

Stand2_zps1f38967c.png

For 3 sides I am looking two 3/4" plywood pieces together (Making 1.5")* and lightly hammering/screwing them into place, fitting tightly and seamlessly into the 2x4 frame.

 

*If they make/have 1.5" plywood than I'll just use that

Stand3_zps9b0f312a.png

The two sides will be covered in formica as well as the front eventually, not the back or bottom, the sump compartment will be as well to help make it waterproof and durable

Stand4_zpsf2fca070.png

This is as far I have gotten, time for Q's

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1) What type of screws should I use specifically?

 

2) Can it support the weight of a 60 gallon aquarium?

 

3) Can everything be cut/bought at Home Depot?

 

4) What surface should be directly under the tank for vibrations, etc. Foam? Board? Formica?

 

5) If I drill two holes in the back panel, one in the left, and two on the top (for drain and return)

All holes being 2" wide, will it withstand?

 

6) What should I do for the front panel? Does it need to hold weight? Hinges? Thank you, if you read :)

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There is a thread on RC started by an engineer, think his user name is rocketengineer, that you need to read. Massive thread that has been split at least once due to size. It will answer all of your questions and make you feel safe and happy at night knowing your tank is safe.

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1) What type of screws should I use specifically?

I like to use decking screws. They are powder coated and won't rust easily.

 

2) Can it support the weight of a 60 gallon aquarium?

Yes

 

3) Can everything be cut/bought at Home Depot?

Yes. Most Home Depot will cut for a charge. It would be better to cut it yourself with a good blade. There blades are probably old and not the meant for clean cuts.

 

4) What surface should be directly under the tank for vibrations, etc. Foam? Board? Formica?

I use a thin foam to make sure the tank sit evenly on the frame.

 

5) If I drill two holes in the back panel, one in the left, and two on the top (for drain and return)

All holes being 2" wide, will it withstand?

I don't usually put a back on it. The 2x4 are strong enough to hold the tank. I only use 1/2" plywood as a skin.

6) What should I do for the front panel? Does it need to hold weight? Hinges? Thank you, if you read

I would cut a square out and make a door.

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I wouldn't double up the plywood sheets. 1/2" or 3/4" ply is more than strong enough to prevent racking, anything more is just adding unnecessary bulk and weight.

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The only reason I did that was to make the side 1.5" thick, therefor fitting in seamlessly with the plywood frame and allowing me to put one sheet of formica on rather than multiple, uneven pieces

 

Thanks for the help, it helps me sleep :D

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Copy and pasting the checklist sheet for home depot trip

 

Two By Fours (Lumber) for frame (5x 10’ pieces)

 

6x 24” (Middle and Side Supports)

 

5x 40” (Vertical Supports, may only do four if it seems like enough)

 

4x 36” (Long Front and Back Frame)

 

¾” Plywood (Lumber) as cover and side support

 

2x 36” 27” (Top and Bottom)

 

1x 36” 27” (1.5” by 3.5” corners cut out)

 

4x 27” 33” (1.5” thick sides)

 

2x 36” 33” (Front and Back) *Will cut door out in future

 

Black Formica Laminate (Final cover)

 

1x 36” 27” (Corners cut, sump floor)

 

2x 41.5” 27” (Full length of sides)

 

1x 36” 41.5” (Full sized front panel)*uncut

 

1x 36" 27" (directly under tank)

 

Extra

-Door Handles

-Contact Cement for attaching Formica

-Towel holders

-Hinges

-Deck Screws

-Sandpaper

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Hey Spencer7...

 

Haha, I like your ms paint drawings. Unfortunately they don't really show the complete picture of how it's going to be assembled, which is kind of important. The overall dimensions of the stand are up to you, but there are some basic principles which must be followed to make sure that the weight is properly supported.

 

The most important part IMO of building a stand is to make sure that the base of the tank is connected to the floor by wood supported by wood. In other words don't use just screws to support your tank, but have everything supported directly by dimensional lumber (2x4's in most cases).

 

The only screws I use now are SPAX brand screws, available at home depot. They won't split lumber (no pre-drilling!) and they're construction grade (i.e. very strong) and available in a torx drive which is nearly impossible to strip. $7.50 for a pound so $2.50 more than a regular box of zinc screws but soooooo much better and considerably faster. You can mess with exterior screws if you want, but typically it's just as effective to paint the stand or otherwise seal it from moisture.

 

If you can, cut the wood yourself. Use a miter saw with a good blade for the 2x4's and a circular saw for the plywood. The exception may be breaking down a 4x8 sheet of plywood if it's needed to get home. Even then I'll still do the final cut at home. For example if I need a 14" strip I'll have the store cut it at 15" so I can fit it in my car and then do the final cut at home.

 

If I were you I would take a look at this stand and model yours exactly like it. Don't depend on plywood, even high grade stuff, to be exactly 3/4" thick. Also don't count on your dimensional lumber (2x4's) to be exactly 1-1/2" thick. If you do you're in for a LOT of sanding and probably ill-fitting formica. In the stand below the entire outside is skinned with a single sheet of plywood (which is extremely strong in that regard) which would be a perfect surface for your formica.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/309883-40b-stand-buildcomplete/

 

The above stand is very similar to the one linked here too, which I like a lot because it shows the different structural members in different colors. He even lays out a materials guide.

http://freshwatercichlids.com/do-it-yourself-aquarium-stand

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I actually have been subbed to mikec's for quite some time. The reason I didn't follow his design directly is because this stand is the exact length of the tank and those two front 2x4 going sideways take up to much room for liking (7" and change)

 

I will add more support however and definitely use those screws

 

I have a vision that can only be described in pics, I bought the very basic 2x4 frame pieces and I'm making the second of three trips on Wednesday (using a prius :P)

 

Everything was cut to visible perfection and all the materials I need are there (surprised how cheap everything is)

The bad news is I did plan for 1.5" thick pieces, we'll see how things turn out

 

Money isn't a issue and I will certainly not put any weight on this sucker until I get a 100% approval rating. Your comment did help a lot, much appreciated, I hope you stay tuned.

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Yeah I want to see how it turns out. I really like the stand I built for my 40b which I'm in the process of setting up again.

 

As for the plywood being the same thickness as the 2x4's I think you'll be disappointed with those results, unless you just get a really consistent piece of plywood and you can match up the 2x4's as well. Then again maybe your formica skills are better than mine... Anytime I think formica I think of a completely even surface with no steps, gaps, protrusions, high spots, or low spots because it's too hard for me to apply like that.

 

The reason Mike C (and many other) stands are so good is that the tank is supported by wood and only wood. In other words the screws are there only to hold the wood in place, they provide none of the support. This is important because wood is extremely strong when compressed with the grain, but it's holding power as far as screws are concerned isn't nearly as high, even if the screws are much stronger. A simple solution would be to take the front 2x4's out and just have the side ones up front. As long as the runners were aligned such that they rested on those supports that should still be plenty of holding capacity. When I built my stand I followed a similar principle, thought I used 2x4's ripped down to 2.5" for the weight bearing supports and used 1x4's instead of 2x4's as the casing.

 

You would have to see my tank thread for specific diagrams as I'm too lazy to copy them now :P

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I am adding 6 vertical support beams to what I have, I still need Fiberboard/plywood

 

What do recommend I'm leaving for Home Depot in an hour and last time I went I was overwhelmed

 

There were over 8 different types

 

Be specific, don't just say "anything that isn't cheap" or "as long as you don't get ____"

 

Thx :D

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I read some of Rocket's thread at RC and I think someone actually made a 60 gallon tank stand with 1x4's which would save a ton of space. I think 2x4's are a waste of space and if your going to skin it with 3.4 inch plywood this would take some load off the frame.

 

My next project is going to be building a 25 x 25 x 36 tall stand for my 34 gallon Solana. I am thinking even a 1x2 frame would work.

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just a quick point unless your lining the tank up to the front of your stand, havinging the length the same as the tank but the width being more is going to look wonky. If the tank is however lined up with the front of the stand I guess that gives you a good bit of working room behind it if you need that.

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Sorry didn't see your last post...

 

Adding the supports is a good idea, assuming that they will be supporting the tank (read: oriented like in MikeC's thread). Otherwise they could just be a waste of space.

 

1" stock is fine for many applications. There's another stand being built here with 1" stock for a 40b. I think the real reason people use 2" stock (2x4) is because it's super cheap (where I live a good, straight 2x4 is 1/2 the price of a good, straight 1x4). Also, most people aren't familiar with the strength characteristics of wood. In other words wood can either be extremely strong or extremely weak depending on how the stresses are applied and in what conditions it's used. For that reason I think it's best to overbuild and sacrifice some space and extra weight for a stand you know won't fail.

 

On that note, I hope you aren't using any type of fiberboard on this stand. While fiberboard is pretty decent stuff IMO (I use it for shelving and for speaker boxes, etc) it's not suitable for exposure to water or moist environments at all. It will swell, lose it's strength, and it's ability to hold fastners will diminish. Regular plywood will be much more suitable in this situation. The lower grade stuff is often called sheathing (meant to be screwed/nailed to floors or walls) and it's usually pretty crooked and warped but plenty strong. Finish plywood would be like sandeply or a plywood that has a paintable/stainable veneer applied (such as oak, maple, or birch).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Updates?

 

I just started building a stand for my basement. I currently have a few tanks placed sporatically (a 20L FW, 10g QT/hospital, and 3.5g pico) that I would like to consolidate into 1 stand. So it will end up being a corner stand with a little work area.

 

I'll post some pics as it progresses - hopefully it will be mostly finished this weekend.

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Not sure what tools you have available, or how far you are along, but 3/4 furniture grade plywood will easily support a 150 gallon tank without the 2x4's. It does take some better carpentry mainly in the joinery department, but as far as load bearing goes, it wouldn't even be stressful for a 60'sh gallon tank like you are setting up.

 

My FW tank is on a 48 x 18 x 36 stand from RJ aquatics that is made entirely of 3/4 ply. 2 doors and completely open back. There isn't a screw in the entire stand, all ply and quality glued joints. They told me they are load tested to about 2000 lbs and have no problem supporting it at all.

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Well after three trips to home depot and about 2 hours of screwing I am past the half way mark. There was a slight learning curve with the drill : / and the home depot cuts were not perfect, overall making a sloppy at best carpentry job. In which case I'm glad to hear the plywood won't be stressed.

 

I need to download software on this computer, that is why I have been lacking pics in all my threads

 

I need to cover the whole thing in plywood, contact cement, and then formica. Plus drill a few holes

Once I'm finished (within the next week or two for sure) I'll post pics all at once, this is less of a how to thread, more of a "watch me fail"

kinda thread. I have learned a lot and it looks like I saved a lot of money as well, if I had to, I feel I could another stand in half the time in better quality.

 

I will also post a summary of all my receipts with the total cost since it might help a few people out and takes like two secs.

 

Good night :P

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I have built a few aquarium stands for friends, family and myself, and have NEVER used 2x4's. But then again I am a professional carpenter with an engineering background. Think I beam construction. ;)

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Hey I just built a stand for my 36x18x12 tank, my tank build thread might have some good pics. Im going to put a link to my you tube channel it has some good stand build vids. I would make your stand at least an inch wider than your tank and a couple deeper, so like 37x26. Just my opinion. Heres the first vid in the stand building series hope it helps.



Hang in there with the vid it gets better:)

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hello 1977l

 

hello 1977logans your 29 biocube vids got me in to reefing now i'm upgrade to a 40 breeder too great vids thanks

 

Wow thats awesome! Do you have a build thread started, I would like to check that out. Are you posting vids on you tube?

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Update, here are the two sides. Essentially two support beams that are connected to two 3/4" plywood sheets = 1.5" thick

This way the side is completely flat and more modern looking (I understand if it seems a little wasteful but give me a break)

 

I left a margin in the back for cords to go out. The stand/tank is right up against the wall so you can't even tell

Next step is formica

 

file_zpscdbc702c.jpg

file_zpsabe491c7.jpg

file_zps0453f536.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I hit a roadblock a bit ago, realizing the horizontal support beam (2nd piece in) that is in the top left of the stand would most likely block my tank drain I un-screwed it and moved it smack dab in the center of the sump floor (after taking 1.5 inches off)

 

The hardest drilling job (the sides) are in progress and I have one done. I'll try to get pics but it looks very nice

 

Took two pieces of 3/4" plywood, lined them up and screwed them together with 1" screws to make one solid 1.5" thick piece

Then used 4" screws to go through the long side of 2x4's and into the plywood. Basically it looks like a big sheet with 2x4's on either side, the whole piece is then slid into the stand and also acts as support. The reason I go though all this trouble is to have a seamless stand rather than the traditional indented look. Maybe with some careful planning and measuring I could have made the frame and simply put the plywood on top all the way around but then I also wouldn't get any support from the plywood.

 

I know 1% of you will read this so I'll post some pics...

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