Who out there has built a stand for a larger (50g+) tank?

[malawian]

I will be moving soon, really want to replace my really crappy stand for my 75g (48x18x21). Prebuilt stands are insanely expensive but I still have to do a lot of packing and time is of the essence. Trying to decide if I can pull of building a stand in fairly short time.

 

Tried looking up stands on here but most stuff I come up with is for smaller tanks (fancy that on a nanoreef forum huh?) but I know ive seen people with big tanks building their own. Want to get ideas and also an impression on how difficult the project was to tackle.

 

Thanks guys! If youve built a big mother of a stand let me know! I want to see it and get an idea of how hard you thought it was to build!

[slowngreen]

Mine is ugly on my 75g so I wont give it as an example but you can build any size stand you wont very easily. Just simply measure twice, cut once, predrill for your screws, make sure they are all tight and have plenty of support bracing and you will be golden.

 

Do you want a cabinet or just a basic stand? either way, 2x4's are enough to do they entire frame, make sure you make them square and put the top cross pieces on top off the legs so the weight goes directly into the legs and not the joint. Id do 5 legs, 2 corners and one in the middle of the back so the front is open for your sump. Do the top and bottom the same and add a front to back middle brace top and bottom just for reassurance and viola.

[malawian]

Mine is ugly on my 75g so I wont give it as an example but you can build any size stand you wont very easily. Just simply measure twice, cut once, predrill for your screws, make sure they are all tight and have plenty of support bracing and you will be golden.

 

Do you want a cabinet or just a basic stand? either way, 2x4's are enough to do they entire frame, make sure you make them square and put the top cross pieces on top off the legs so the weight goes directly into the legs and not the joint. Id do 5 legs, 2 corners and one in the middle of the back so the front is open for your sump. Do the top and bottom the same and add a front to back middle brace top and bottom just for reassurance and viola.

 

Would need to be a fairly nice cabinet. Trying to maximize the space underneath as much as possible, make sure its very secure and keep it looking nice. I think what youre describing is more or less what I have in mind, but its the details Im not so sure about.

[farkwar]

Built a stand for a 140 out of 1 inch oak plywood. Outside corners reinforced with steel angle iron. Multiple coats of linseed oil, it turned out more yellow than I liked but it was effectively waterproof.

 

Probably would have held a car.

 

Essentially, youre building a box. Fundamentally easiest thing to make.

 

Dont forget you can easily turn unfinished Home Depot cabinets into strong stands, you will want to reinforce the particle board with plywood. And they come with drawers and doors prebuilt. If you have a large sump, get the sink profiles and drop it in through the top. Attach oak ply as top, run bend edge around the edges. Easy cheap and strong. Seal the inside and outside well though, against water.

 

8020 e extruded aluminum frame is a good but expensive frame for your stand. The little hardware bits is were they make money, the rails are pretty cheap. Bosch RexRoth is a comparable product.

[farkwar]

Petco Brooklyn stands are great frames for stands.

 

I just bought two, will finish them with oak ply.

 

They come with self leveling feet, which is nice fir such a cheap stand.

 

They are steel, protect them from saltwater

http://t.petco.com/product/119923/Petco-Brooklyn-Metal-Tank-Stand.aspx?cm_mmc=CSEMGooglePLA-_-Fish-_-Petco-_-1505742%0a&mr:trackingCode=1DA152C5-E5E2-E111-9598-001517B1882A&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=t&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=54242138893&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=54138172693&gclid=CN_xpuaTv78CFYpffgodqkUAHA

[seabass]

Here is one (not mine): http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/339117-75g-w-20l-sumprefugium/page-2#entry4611309

 

Check out the Large Reefs forum for other examples.