120 ply wood stand???

[Crimsonvice]

I have gone the route of building a 2x4 stand, and do not like the amount of space you lose from the lumber. I was thinking about building a 57"x28"x38" ply wood stand out of 3/4" birch. Does anyone have any suggestions and or plans that they have used?

I would use pocket screws and glue to help sturdy it up. Pictures and or build threads would be appreciated!

 

[Greybeard]

I built an oversized stand for my 60 cube. I've since sold the tank, but the stand worked out very well...

3/4" birch ply, 3" square birch corners, dado'ed out for the sides. 3x 3/4" ply laminated beam across the center to keep it from flexing under load, mosaic tiled top surround... Stand could have doubled as a stool for an elephant. NO SCREWS! Dado joints, glued and clamped. Top was pinned in place with 4 1/2" dowels. Bottom shelf and entire interior coated with 3 coats of white marine epoxy.

Nice and open inside, lots of space. Not enough... eventually, I replaced it with a system using a closet as a sump space, but it wasn't too bad. If I were doing it again, I'd have put doors on more than one side. Other than that, I liked it.

Here's a brace detail:

First revision of the sump... I ended up changing virtually everything under here, but you can get the idea of how much space I had.

 

[Big G]

Here's my version of your idea. I made essentially what are cabinet "face frames" out of 1x6 and 1x4 solid oak for the front and back of the cabinet. The side walls are 3/4" oak plywood. Top panel is also 3/4" oak plywood. All put together with waterproof wood glue, brad type nail gun nails and pocket screws. Max space for my sump was the idea for a 18.5" deep cabinet for my 90 gal tank. The wife approves! Win, win.

 

[jsker]

Very nice work, everyone

 

[Crimsonvice]

These are nice guys! Thanks for the input.

Keep em coming!

 

[Big G]

Here's the finished cabinet front and back.

:

 

[Crimsonvice]

Here's the finished cabinet front and back.

:

Very pretty. It came out very nice.

 

[Big G]

Pocket screws make me look like I know what I am doing ;Happy LOL

 

[Greybeard]

Nothing wrong with pocket screws, I use them too, for certain things. If you have a table saw, a set of dado blades will make those pocket screws much less attractive. Nothing better than the feeling that well formed joinery gives you in the wood shop

 

[Crimsonvice]

I don't have a table saw, so pocket screws work for me. Lol

 

[Dr RBG]

you might consider making a frame out of this steel brackets and then putting the plywood around it. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...in-Zinc-Plated-Slotted-Angle-800517/204225758

120 gallons is a lot of weight. With the tank its over 1000 lbs. Also, plywood comes in different grades so be careful to use the good quality stuff and maybe marine grade in case it gets wet.

 

[Greybeard]

A well built 3/4" cabinet grade plywood stand will stand the load. Yes, an aquarium weighs a lot... but edge loaded 3/4" hardwood ply is strong stuff.

That said, nothing wrong with steel My new 140g tank is setting on a 1.5" 11 gauge square tube, powder coated, welded steel stand. Why? For what I had in mind, it was the most cost effective method I could come up with. The stand has a 9" shelf surrounding the tank on 3 sides, and will eventually have open bookshelf cabinet units under it. It's not really your 'typical' aquarium stand

 

[Crimsonvice]

Will it still be strong enough if it is 57" long with the tank centered on the stand? Should I put a center support similar to the drawing in your first post?

 

[Greybeard]

Will it still be strong enough if it is 57" long with the tank centered on the stand? Should I put a center support similar to the drawing in your first post?

If you're going to oversize a stand, you need to make certain you have enough support where the load is... a 48" tank centered over a 57" stand means you've got 4.5" on each side between the load and the support. I'm assuming a 3/4" single layer ply top... I would not be happy with that.

A 3/4" brace, glued to back and front, with a 1.5x3" lam beam, made of 2x 3/4" strips of ply glued together, running at the edge of the tank, would give you plenty of support... This way, the load is supported all the way to the floor, directly under the tank edge. You could put two 120's on a structure like this, stacked on top of each other, without a problem.

Something like this: Note, I left the front ply off and door frame off, so you can see the support.

 

[Big G]

If you're going to oversize a stand, you need to make certain you have enough support where the load is... a 48" tank centered over a 57" stand means you've got 4.5" on each side between the load and the support. I'm assuming a 3/4" single layer ply top... I would not be happy with that.

A 3/4" brace, glued to back and front, with a 1.5x3" lam beam, made of 2x 3/4" strips of ply glued together, running at the edge of the tank, would give you plenty of support... This way, the load is supported all the way to the floor, directly under the tank edge. You could put two 120's on a structure like this, stacked on top of each other, without a problem.

Something like this: Note, I left the front ply off and door frame off, so you can see the support.

Forgot to ask, is your tank acrylic or glass? Acrylic needs more center support than a glass tank.

 

[Crimsonvice]

Glass

 

[Crimsonvice]

If you're going to oversize a stand, you need to make certain you have enough support where the load is... a 48" tank centered over a 57" stand means you've got 4.5" on each side between the load and the support. I'm assuming a 3/4" single layer ply top... I would not be happy with that.

A 3/4" brace, glued to back and front, with a 1.5x3" lam beam, made of 2x 3/4" strips of ply glued together, running at the edge of the tank, would give you plenty of support... This way, the load is supported all the way to the floor, directly under the tank edge. You could put two 120's on a structure like this, stacked on top of each other, without a problem.

Something like this: Note, I left the front ply off and door frame off, so you can see the support.

This is exactly what I needed. Thanks so much!