Advice needed DIY 75 gallon stand

[Mastiffsrule]

You could try a semi-transparent deck stain. Not sure if it comes in black. Check sherwin Williams website.

 

[RobW]

I had a 13" piece of scrap 2x6 I used to space inside posts. Since its s perfect fit, I cut them so its theyre 1.5x3" blocks attached them half up the inside posts with wood glue, and eyeballed pocket holes in each join. wont add much. but still adds some some extra twist support.
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Don't be floored, the sub $500 stands fail from the slightest thing going wrong.
Case and point, my cat peed on an MDF 10g standI got from petsmart. The stand soaked up pee before I noticed and cleaned it (4 hours max). The next day that edge felt squishy, within a week a 5" section had crumbled leaving just the veneer and a pile of wet sawdust.

Yeah MDF is not a choice for a "wet location" lol. Particle board either. I dont know why the manufacturers would even use it. Well, I do know why but, you know what I mean.

 

[Cmedeiros]

I’m using rubber vinyl plank. It’s solid, water proof and all. I have some left over from doing my floors. I’ll upload pics when I’m home here’s what it currently looks like

 

[wickette]

How long are you letting the stain sit before you wipe it off? Also, when it comes to stain... you have to stir that stuff well for a while. All of the pigments tend to settle at the bottom of the can. Minwax Ebony stain is pretty dark. If you let is set for a while then give it a very light wipe with a clean cloth it tends to stay dark. But you will probably need 2 coats. Then when that dries you either need to coat it with a polyurethane or lacquer finish. Sanding lightly in between coats with 220-320 grit.

Are you staining just the 2x4 stand or did you wrap it with some kind of plywood? Every species of wood takes stain differently as well. If you had a nice cabinet grade hardwood plywood i.e. poplar, maple, walnut, mahogany, cherry, etc. Those have nice grains and take stain well. So it is a bit of trial and error to see what you like. Spray paint from a can is going to give you the worst finish. If you wanted it painted close to black like an espresso brown. You need to prime the wood first with something oil based to seal the wood. Then sand and putty up any minor spots and prime and finish sand one more time with line 320 grit. Then spray it with either a lacquer based paint or like a waterborne-alkyd. Using either an air compressor with an hvlp gun or an airless sprayer with a fine tip.

Pine plywood, fir trim. and Im an idiot I thought stain and finish were the same thing. Ive been testing ebony finish on my scrap piece. =/

 

[Cmedeiros]

I’m using rubber vinyl plank. It’s solid, water proof and all. I have some left over from doing my floors. I’ll upload pics when I’m home here’s what it currently looks like

Still going to finish with some doors and trim/edging

 

[jsif]

These Rocketengineer designed stands are so over engineered that the comments about holding a truck are true.

Here's the general rule from Rocketengineer: Tanks up to four foot long, all dimensional lumber = 2x4's. Tanks over four foot long, top frame of 2x6's, all the rest, 2x4's. In either case, no center brace needed. Here's his original plan:

Here is my frame for a five foot tank:

the center brace isnt required? So as long as the 4 corners are in contact its strong enough to hold the tank

 

[vetteguy53081]

the center brace isnt required? So as long as the 4 corners are in contact its strong enough to hold the tank

To a degree no but although not structural does prevent bow-ing but older tanks didn’t have them