Aquarium Stand, Study.

[SteveMM62Reef]

I’m making Drawings of the way this 120 Gallon Aquarium Stand was built, by a mass production company. The Drawing was done on Microsoft Paint. If you are going to save it for redrawing, manipulation, I recommend saving it as a “tif,” so the colors don’t bled. Will post more drawings as I do them!

 

[CoralB]

Don’t know if their is a question there ? , I always built my own stand and had a facade from a cabinet company made for a nice finished look of my choice . I never trusted the strength of other companies stands that they make to go with their aquariums especially the ones that use plywood or particle board sides for main support as once they get wet it’s a London bridge situation .if you have already purchased one if it were me I’d do some reinforcing on the inside of it but that’s just me . It’s been many many years that I had a stand like what I just describe that did get wet from a small trickle of a cracked hob filter in the back that I wasn’t aware of and that’s exactly what happened . It failed and crashed to the floor . So for the last 30 ish years I’ve always built my own especially with the larger , heavier tanks , some say over kill buy the way I build them ,but piece of mind for me is worth it and when you put a cabinet facade on the front it looks in my option better than factory from the aquarium companies . I’m currently looking to have a metal stand built built for a 300 gallon tank that I will also put a cabinet facade on it as well . I use to attach the facade by finish nails and glue , last build I used Velcro as the daily chores can be done thru the decorative doors ,but theirs times when taking the whole facade off to have full access is paramount , and with the Velcro you can’t tell that it isn’t permanent . I didnt see a question but if there was one I hoped there was a answer for you in there . I’m sure you’ll be fine as million of people probably are and I might be a little over kill but with piece of mind that’s how I roll . Good luck and have fun with your new tank !,

 

[Oldreefer44]

Had a 135 on a plywood stand. After 8 years the tank was fine but the plywood was delaminating on one end so had to replace it. New stand has a steel frame. Well worth it IMO on anything 100 gal or more. Nothing worse than having to tear down a beautiful reef tank because of the stand..

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

No questions on the Stand, just posting this if someone wants to build a stand. I really like how they staggered the 3/4” Plywood at the corners, glued and pneumatic nailed together. This makes the corner, extremely strong. I’m drawing those corners now. The problem with mass built aquarium stands is there’s not enough paint, or the right kind of paint to properly seal them.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

This is the Stand Viewed from the Front. I’m adding 1/4“ Aluminum Plates, cushioned with 4mm Yoga Mat on both sides, of the Plate

. The 6 x 6” plates are at the corners, where Most of the weight is concentrated. Four 3 x 6” Plates in the middle to support the sump and keep the Plywood from sagging. Plates are to keep the wood off of the floor, for any spills or floods.

 

[MoshJosh]

i’ve never had a huge tank, biggest one in my house was 75 gallon. The stand that came with the tank seemed pretty sturdy but was of the plywood variety. I can certainly understand reinforcing premade stands especially for huge tanks.

I do enjoy making my own stand/woodworking in general. I’d be interested in making some out of metal, but since I don’t have a lot of experience in that medium I’d be nervous to do it for a huge tank.

It’s definitely better to be safe than sorry, especially when sorry means you flooded your house. . . that said I did some “experimentation“ with trying to make stands with less material. I made a 10 gallon rack out of 2x2, 1X2, and galvanized bolts. It’s sat in my living room without issue until I tore it down.