Let's talk DIY Plywood stands

[kcinnick]

First of all, it is not a plywood stand if you start off framing the thing with 2X4's, that is a 2X4 stand with a plywood face!

I am contemplating building a plywood stand for a 72"X30"X25" tank. I know I can build a Square carcass fairly easily. I want to make the center brace on the front removable, I can do this with pocket screws fairly easily. I want a mostly solid back, I will have an opening to pass through plumbing and to have wires exit. Unlike all my previous builds where I used PVC and Flex PVC joins I think I want to go with the reinforced color tubing that goes on barbs this time around. I like that barbs are slip on/slip off if something needs to change.

Anyway, who has built a 100% plywood stand. I know the sides and back will be 100% strong enough being solid plywood, I am unsure of the front. How "tall" should the "header" and "footer" be? Do they need to be doubled up? I will do most of the construction with pocket holes, screws, and wood glue.

 

[ATB USA]

I always use a 2x4 frame. Don't trust just he plywood

 

[CMMorgan]

I hear you about a plywood stand .... but to me, the plywood is the exoskeleton. The skeleton would be lumber, aluminum or steel. I do not believe that plywood alone is engineered to withstand over 1500 pounds of weight. I would not sleep well with that in the house. I'm sure the engineers among us will jump in with more statistical data. Best of luck.

 

[dhnguyen]

I always use a 2x4 frame. Don't trust just he plywood

Why? Almost all commercially available stands are made of plywood. Plywood is a lot stronger than you think.

 

[kcinnick]

I hear you about a plywood stand .... but to me, the plywood is the exoskeleton. The skeleton would be lumber, aluminum or steel. I do not believe that plywood alone is engineered to withstand over 1500 pounds of weight. I would not sleep well with that in the house. I'm sure the engineers among us will jump in with more statistical data. Best of luck.

The front and sides of the stand I have now under a 300 gallon aquarium that is 32" tall are just plywood. The back is dimensional lumber, I believe to save money, not to be stronger. Also the back is open, I want a closed back, well mostly closed back. It has trim tacked on the front, but nothing that looks structural.

 

[kcinnick]

Why? Almost all commercially available stands are made of plywood. Plywood is a lot stronger than you think.

My man! Someone speaking my language. I just need some design parameters to go off of! I know what to do with the bottom, back and sides, just really need to know how much I need to beef up the front.

 

[homer1475]

My 80G cube is an OSB plywood stand!

3/4" sides, and 5/8" top and bottom. The front is just a small doubled up "2x4" of OSB right under the front. The doors close on this panel.

Since the OSB has finally started to come apart, I'm having a cabinet maker I know build me a new one identical to this one, but made out of marine grade plywood.

Of course were talking a much longer tank then I have too.

 

[dhnguyen]

My man! Someone speaking my language. I just need some design parameters to go off of! I know what to do with the bottom, back and sides, just really need to know how much I need to beef up the front.

Did you check these out?

DIY: 1-Sheet Laminated Plywood Stand

Here are some photos from my plywood laminated-style stand. The construction is made up of 3" wide birch 3/4" plywood strips, that are laminated into 1.5" beams. This strategy lets me always have side-grain to screw and glue with- I will have a photo below of what a section looks like. @JoshH I...

www.reef2reef.com

Plywood stand design review

My boss (wife) gave me the green light to order a 150 gallon SCA aquarium and it will be here next week. It is a 5x2x2 tank drilled for the Shadow overflow. Since this is my "big upgrade" and is meant to last a long time I want to make sure the stand both looks good, and is as functional as...

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DIY plywood stand tutorial?

So i have seen those tutorials, both in videos and pictures/threads, of stands made out of 2x4s or 2x6s. but now i would like to know how to build stands out of 3/4" plywoods and can't seem to find any. can some gurus here point me there? videos would be awesome since i'm more visual. i would...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[mike550]

@kcinnick I’m totally behind you on this one. Plywood is super strong (think about gluelam beams) on edge. The stuff that @dhnguyen posted is super helpful. Keeping everything square will be important to load transfer. Maybe @RocketEngineer has some thoughts on this?

If you go forward with this please keep us posted!

 

[ca1ore]

Personally, I think plywood is superior to dimensional lumber for all but the biggest of tanks. I'd disagree somewhat with your generalization about what constitutes a plywood stand. Mine is actually a hybrid. Dimensional lumber for the verticals, laminated ply for the horizontals. 3 1/2 years and holding strong. The 'skin' is a combination of hardwood ply and hardwood boards. Helps on my system that the mechanicals are all in the basement.

 

[MONTANTK]

In the process of finishing mine, albeit it’s not quite as big. It’s 24x16 and constructed with 3/4” plywood

 

[BZOFIQ]

I always use a 2x4 frame. Don't trust just he plywood

What? Plywood is stronger.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I hear you about a plywood stand .... but to me, the plywood is the exoskeleton. The skeleton would be lumber, aluminum or steel. I do not believe that plywood alone is engineered to withstand over 1500 pounds of weight. I would not sleep well with that in the house. I'm sure the engineers among us will jump in with more statistical data. Best of luck.

Completely the opposite. You can easily park your car on top of a properly engineered plywood stand.

 

[N.Sreefer]

"A 12-by-36-inch piece of 3/4-inch fir plywood can easily support 50 pounds. However, a 12-by-36-inch piece of 1/4-inch thick plywood will not support that much weight. It will only support about 5 pounds before bending."

"Assuming that the load is square and there is no wind, the average 8 feet 2x4 could handle around 1,000 pounds vertically."

Im confused how does plywood support more weight? You could wood glue a bunch of 2x4s together the same as plywood

 

[BZOFIQ]

"A 12-by-36-inch piece of 3/4-inch fir plywood can easily support 50 pounds. However, a 12-by-36-inch piece of 1/4-inch thick plywood will not support that much weight. It will only support about 5 pounds before bending."

"Assuming that the load is square and there is no wind, the average 8 feet 2x4 could handle around 1,000 pounds vertically."

Im confused how does plywood support more weight? You could wood glue a bunch of 2x4s together the same as plywood

Nobody is building stands out of 1/4" plywood. Stands are built out of 5/8 or 3/4" plywood, in critical places, you simply double up.

 

[dhnguyen]

Here's a very useful video I found as well

 

[BZOFIQ]

Here's a very useful video I found as well

This video explains proper layout in great detail. Indestructible once sealed.

You can double up in the corners on larger builds, it will support tons of weight. The stand for my last 180 was build exactly like that with removable support in the middle/front.

 

[BZOFIQ]

BTW, if you wanted to build skeleton and then exoskeleton so that you can park a humvee on it you can do this, then wrap it for insane level of support.

 

[mike550]

BTW, if you wanted to build skeleton and then exoskeleton so that you can park a humvee on it you can do this, then wrap it for insane level of support.

Wow. What does that weigh?!

 

[BZOFIQ]

Wow. What does that weigh?!

I think its very manageable actually.