Making wood stand for 300+ gallon

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I want to make a wood stand for a 300+ gallon tank I'm going to flex seal the whole stand so no moister gets in the wood. Can someone help me out? Diagram or drawing something to get me in the right place.
Thank you

 

[Anthony Wood]

I would use 2x6's. Make a rectangle/square the demensions of the tank. Put the 2x6's so that the tank rests on the 2" (really 1.5") side of the wood. Double up on them so that the rectangle is two 2x6's deep. Then put 2-3 2x6's running width wise to support the center of the tank, again 2" face up. I would use the brackets that they use to put on decking supports, idk what they are called. That way you have metal holding up the wood and aren't relying on the strength of the screws to hold up the weight of the tank.

For the legs I would either use 4x4's in the corners and a single 2x6 in the center front and back, or you can substitute the 4x4's in the corners with doubled up 2x6's both will hold the weight no problem without bowing. You could also do two 2x4's offset equally from the center front and back, this may actually be better because it'll give you a spot for door hinges. Then for the bottom just use a single 2x6 rectangle frame on the outside of the legs and center support(s) to keep the legs from kicking out or in and add that last big of rigidy.

Like I said after have personally built many stands this is the way I would do it. Take it for what it is and tweek it to your needs. Hope this helps!

 

[Eric G]

I have a 300 and made stand with treated wood. I would do like stated above but I n the corners cut one 2x6 flush to top of stand on the outside and one or two depending on if your rim is doubled up 5 1/2 less screw together. Then do the same in middle of tank.

 

[AndyOneTwentyFive]

For the frame under the tank, and the bottom for that matter, you don't want the 2x6s laying flat. You want the 5.5" dimension to be vertical. This adds a tremendous amount of strength vs having the 1.5" dimension bearing the weight.

Go to YouTube and search "the King of DIY" he has his channel divided into categories. Find the "aquarium stands and canopies" category and spend some time there. This will teach you everything you need to know about building a stand with wood. Good luck!

 

[AndyOneTwentyFive]

This is the load bearing portion of the stand I built for my 125 and it's way over qualified. You can see in this picture the basic idea. 2x6 frame on top and bottom (you could always do a 2x4 frame on the bottom which I later changed this stand to) then in the corners use 2x6s. One on the front face of the stand and one on the side in every corner. Depending on the dimensions of your tank you made need center bracing. What you may not be able to see in this picture is the use of 2x4s in the inner corners that will provide you something to screw everything to. They also help add rigidity.

You will also want to add bracing front to back within the top frame to prevent it from bowing in or out. This is a picture of the underside of the tank:

 

[Anthony Wood]

That's highly overbuilt. I had the exactly same tank and same build design except one less piece of wood in each corner for my 125g expect I used all 2x4's. But hey whatever makes you slee better at the end of the day.

The gap between the tank and wood isn't from the weight the wood prior to the tank being on it was not straight and didn't realize it until I took this photo But it never gave me an issue.

This is the load bearing portion of the stand I built for my 125 and it's way over qualified. You can see in this picture the basic idea. 2x6 frame on top and bottom (you could always do a 2x4 frame on the bottom which I later changed this stand to) then in the corners use 2x6s. One on the front face of the stand and one on the side in every corner. Depending on the dimensions of your tank you made need center bracing. What you may not be able to see in this picture is the use of 2x4s in the inner corners that will provide you something to screw everything to. They also help add rigidity.

You will also want to add bracing front to back within the top frame to prevent it from bowing in or out. This is a picture of the underside of the tank:

 

[Drakonis]

One I wouldn't attempt to seal the wood as this will trap existing moisture and promote rot. second any load bearing board should be 1.5" edge up, this is how any dimensional lumber is strongest when bearing weight. look at roof trusses, always this way for that reason. as for design do two rectangles size of tank out of 2x6. then with target height in mind remember that the rectangles are 11" of the stand height and cut a pair of 2x6 the remainder of the height for each corner. then one 2x6 1/2" short of overall height for each corner and a 2x4 same length each corner. Center vertical bracing and cross bracing depends on design in regards to if your doing cupboards etc but if you care to elaborate what your up to i can suggest better here. the idea in assembly is the top rectangle rests on the 2x6 vertices planned in the corners and those rest on the lower rectangle. these are backed by the taller 2x6 and 2x4 in the corner as somthing to fasten the weight bearing vertices to. the idea here is direct weight transfer to lower rectangle and cross bracing is only to ensure rectangles retain their shape and should not carry vertical weight so deck stringer hangers are only additional cost. just keep in mind you will need vertical bracing and cross bracing that were not covered as there is room to incorporate some custom choices here.

This but upscaled...

 

[Anthony Wood]

One I wouldn't attempt to seal the wood as this will trap existing moisture and promote rot. second any load bearing board should be 1.5" edge up, this is how any dimensional lumber is strongest when bearing weight. look at roof trusses, always this way for that reason. as for design do two rectangles size of tank out of 2x6. then with target height in mind remember that the rectangles are 11" of the stand height and cut a pair of 2x6 the remainder of the height for each corner. then one 2x6 1/2" short of overall height for each corner and a 2x4 same length each corner. Center vertical bracing and cross bracing depends on design in regards to if your doing cupboards etc but if you care to elaborate what your up to i can suggest better here. the idea in assembly is the top rectangle rests on the 2x6 vertices planned in the corners and those rest on the lower rectangle. these are backed by the taller 2x6 and 2x4 in the corner as somthing to fasten the weight bearing vertices to. the idea here is direct weight transfer to lower rectangle and cross bracing is only to ensure rectangles retain their shape and should not carry vertical weight so deck stringer hangers are only additional cost. just keep in mind you will need vertical bracing and cross bracing that were not covered as there is room to incorporate some custom choices here.

This but upscaled...

Great looking stand and flawless support. You obviously know what your talking about and know the load bearing forces of wood. You also probably already know this but telling by the demensions of the stand it's highly over built for the tank that is going on it. Personally I would have save some weight and went with 1x4's. Just to make it clear I'm not knocking you down by any means, your response was spot on.

 

[Drakonis]

Meh I have 3 of the less different height in my fish room. I know their overkill but 2x4 are 2 bucks a piece and I know darn well those stands aren't going no where. I built the same for my 120gal display...

And the three in my fish room...

Pardon the construction mess running independent circuits on their own breakers as well as some plumbing

 

[don_chuwish]

Don't bother with the FlexSeal. Just good primer and latex paint is plenty protection. I tried FlexSeal on the floor of my stand and hated it - pain to work with and created a surface that nothing can slide across. Ended up covering it with a 1/16in thick sheet of white ABS plastic (Amazon Prime, cheaper than the FlexSeal!) and caulking the edges.