Need some help from the DIY gods.

[Crabs McJones]

When it comes to construction im a wiz. Planning out the construction im horrible at lol. Long story short I want to build a new stand. It has to be able to house a 40 gallon breeder display tank as well as a 40 Breeder sump (36x18x17) Any help is appreciated google searches come up with nothing as far as plans.

 

[jsker]

Are you going to use a top, or are you going to want to just have the tank sit on the stand?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Are you going to use a top, or are you going to want to just have the tank sit on the stand?

Just sit on the stand. I want to leave my kessil t5 hanging from the ceiling like it is now

 

[jsker]

by top, I am meaning top/countertop on the stand

 

[Crabs McJones]

by top, I am meaning top/countertop on the stand

Ha! Yeah I suppose some sort of top would be good

 

[DLHDesign]

Check out the first post of my "Water Lily Reef" link in my sig. I worked out a (way over-engineered) stand based on what I could find and some help from my wife (who has an engineering degree). Yellow and orange boards aren't really required for structural stability (I added them as mount points, mostly).

 

[Gareth elliott]

Are you looking for the stand to be the same size as tank or slightly larger?
I like an extra foot or two on the side of tank for testing, hold a bucket. And an extra few inches in front for laying any tools down while doing maintenance.

I like wood for stands, allow you to use common tools that are regularly used for other house projects. Table saw, mitre saw, and a decent drill. Rent a nailer and have the same tools needed to do your own hard wood floors.

For the top to hold a 40b i would use 2x4s cut to the required length and width.

Say you need 40x20 cut the length beams to 37(most 2x4’s are actually ~1.5x3.5)
Width beams to 20”.
Cut 2 additional support beams to 17”. Place these every foot. Screw every together. Repeat for the bottom. Screw plywood cut to the exterior dimensions on top. Bottom plywood will need to have cutouts for the 2x4 legs.
Height of the legs will be determined by your lights and skimmer. 36” is the most common for purchased stands.
I cut 4 to the length of the stand. Another 4, 7” shorter.
The 4 longer 2x4 get screwed to the inside The 4 shorter go on the outside. The 4 exterior are to remove stress from the screws having the 450lb tank supported by them. Mind you at 40b this is over safety, the screws if used at least 3 per joint is like 1100lb of tensile strength. I might have done my math a little wrong might be more, kinda tired lol.

Cabinet doors i use the cheapest trim and hinges that will support the weight of door choice. I like spring magnets for closure device.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Are you looking for the stand to be the same size as tank or slightly larger?
I like an extra foot or two on the side of tank for testing, hold a bucket. And an extra few inches in front for laying any tools down while doing maintenance.

I like wood for stands, allow you to use common tools that are regularly used for other house projects. Table saw, mitre saw, and a decent drill. Rent a nailer and have the same tools needed to do your own hard wood floors.

For the top to hold a 40b i would use 2x4s cut to the required length and width.

Say you need 40x20 cut the length beams to 37(most 2x4’s are actually ~1.5x3.5)
Width beams to 20”.
Cut 2 additional support beams to 17”. Place these every foot. Screw every together. Repeat for the bottom. Screw plywood cut to the exterior dimensions on top. Bottom plywood will need to have cutouts for the 2x4 legs.
Height of the legs will be determined by your lights and skimmer. 36” is the most common for purchased stands.
I cut 4 to the length of the stand. Another 4, 7” shorter.
The 4 longer 2x4 get screwed to the inside The 4 shorter go on the outside. The 4 exterior are to remove stress from the screws having the 450lb tank supported by them. Mind you at 40b this is over safety, the screws if used at least 3 per joint is like 1100lb of tensile strength. I might have done my math a little wrong might be more, kinda tired lol.

Cabinet doors i use the cheapest trim and hinges that will support the weight of door choice. I like spring magnets for closure device.

Slightly larger, but only by a couple inches. I don't have a whole lot of room in my dining area go expand out a foot extra. So maybe 2 to 4 inches extra on each side and an inch extra in front. The back can be flush for my plumbing. And I would like to go with a taller stand. I find myself bending over to view my tank, and i'd like to to be taller for both that reason and so that I can extend the distance between my fuge and my Kessil H380. Right now with the stand i've previously build I can only get a max of 10 inches away from the water surface, and i'd like to get closer to 18ish.. Can go shorter. My current stand is only 30 inches tall right now and I'd definitely like to go taller. Even if it's only 8 to 10 inches. @jsker if you're going to draw something up. These are kind of what I'm looking for in a design
And building the frame is generally my strong point, its building the skirting and the cabinet doors that I am absolutely horrible at lol. I did all I could to get by on my current stand, and it just looks awful But it functions, and at the time that's all I was looking for.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Check out the first post of my "Water Lily Reef" link in my sig. I worked out a (way over-engineered) stand based on what I could find and some help from my wife (who has an engineering degree). Yellow and orange boards aren't really required for structural stability (I added them as mount points, mostly).

If your wife wants to design me a new house around a big tank i'd be all for it lol

 

[DLHDesign]

If your wife wants to design me a new house around a big tank i'd be all for it lol

Naw; she is (or was; rather) a civil engineer. She could talk about soil samples, core drilling, and retaining walls till your ear falls off. The structural stuff is mostly just extra bits that she retained from school. Still; when she pulls out her old textbook and starts to talk about sheer and torque, I just smile and nod. (Just like she does when I start talking blockchain and distributed networks, so fair is fair...)

 

[Gareth elliott]

Slightly larger, but only by a couple inches. I don't have a whole lot of room in my dining area go expand out a foot extra. So maybe 2 to 4 inches extra on each side and an inch extra in front. The back can be flush for my plumbing. And I would like to go with a taller stand. I find myself bending over to view my tank, and i'd like to to be taller for both that reason and so that I can extend the distance between my fuge and my Kessil H380. Right now with the stand i've previously build I can only get a max of 10 inches away from the water surface, and i'd like to get closer to 18ish.. Can go shorter. My current stand is only 30 inches tall right now and I'd definitely like to go taller. Even if it's only 8 to 10 inches. @jsker if you're going to draw something up. These are kind of what I'm looking for in a design
And building the frame is generally my strong point, its building the skirting and the cabinet doors that I am absolutely horrible at lol. I did all I could to get by on my current stand, and it just looks awful But it functions, and at the time that's all I was looking for.

Trim hides all sorts of imperfections. Always use a mitre for trim lol. Use a brad nailer instead of finishing nails, smaller and easier to hide they exist with paint or calk. Do the sides first if they are not going to open, i attached a recent builds sides with velcro lol. This will allow you to have the full build in place to test if opens and closes. Easiest hinges i find are like these. http://www.lockandhinge.com/cabinet...-TOgFmgMKKV-nkbqy41VMO4w3z7TP7OQaApuYEALw_wcB

 

[KMench]

Don’t overthink it. I just threw some 2x4s together to build a square box the dimensions I wanted it and then put some 3/4” plywood over top of it. Put a few trim boards on top and sides, cut a hole for some doors and throw them on. Boom! Stand! I made this stand for my 75 in an evening. It has a 30G sump with plenty of room for my junk under there. It’s 42” tall if I recall. I don’t like having to bend over to look in my tank. If you want dimensions or anything I can take a tape to it and let you know.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Don’t overthink it. I just threw some 2x4s together to build a square box the dimensions I wanted it and then put some 3/4” plywood over top of it. Put a few trim boards on top and sides, cut a hole for some doors and throw them on. Boom! Stand! I made this stand for my 75 in an evening. It has a 30G sump with plenty of room for my junk under there. It’s 42” tall if I recall. I don’t like having to bend over to look in my tank. If you want dimensions or anything I can take a tape to it and let you know.

That looks really good I agree on the not having to bend over to look in the tank, that's one of my biggest tiffs with my current stand.

 

[KMench]

That looks really good I agree on the not having to bend over to look in the tank, that's one of my biggest tiffs with my current stand.

I fixed the unevenness in the door gap since this picture. It really bothered me, but this is the only picture I could find without getting up to go take a new one

 

[BobNY]

My stand is very similar to DLHDesign's. I built this about 8 years ago for my 125g using plans from a thread on another forum. This design is very simple and very strong. Probably over built. The nice thing about it is there is no need for a center brace making it very easy to get under the cabinet for maintenance.

Here is a picture of the frame before it was sheeted.

 

[Antegon]

One feature that I plan to incorporate/really like was a separate section. One side end has its own door, opening into a shallow compartment that you run all electronics into. Completely separates it all from the area with water. Didn’t know if y’all had mentioned that before, but I’m just working on plans for one now and wanted to share the idea! Excited to see your final product, happy building!

 

[jsker]

My stand is very similar to DLHDesign's. I built this about 8 years ago for my 125g using plans from a thread on another forum. This design is very simple and very strong. Probably over built. The nice thing about it is there is no need for a center brace making it very easy to get under the cabinet for maintenance.

Here is a picture of the frame before it was sheeted.

This design works well if you are going to skin the stand. Meet you joints and us molding to trim the corners. Go to the depot and find a pre fab door size that will work and the make you door opening

 

[Cjud7982]

I am not sure why I see so many tank stands getting built and everyone recommending to build them in the way I see them pictured above... Not that it wrong, but I build my tank stands the exact same way that I frame houses for a living. Studded walls, top and bottom sills, rim joists, floor joists, and sub floor sheeting. One can sheet the exterior as well to prevent racking and to finish it. All lumber is in a compressive state, which is the strongest direction of the lumber. You also are not relying on the shear strength of the fasteners. Idk about you guys, but I know for a fact that it doesnt take much at all to bend a 3" drywall or deck screw, not to mention the weakest place to nail into a board is in the end grain. Speaking of deck screws, the above picture is assembled similarly to how decks are built, using posts and hanging the joists of of an outside rim board. This application works because the lumber is usually 8 to 12 inches wide and has so much material to nail into. Also, decks are built off of posts, not walls. Code requires joists hangers to be used to prevent any seperation between the joists and the outside rim, so if i built a tank like above, I would certainly be using some sort of hanger. I have attached an image of a stand that I just built a few months back with minimal effort, note that it was not finished in this picture and additional studs were added. 2 end walls, a front and a back wall, both with top and bottom plates, then a perimeter rim joists, and finally a couple mid joists to go from end wall to end wall under the tank. I put 2 layers of 3/4 ply for the top that was dead flat. I added a couple of corner gussets for my piece of mind. My theory is that all the lumber should be able to stand together without fasteners and in a compressive state. the fasteners job is then only to hold the pieces together, not structural components. just my thoughts, any questions or comments will be appreciated.

 

[BobNY]

I am not sure why I see so many tank stands getting built and everyone recommending to build them in the way I see them pictured above... Not that it wrong, but I build my tank stands the exact same way that I frame houses for a living. Studded walls, top and bottom sills, rim joists, floor joists, and sub floor sheeting. One can sheet the exterior as well to prevent racking and to finish it. All lumber is in a compressive state, which is the strongest direction of the lumber. You also are not relying on the shear strength of the fasteners. Idk about you guys, but I know for a fact that it doesnt take much at all to bend a 3" drywall or deck screw, not to mention the weakest place to nail into a board is in the end grain. Speaking of deck screws, the above picture is assembled similarly to how decks are built, using posts and hanging the joists of of an outside rim board. This application works because the lumber is usually 8 to 12 inches wide and has so much material to nail into. Also, decks are built off of posts, not walls. Code requires joists hangers to be used to prevent any seperation between the joists and the outside rim, so if i built a tank like above, I would certainly be using some sort of hanger. I have attached an image of a stand that I just built a few months back with minimal effort, note that it was not finished in this picture and additional studs were added. 2 end walls, a front and a back wall, both with top and bottom plates, then a perimeter rim joists, and finally a couple mid joists to go from end wall to end wall under the tank. I put 2 layers of 3/4 ply for the top that was dead flat. I added a couple of corner gussets for my piece of mind. My theory is that all the lumber should be able to stand together without fasteners and in a compressive state. the fasteners job is then only to hold the pieces together, not structural components. just my thoughts, any questions or comments will be appreciated.

Please take a closer look at the design above. All wood is in a compressive state. There are no posts or any joists hanging off of a outside rim board. There is not a single fastener that is used for anything other than holding the boards in place.

 

[Cjud7982]

@BobNY , I apologize, if what I said offended you, I did not intend to do so. And you are correct about your design, as it is not much different from the design I use. I simply have my studs turned 90 degrees and add a top and bottom sill to my walls so that I can fasten to the walls and joists easier and distribute the load over all walls (again the way I frame houses). I am simply trying to point out the differences of tank stands that I have seen that do not meet my design requirements and justify why. Again I did not intend to insult or argue, just adding my thoughts on what makes sense to me as a degreed mechanical engineer and carpenter. Obviously there are hundreds of ways to build a tank stand and most will work, some will bow, some will loosen. I just choose to build mine the way I am most familiar with.