Poplar or Oak wood stand?

[Michigan Reefer]

Hello all,

I'm thinking of making my own stand for a 75 gallon aquarium. Dimensions are 48x18x36 inches and was wondering if Poplar wood would be ok to use since it is cheaper. Oak is more expensive and supposed to be a harder stronger wood. I am reading Poplar is considered a hard wood and should be strong enough. One local wood worker suggested poplar would be fine. Any thoughts?

 

[MrDellimore]

Hello all,

I'm thinking of making my own stand for a 75 gallon aquarium. Dimensions are 48x18x36 inches and was wondering if Poplar wood would be ok to use since it is cheaper. Oak is more expensive and supposed to be a harder stronger wood. I am reading Poplar is considered a hard wood and should be strong enough. One local wood worker suggested poplar would be fine. Any thoughts?

I just used pine on my build. Mine is much softer than either of those but with the right thickness and support it should easily support a 75 gallon tank.

Here is a link to my build: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/complex-beginner-build.630187/

Do you have details on how you plan to join the wood and/or a design? I think that makes all the difference.

 

[Idoc]

It's what you use for your inside support that mattersfor the strength... and how you build it. What you use to skin the frame depends on how thou plan to finish the wood. If painting, then cheaper poplar or plywood is sufficient... if you plan to stain it, then oak or other woods are very nice.

 

[DrBoomson]

I did a pine frame faced in poplar. Oak is just so expensive and no point if your painting vs staining. Poplar is durable enough. Still gotta paint mine

 

[ryan265]

Aesthetically, stained oak looks wayyy better...you can make pine or poplar look nice too but doesn’t come close to oak. Functionally, you’ll be fine with any of them...

 

[ryan265]

I did a pine frame faced in poplar. Oak is just so expensive and no point if your painting vs staining. Poplar is durable enough. Still gotta paint mine

Looks great man...are you painting it white?

 

[Michigan Reefer]

Very nice, thank you for all the imput. I'm planning on painting in white.

 

[TheHarold]

Very nice, thank you for all the imput. I'm planning on painting in white.

Then why not do plywood?

I recently made one for my 68 gallon, 44x28x14. Here is a link:

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

 

[Apotack]

Poplar is well suited to painting

 

[Ebslinger]

I did a pine frame faced in poplar. Oak is just so expensive and no point if your painting vs staining. Poplar is durable enough. Still gotta paint mine

This has inspired me... I have a small cube, and want an larger under-tank space. The perimeter moulding is attractive and inventive! Well done! I think I am going to copy some of your ideas.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Hello all,

I'm thinking of making my own stand for a 75 gallon aquarium. Dimensions are 48x18x36 inches and was wondering if Poplar wood would be ok to use since it is cheaper. Oak is more expensive and supposed to be a harder stronger wood. I am reading Poplar is considered a hard wood and should be strong enough. One local wood worker suggested poplar would be fine. Any thoughts?

I used pine, and painted. I hate painting! !!!!! For 2-48 gallon tanks

 

[DrBoomson]

If your painting, oak is a waste. Poplar will give you a much better look than pine or plywood. If you do go plywood be careful not to sand off the veneer, they are very thin now days. Just painted this white, it was pine faced with poplar

 

[DrBoomson]

Very nice, thank you for all the imput. I'm planning on painting in white.

If you do paint it white a tip use oil-based enamel do not use water latex or water-based enamel the oil-based enamel will give you a much harder finish and it'll stand up to wear and tear more. it also always pays to do one coat, sand up, do another coat and then wet sand enamel and it'll look amazing. When you wet sand your final coat use at least 1500 to 2000 grit to avoid damaging the finish.

 

[motortrendz]

Poplar is fine. Strength is not an issue with the wood. As most stands are made out of garbage particle plyboard that's laminated.