Question for the diy stand gurus

[scason]

Building a stand for my 39g bow front. Will this design with 2x4 construction be good and safe? I tried looking at a curved design but it will not allow enough room for sump maintenance with doors. Will I need side bracing at well. Stand is 36" tall and 33" wide.

 

[Bad Company]

It's a good idea to make detailed plans ahead of time. From the perspective of a mechanical engineer, I see a few structural flaws in the design above, namely regarding to load paths. Also skins help prevent "racking" of the structure due to side loading (somebody bumps into the side). 2X4 construction is very strong, but you need to pay more attention to overlap and joints. Also, done properly, you wont need the middle supports.

Take a look at some more plans and try to better understand how the weight is supported before going forward with building a structure that will be holding 500 pounds potentially. I've attached pics of my similar build for reference (30X30X29)

 

[redfishbluefish]

The following is the "standard" design for DIY stands. Up to a four foot tank, all 2 x 4's. Over four foot, top boards need to be 2 x 6's.

 

[scason]

Thanks guys have a perfect vision of direction now. Everything you said made complete sense. Thank you again.

 

[Fish76]

redfishbluefish's pic (not sure where it originated from) is what I used as reference and it worked out great. You don't need the green members if you use pocket holes, they're just there to help during assembly of the purple members to the bottom (or top assembly). With this design you also don't need center support @ 3'. Mine is 5' and I have no center support but do have 2x6 for the top members as redfishbluefish said. Good Luck!

 

[GHill762]

The following is the "standard" design for DIY stands. Up to a four foot tank, all 2 x 4's. Over four foot, top boards need to be 2 x 6's.

this design is very sturdy... it's what I used for my 40b, added a thin ply skin and it's rock solid.. make sure you account for sump size before building, I was 1/8" short of being able to fit a 20 long as a sump.. keep that in mind..

 

[pickupman66]

here is a stand I build for my 66 cube. tank was 32x24. but sump was 36x18. needed it wider than the tank. I laid a very sturdy top on it.

the skins I made are magnetic. so it is removable.

 

[scason]

I was already thinking of a mag door as well. Lovin the towel rack. Great idea.I have the top and bottom built. Going to need another 2*4*6 to finish up for inner supports.

 

[pickupman66]

Yea. I LOVE my towell rack. I keep a microfiber for polishing the glass and hand towell for spills. Now I just need to keep my hands out of the tank.


Fwiw. The top is made from the same boards as the front. 1x6 premium pine. Made for a very sturdy stand. I built the base just like the top. Then put the plywood down. I used L brackets to stand the supports up before screwing them together.

 

[scason]

Made some good progress today. Thanks all for the info and tips. Put over 400lbs on it to load no movement or creaks. Still going to sheet it.

 

[matt_97055]

Here's mine for my 100 48x24 footprint.

yours is looking good.