Stand Frame Construction Question

[tiag]

Hey all, getting ready to start plumbing my 210 and realized I really hate my stand. It's too short and I don't have much room to work and really don't want to end up 6 months from now with a stand I don't like. So I'm going to build a new one that's closer to counter height, actually will stand at 37".

So the big question is, is it ok to lay your base 2x4's on their side? Current stand that came with the aquarium was built with 1x4's and is like that so I can't imagine it's a problem, but I know there are some forces and physics that someone might know that would tell me if I'm crazy or not.

Here are a couple sketch-ups:
Frame without the top and center braces

Complete Frame:

Now I'm planning on skinning the frame with 3/4" plywood and then finishing with either 1x4 lumber or 1/4" laminate plywood.

You'll notice on the left end I've doubled up the 2x4's instead of having them toed together. I'm also curious if you guys think that would be ok considering the skin should give it additional side to side structure. The reason for this is I want to put in a door on the end to put the sump in and out (it's 17 3/4" wide). If I toe the 2x4's that would only give me 17" total opening space which would defeat the purpose.

So let me know if that is a disaster. I would think with the additional structural elements it should be strong enough, but I'm not an engineer.

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

You will lose some strength, especially to torsion. Your tank will easily twist and rock, and potentially fall. I did the same stand with the supports the right way, and it is rock solid with a ton of room.

 

[cdrewferd]

You will lose some strength, especially to torsion. Your tank will easily twist and rock, and potentially fall. I did the same stand with the supports the right way, and it is rock solid with a ton of room.

Why do you say this? With laying the 2x4's down you'll lose a little height, but if you attach them right, say with a kreg jig pocket holes, then there's no difference. Sure they are a little weaker laid down, but how they are attached is what's going to give strength. If he's going to skin it all the way around then I say he would be just fine.

 

[bbandu]

I am not engineer either but with the weight of a 210g, I am not sure that I would try anything new. I am sure that it will be fine as long as you tie everything together.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Here are some pics of my 100G stand I built about 9 years ago and is still like new today.

Notice I laid the bottom 2x4s on edge to gain extra room inside and skinner the floor with plywoodwhich was sealed and epoxy painted to contain any small leaks.

You can see in the pic where it is painted white, I added some bracing in the back for lateral movement which was overkill since every joint is glued and screwed with countersunk stainless deck screws. It is skinned with 1/4" oak plywood and the doors were unfinished oak ordered thru Home Depot to match the rest of my kitchen and family room. The stand is completely sealed, caulked and epoxy painted, the exterior has Minwax Golden oak stain and 6 coats or satin exterior grade spar varnish. It has held up well.

I also wanted plenty of room underneath and even though my display is only 18" front to back, I made the stand 24" for more sump room. I also made it taller for clearance for the skimmer and tall equipment plsu to make the viewing angle better when sitting down in the room. I don't remember the exact height offhand but can get measurements tonight.

Sorry about the duplicate photo, it does not show up when I try to edit it out???

 

[Jgomez324]

These are two stands we've built both working fine.

both very sturdy only problem we had was the surface on top was off so we cut yogi Matt to even it out. Good luck

 

[AZDesertRat]

It was the Dos Equis that made the top unlevel !:bigsmile:

 

[Jgomez324]

Lol your probably right. But both tanks up and no cracks!!!

best advice is don't ruin the craft work by spray painting it. Like I did. Stain it like my cousins did.

 

[3Twinklets]

They are all very pretty. I remember after I had my 375 up and running for about 6 years I started tallying up all of the weight that was on that stand. I could not sleep at night because I was just positive that stand was not going to hold that tank a moment longer. It took 3 nights and some 2X6 braces that I made my poor husband put in before I finally slept

 

[Jgomez324]

Lol I was the same way set up the tank and waited 1 month before adding any rock, I would wake up thur out the night to check of the hardwood floors where wet. But it held

 

[AZDesertRat]

I set mine up in my garage and ran it for a week checking for leaks before moving it into the house!