DIY Tank stand

[JonasBygdemo]

I've finally started my new build. It'll be a stand for our Juwel Lido 120. I've roughly cut the beams that I'll use, but I want to wait with the fine-cutting until it's a little warmer. I have my woodshop in a non-insulated shed in our backyard, and in -22*C it's not a fun place to be when playing with tablesaws.

The beams I'll be using is 45x70mm, and when screwed together, I'll cover everything with 7mm plywood. I originally planned to have an 18mm plywood sheet on top, but my dear father (and engineer) told me that a stable frame on beams would be strong enough to carry a car. Also plywood is expensive as hell! I'll have a small cabinet under the tank, and I'll incorporate an idea I saw on the web. I'll use wall outlets inside the cabinet with switches so I won't have to disconnect the pump-cable during waterchanges, and the light-cable when medicating.

This pile of murdered trees will soon hold an aquarium:


The hardware:

[Diana]

Plywood is optional for some tanks. Most of my tanks sit on just the rims, not flat on the bottom glass. Several of my tank stands are open frames of 2 x 4. Lumber in USA is in inches, but even that is deceptive. 2 x 4 is really closer to 1.5" x 3.5". This equals 40 mm x 90 mm.
The plywood is very good to keep the lumber from shifting, to keep it 'plumb, level and square' as they say in the trades.

If I could only afford enough plywood for part of the stand, I would not use it on the top, but on the back. Strong brackets will also keep the stand from wobbling.

[glenna]

I do not know a lot about personally making tank stands, only my own recent disaster with a "custom built" stand. The guy who built it for me is an experienced and excellent carpenter and it WAS (you get the picture) a BEAUTIFUL stand. The problem was that the top was a somewhat thick piece of plywood which bowed EVER so slightly....just enough for the tank to leak after 12 days being set up.
After the leaking tank was taken down, we thoroughly examined it. Yes, the surface board was bowed in a convex fashion which pused enough on the bottom rim to pull away the seal. At least this is the theory, the aquarium people who set my tank up could have been wrong, but they still provided me the replacement tank for free, so I think they had nothing to gain by blaming the mishap on the stand.
I ended up BUYING a premade stand through all-glass, but really as long as ALL the support is along the perimeter of the tank, there really does not NEED to be a totally solid top piece. In the stand I ended up purchasing, the center is entirely open, so that the tank basically just sits on the perimeter edges.
Bigger and more sturdy is not always BETTER when it comes to these stands. Just keep that in mind as you build you own!

[JonasBygdemo]

Yeah I'm a little worried that something will warp, but I haven't decided how I want to do yet. Thought I'd build the frame first, and then decide to ply or not to ply. I suppose I could make a hole in the center of the top-ply and just have the tank sitting on the edges.

[Diana]

I would not add the plywood, then cut a hole in it. If you use it, leave it intact. Bit of insulation that may keep the tank just a bit warmer. Granted this is at the bottom and heat rises, still, it is a little help.

[JonasBygdemo]

That's true. We'll se how I decide to do. It's warmer today, so I'll probably be fine-cutting everything today, and start the assembly.

[JonasBygdemo]

Been getting some work done. The beams have been cut to final dimensions, and I've screwed all of them together. I'm going to buy plywood to cover the frame with in a couple of days, and I've bought the switches for the outlets. The center-brace on the top-frame (first pic, I flipped the the stand for the last pic) is not at 90 degrees. This is because I screwed up a little bit, and I didn't want to make a new piece so I just moved it a bit. Won't be visible, and it won't hurt the strength at all. I sat down on the frame (I weigh about 110kg) and rocked back and forth, and side to side. Stiff as a rock!

Also I've decided to ply the top. I might be able to score some THICK ply, if the guy I talked with estimated it right we might be talking about 25mm. It'll be free as well



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[Diana]

With strong connectors like that even a much longer tank stand would be stable, with no diagonal bracing.

[Keith Wolcott]

It is certainly strong enough. Nicely done.

[JonasBygdemo]

It is certainly strong enough. Nicely done.

Thanks!

I'll probably pick up the thinner ply today so I can start to cover everything up.