Building my own Stand - Need Advice

So you all convinced me (along with the absurd price tag for store stands) that I now need to build my own stand.

The main reason I am even building a stand is because I want to have a sump Refugium.

My tank is about a 40-45 gallon tank. Footprint is 15 1/2"x 36 1/2"

So looking at the plans I see the width of the space under the tank is going to end up being 12 inches. A quick look around on the internet reveals that 20 gallon tanks are most commonly 12 1/2 inches wide. Too big to fit in the space below.

Right now the design I was looking at calls for 6 upright 2x4's (4 corners and 2 middle ones) Could i not do the middle ones?

Seems like there is a lot of debate all over the internet about how strong things need to be built. Everyone love to say "overbuild" which is fine, but how overbuilt does it need to be?

Glen.

 

yes you would not need the middle ones if you skin it with plywood, i would use 3/4" and that will have no problem supporting the weight......

 

When I did my stand for my 90g, I used 6 4x4's, but for a 20g, I think its over kill. Am currently building a stand for a 29g and all Im using is 4 4x4's. Either way, its really up to you, the stronger the better, but if your building budget is not as big as you would like, you can get away with 4 4x4's. Luna

 

Yeah, just to clarify. The tank I am putting on the stand is a 40 gallon tank.

But I want this stand to be able to have a sump underneath it.

All the plans put the posts right under the tank lip. which makes sense. but that means that it will be coming a 1 1/2" on each side underneath. so instead of my tank width of 15 1/2 the space underneath will end up being barely 12. Which is not wide enough to fit a sump tank underneath.

At least i dont think so?

 

I had a 45g once and the stand only had 4 4x4's and this stand was factory made. You should be fine with 4 of them. Just make sure you use plywood as a skin like hydrojeff mentioned. Luna

 

yes 40 gallon, i built a 240 gallon out of 1/2 plexi and the stand i built was made of 6 2x6s virtical and it held up fine and still is for the guy that bouoght it about 10 years ago.

 

You don't have to build it the size of the tank, Although I know mine is way overkill, my stand is 8 inches wider than the tank, mostly because I built it so I would be able to upgrade to a much larger tank but also to afford for more room under the tank.

If your tank is 12" add the 3" your going to need for the 2-2x4's plus another inch for room. So make your stand 16" wide and set the tank back an inch or two from the front. As long as you top it with a sheet of 3/4 inch plywood you will be fine.

As far as using 6 2x4 no you don't need 6 for a 40 gallon, use 2x6 for a cross bars and you can do away with the center one. I have plans for a stand that can be used for most any tank just by modifying the length and size of the cross bars and adding a few extra supports, only problem is I am at work and its at home.

 

Im sorry, all this time I've been saying 4x4's when I meant 2x4's, My bad. Luna

 

Everyone is going to get on to me about this I know
My 120 sits on a stand that is made totally out pressure treated plywood
I didn't build it but it's been working fine for about 10 years and several moves and I have not seen any bowing or warping.

 

You can see what my 75g stand was like in my build thread. It's in the first few pages. I did, however, make a few mods in the conversion to my 90g. You do not need the middle support if the rest is done right.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/pharmrjohns-90g-thread-52614.html