Building my own Stand - Need Advice

Discussion in 'Fish Tank Brands and Kits' started by Glipzcom, Nov 25, 2008.

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  1. gazog

    gazog Kole Tang

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    I kind of figured that, but then I over build everything so I thought "cool another over builder", LOL

    Are you kidding me, Have you looked at the stands people pay hundreds of dollars for in the Stores, Press board & cardboard is all they are made out of. Ply wood is better than even that! And if done right will support more that 2x4's and such....
     
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  3. PharmrJohn

    PharmrJohn The Dude

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    Yeah......when I was picking up my 90, I looked at the POS stand it was sitting on. It was worse than what I had, and I was not too impressed with that. Amazing what they sell for $250. I would not be paying for that much wood. I would not be paying for that much craftmanship. If I can look at something and comment to myself that I could do better (I do not work with wood), something is wrong. Big time.
     
  4. Brian

    Brian Astrea Snail

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    That small of a tank, I would use 2x3"s and 1/4" plywood to skin it. Yall are underestimating the strength of wood.
     
  5. silverwolf72

    silverwolf72 Skunk Shrimp

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    I just brought that up due to when you talk about building a stand everyone talks about 4x4 or 2x4 or steel. I don't have a problem with people over building something but some of these things seem to get out of hand. Wood if built right is a lot stronger than people give it credit.
     
  6. Iraf

    Iraf Snowflake Eel

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    250 for a 90g stand is CHEAP, the DSA one I got was nearly 500 after tax, it is pretty nice though
     
  7. Glipzcom

    Glipzcom Flamingo Tongue

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    Alright so sounds like i can make a pretty strong stand with just 2x4's in the corners, and something strong to keep the box shape. Can 1/2 ply do most of the work?

    Also I am in a rush to get this done.. (never a good thing.. can i just put sealing stuff on the parts where the tank is going to sit, and then do more painting and stuff after its all set up?

    Not sure what dangers there are in painting the stand while the tank is on it.

    I figure i would just newspaper it up. to make sure no paint splatters anywhere.

    I was just going to paint it black since that way if the wood i get sucks, it will be ok.


    Trying to squeeze all this work in before the weekend.. ACK.

    Glen.
     
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  9. Iraf

    Iraf Snowflake Eel

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    I would think so, if you have a skimmer you'll need to turn it off while your painting though or it can fuse the fumes into the water dont want to get your fish high
     
  10. Brian

    Brian Astrea Snail

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    Here is a design for a 75g/90g that I made that you can modify to suit your needs. I designed it to be 49x19 foot print so the tank wasnt sitting on the edge of the lumber, it sits more in the middle 2" part.

    When buying lumber, a 2x4 is not a TRUE 2x4", it was before it was sent through the planer, so its really a 1.75"x3.75", thats something to think about when designering you stand.

    Make sure you use screw strips to hold everything together. They will help you plum it up and hold it together so the wood is supportting the wood, not the screws.

    As for what the lumber can hold... (cheap pine not hardwoods)

    2x4 can hold up to a 90g without having any center supports inbetween the top and bottom frames.

    2x6 can hold up to a 135g without having any center supports inbetween the top and bottom frames.

    2x8 can hold up to a 220g without having any center supports inbetween the top and bottom frames.

    2x10 can hold up to a 300g without having any center supports inbetween the top and bottom frames.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Brian

    Brian Astrea Snail

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    When using frameing lumber, plywood is not used for support, its used for aestetics. 1/4 plywood is all you need, and is much cheaper then the others.
     
  12. Glipzcom

    Glipzcom Flamingo Tongue

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    What are screw strips? I have never heard of those?