Building a Stand

[Neon Reefer]

As you may already know I am a DIY guy and since I am rebuilding a 150G right now I thought I would share some process on building a stand.

The size and shape of the tank will of course dictate the shape and needed strength of the stand. The stand must not only bear the weight of the aquarium, the water and the rock; but do so without any type of warping or bowing. A stand that cannot support without twisting, bowing or warping will surly contribute to the tank springing a leak, as the seams of a tank cannot bear any pressure from this type of structural stress. Whereas the foot print of the tank dictates the needed dimensions of the top of the stand, the height of the tank dictates the structural support needed to bear the weight associated with the weight of the water. Take for instance a standard 48 long X 24 deep tank that is 18 high = a 90 G tank. The weight of water is 8.34 lbs. per gallon so 90 x 8.34 = 750.6 lbs. Now the same footprint of 48L x 24D but 31High = 154G @ 8.34 lbs. per gallon = 1284 lbs. or an additional 534lbs. This plus the additional glass weight and rock can easily accumulate an additional 700 lbs. on the same dimensional foot print. Therefore more strength in the stand is needed.

This idea is particularly important in pre manufactured stands as they rely on more real engineering instead of bulked up materials. The high costs associated with materials means manufacturers utilize engineering to work with thinner and less board feet of material. So when it says 90 gallon stand and you put a 150 on it, most likely you are exceeding the weight standard for the stand and subjecting the aquarium to additional shearing and / or torsion stresses, because the uprights on the stand are bowing which in turn over time can cause leaking or catastrophic aquarium failure.

For my build I calculated the weight my stand would need to bear for my new 150 XT to be ~ 1,780 lbs. total to include the tank, contents and the hood. I like working w/ 2 x 4 and having a little basic knowledge whereby in general the load capacity of a standard 2x4 non dense pine stud is usually estimated at 608 lbs. of stress from the end (as on the top of a leg), but as little as 475 lbs. stress without any bending which is what I utilize. There is far too much structural engineering involved for me to understand much less explain, but with this in hand I know I will at least be over building. This build most likely could be accomplished in the same manner structurally with a 1x4 frame and skinned in 1X4 But I will be utilizing a 2x4 frame covered in 1x4 select pine. Since an engineered beam is far superior in strength to the sum of its parts I know I will have a support structure far exceeding the strength needed to support my aquarium.

I like to build open backs without any center support and in a 48 application a single ½ beam would suffice. A ½ beam consist of a centered 2x4 mounted on the centered edge to a 2x4 flat side. Once glued and screwed together it has a synergistic affect much greater than the individual parts. I went ahead and used a double half beam which includes two 2x4s mounted flat sides together with a third mounded flat across the two vertical edges. I use this because the finish side works better in the application of the 1x4 finish. I build the beam so that each end will sit ½ on top of the post, the other ½ besides the post and the top of the beam resting on top of the entire corner. This is easily accomplished by reducing the inside 2x4 by the width of the post and extending the top by one width of the post, and also by notching the post by one 2x4 width. The posts each consists of a 2x4 x edge to a 2x4 x flat to form an L. I first build the rear beam and attach to 2 posts. Then then build the front support which consists of two 2 x4s attached like the posts. I then tie them together with the side supports built like the posts and where the front beam has the down side of the L facing inwards.

To build the bottom frame I now screw 4 measured and cut 2x4s together to form a rectangle the size of the entire length of the upper frame but only the inside measurements of the width of the upper frame with one centered 2x4 spanning the short length of the bottom frame. This way once completed I can slip it thru one end of the upper frame between the posts and screw together from the inside, forming the bottom supports for the frame, the uprights to be installed on the front, the end panels to be put on each side of the outside ends and the plywood bottom on which the sump will sit.

The only construction left is to install the ¼ finished on one side plywood to the ends of the stand and the uprights on the front of the stand by toe nailing them in place. The location and number of the uprights is determined by the size and number of doors on the front of the stand. One upright centered for two doors and two up rights for three doors. Lastly install your trim onto the sides first then the front overlapping with the trim on the front to better hide the seams. A hint for doors is to utilize old cabinet doors; I always have a supply of these on hand for this. Im the guy you see on the side of the road with his cordless drill taking off doors from cabinets going to the scrap pile. Ha! No pride here when it comes to free useable parts. Besides building quality looking doors is the hardest part to get right without specialty tools which most of us dont have. But the simplest way to build those doors is to take some1 x 3 lap trim and cut 4 pieces to fit the size of the door you want. Dry fit them together carefully and take the measurements from the inside of the ¼ drop in the trim utilize the same measurements on the same type ¼ one side finished plywood you used on the sides of the stand between the frame and the trim. Cut a piece the size of the measurements. Take some 1x3 trim and cut so the top and bottom pieces fit inside the uprights to form the size of the door. Glue the flat insides of the lap trim to the unfinished side of the ¼ plywood and the 1x3 to the finished side of the ¼ plywood and nail from the inside. Run a hand router w/ a fluted bit on the outside of the trim and whoalaa you have a finished door. Easier to find an old cabinet door right?

The rest is all about filling cracks, sanding and painting. If you want to stain you have to use Stainable material. If painting dont waste your money on select stain grade wood unless like me you want no knot holes and a whole lot less filling and sanding.

[mFrame]

Pics?

[Neon Reefer]

I was going to include pictures when I finished the build thread, but here you go Mike, a little preview to the point where I will begin the filling, sanding and making ready for the paint.