120 Gallon Stand Design

[Eazy]

Well my pine stand that I bought from my LFS 4 or 5 years ago is no longer level. The tank is 60" long, and over the length of the tank, the water level drops 1/4". I'm worried about its structural integrity, so over Christmas break I'm going to build a new stand for it.

I drew this up on paint. I originally used this website for the design: http://www.fishandtips.com/index.php , but I want larger door openings, so I changed the design.

It's all 4x4's and 2x4's (3.5x3.5 and 1.5x3.5 actual). I plan to put plywood on top of the frame for the tank to sit on... and on the bottom if you guys think it's necessary.

What do you think? Will this be sufficient?

 

[Eazy]

Or is this overkill? I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building, so weight is kind of an issue...

 

[johncl]

IMO the 4x4's aren't necessary. 2x4's would be plenty strong enough. I built a stand for my 125 6' tank and used all 2x4's it's been set up for 4 years with no problems.

 

[Eazy]

Okay. I found a link to this in mdstark's 375g build thread...

Would this be a good design? All 2x4's except for the red and yellow which would be 2x6's? Overall length and width of the stand frame would be 61x19

 

[john73738]

Love how we design our tank stands to withstand a direct nuclear blast.

When the ones in the LFS are made of presswood.

The three I am building to replace the 2 Cinder block stands and my Plywood build are made o 2x4 sheeted with 1/2" ply.

If you are looking to leave out the center brace then 2x6 may be the right choice. But if you put in a center brace then you can go with 2x4 saving weight while keeping the strength.

Just my 2 cents

Bear

 

[Eazy]

If you are looking to leave out the center brace then 2x6 may be the right choice. But if you put in a center brace then you can go with 2x4 saving weight while keeping the strength.

So just put vertical 2x4's in between the orange and the red, and keep it all 2x4's?

Would I need additional braces like the green ones, but for the center brace?

 

[Pharaoh]

So just put vertical 2x4's in between the orange and the red, and keep it all 2x4's?

Would I need additional braces like the green ones, but for the center brace?

You will be fine to build it completely out of 2x4s. You could take the green boards out and not have an issue. I would also put another center brace on the bottom identical to the one on the top.

 

[mdstark]

In the design you posted, the green boards are only there to hold the purple boards in place between the horizontal rails. They act as screw strips to help connect the purple boards to the horizontal rails. They actually don't span completely to the bottom of the stand and don't do much in the way of load bearing, that is reserved for the purple boards. If you used a Kreg jig and pocket screws, you could do away with the green boards.

 

[Pharaoh]

If you used a Kreg jig and pocket screws, you could do away with the green boards.

I like the way you think.

 

[johncl]

Love how we design our tank stands to withstand a direct nuclear blast.

Couldn't agree more. The stands people build are way overkill. You can eliminate the green uprights if you use either pocket screws or do what I did and use a biscuit joiner once you put the ply on the outside it provides your shear strength and you are good to go.

Oh and all 2x4's are fine even without the center support tho I would use it.