DIY aquarium stand

[bathawk]

I an looking to buy a 72 x 30 x24 tank in near future. To keep cost down I am thinking of building a wooden stand myself I would like to know the thickness/diameter of the wood needed to support the tank here is a photo from youtube of the type of stand I would like to build.

 

[fishguy1978]

The Sagulator – WoodBin

Use the above calculator to determine sag of lumber. Think of shelf width and thickness as the thickness of the dimensional lumber. So, a 2x4 would be 2in wide by 3.5in thick. If you add a sheet of 3/4ply that is just sandwiched between the tank and stand it adds negligible support. Screw it down though and there is a significant increase.

 

[deeda]

I used the plans from Rocket Engineer on Reef Central to build a basic stand for a standard 125G tank a few years ago, very sturdy and you can finish the exterior any way you want.

The link is Rocket Engineers DIY Stand posts #3, #4 and #5 for the instructions.

Pics to my DIY stand are Here at post #7

 

[bathawk]

great info thanks I may even get them pre cut as there is a timber yard near me and if not I will have to dig out my mytre saw some where in my loft.

 

[DrownedFishonFire]

I used the plans from Rocket Engineer on Reef Central to build a basic stand for a standard 125G tank a few years ago, very sturdy and you can finish the exterior any way you want.

The link is Rocket Engineers DIY Stand posts #3, #4 and #5 for the instructions.

Pics to my DIY stand are Here at post #7

The links Is not working today when I wanted to see the plans to build my own 125g stand haha

Will wait it out for a week but subbed to this thread to to back to the plans/dimensions I need to be cut

 

[bathawk]

ok thanks went to the timber yard today they said the can cut the measurements I want they aslo asked me if I wanted hard wood or soft wood, they also said they have 2 by 4 and also 2 by 6 . Would it be a good idea to make the tand slightly longer than the tank say 75 inch for a 72 inch tank.

 

[fishguy1978]

ok thanks went to the timber yard today they said the can cut the measurements I want they aslo asked me if I wanted hard wood or soft wood, they also said they have 2 by 4 and also 2 by 6 . Would it be a good idea to make the tand slightly longer than the tank say 75 inch for a 72 inch tank.

Measure the tank first. While a standard 125g is technically 72in the trim adds just over an inch for some brands. I add a 1/4(0.25)in. For wiggle room to the final length of my rack boards.

 

[Raka]

Need to have at least .5in extra on each side. Have done this exact project (unsuccessfully) in the past.

Highly recommend a leveling pad.

 

[bathawk]

ok so really 77 inches long and 30 inches wide the timber merchant has 2 types soft wood and hard wood the hard wood he says is a lot more expensive

 

[Raka]

I wanna say it was 72.5w x 24.5d x ??.?t

I had the height setup perfectly so I could reach the bottom of the tank without a step stool for cleaning the front glass.

View angle was also perfect to see the entire bottom from the couch.

Steel wasn't cheap but imo looks way nicer that what my wood working skills could produce. Had it locally fabricated.