First DIY Stand 300g 6x3 need verification

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smdsatx

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 17, 2010
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San Antonio, Texas U.S.A
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This is my first DIY stand and i wanted to verify it with you guys b4 i fill it. Tank dimensions; all glass 300 gallon 72x36x27. The stand is made of 4x4 and 2x4, the wood is treated for water or as home depot tag sates "pressurized wood" is there any problem with that type of wood? The stand is level and squared, every support beam measures the same, hence leveled. On the pics there is a missing cross brace which i will replace. im gona move the braces on the ends down to the middle of the support beams cus it will leave more space for the bulkheads. This is just the frame, i will dress it up later. I had a concern and a few questions. In the last pic you can see a gap that's in between the tank trim and the middle side of the stand, would this be a problem? isn't most of the weight on the support beams? i'm ignorant in that, but using my common sense i believe it is, correct me if i'm wrong.

Any comments or advice is welcomed! Its my first DIY stand so im a bit concerned, what would be the worst thing that can happen? i'm a noob at working with wood, i had help from my dad and bro, they know a little more but never done DIY stands. Thanks!
 
The small gap shouldn't be an issue. Someone else may comment.


I do have one nit pick on you design though. The upper frame that sits on the 4x4's. The joints should be on top of the 4x4's in a load bearing set up. The way you have it the front and back is holding all the weight and the front to rear 2x4's are not holding much of anything because their only strength is fasteners.

So keep that in mind if you ever build another or rebuild.

But other wise treated 4x4's and materiel are a good choice and super strong for verticals. I'd still recommend some sort of waterproofing paint to help seal them to prevent warping from moisture they may encounter.

Should work fine though.
 
It seems plenty strong to support the actual vertical weight, but I would seriously consider adding some diagonal braces on back & on sides, to prevent the whole thing from "racking" like dominos when somebody leans on (or bumps into) the stand.

Without that diagonal bracing, it would not be strong enough to withstand a sideways push, so those nice squares would become UN-square sooo easily (see image), and the whole tank would come crashing down like a house of cards. Yikes!

And as Muni mentioned, I worry that the little (metal?) fasteners are the only thing preventing the front & back posts from separating under all that crushing weight. I'd suggest a sheet of plywood over the whole top, or else just add another front-to-back 2x4 that straddles the front & back posts, just like you nicely did along the top front.

Yes, pressure treated wood is overkill, but perfectly fine. It's not really needed indoors unless you plan to have puddles constantly on the floor.

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^^ I agree, add some diagonal bracing. I would also have concern over the upper frame as Muni mentioned. If you can remove your metal fasteners, you could add 2x4's vertically to support the cross pieces.
 
x3

Add in some bracing to keep the tank from swaying and you should be good to go.
 
ok. the stand is actually really sturdy and doesn't sway(even with the tank on top) side to side or front to back thanks to the 2x4 that we put on the top to link the 4x4, one of them is missing because im going move the ones in the ends to the middle.

CharlieTuna;4611874; said:
^^ I agree, add some diagonal bracing. I would also have concern over the upper frame as Muni mentioned. If you can remove your metal fasteners, you could add 2x4's vertically to support the cross pieces.
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good idea, i think i will do that, and i wont have to take the tank off(thing is heavy:WHOA:) doing that will also get rid of the gap :) YAY!

I will look into putting more support to keep it from swaying even more.

thanks! ^_^
 
Definitely add verticals. Also is this a flat bottom tank where you need to add styrofoam under the tank?
 
smdsatx;4612002; said:
ok. the stand is actually really sturdy and doesn't sway(even with the tank on top) side to side or front to back thanks to the 2x4 that we put on the top to link the 4x4, one of them is missing because im going move the ones in the ends to the middle.



good idea, i think i will do that, and i wont have to take the tank off(thing is heavy:WHOA:) doing that will also get rid of the gap :) YAY!

I will look into putting more support to keep it from swaying even more.

thanks! ^_^
Click to expand...

You have to realize though that tank is going to weigh 3000 pounds. Thats a car. So you may be able to jump around on it. But you are tiny compared to the final weight of your tank.

Diagonal brace for peice of mind. Maybe some plywood for a bottom shelf. And thin stuff to make it pretty and she should be good to go.
 
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