Making your own stand and lid

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
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DenisD

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2007
54
0
0
Moncton NB
Hey everyone,

Is it cheaper to make an ugly strong stand which is 3 feet high for a 4x2 (120 gallon) tank or a 5x1.5 (108 gallon)

What about lights from department stores, they come in 4 feet long right?

Thanks!
 
DenisD;902038; said:
Hey everyone,

Is it cheaper to make an ugly strong stand which is 3 feet high for a 4x2 (120 gallon) tank or a 5x1.5 (108 gallon)
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This would depend on your skills (DIY isn't very cheap if your stand fails) and how cheap you can get materials (and how much your time is worth) compared to how much a commercial stand costs.

What about lights from department stores, they come in 4 feet long right?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

4' lighting is very common and you should be able to source "bare battens" very cheaply from lighting suppliers.
 
The short answer is yes, but not a whole lot cheaper.

I started building a stand before I got the tank. I wanted to put the biggest tank I could in this one particular spot. I built a stand out of 2x6's that could handle a 120G (60x18), or a 150G Tall (48x24). It could also support a 125G (72x18) using add-on extensions. Since you have to support the entire outer rim of the tanks, I ended up using a lot of 2x6's and boxes and boxes of screws. I held off buying the 1" thick plywood top until I purchased the tank. The price for a 4'x8' sheet of quality plywood is very high. I added a bottom shelf for the canisters.

I ended up buying the 150G Tall. I know I spent close to $150 on supplies. Then I saw that Petsmart had the 150G tall stand for $200. I don't regret building it, but I sure worked long and hard to save $50.
 
I built the stand for my 240 gallon for under $100, and I bet it could support double the weight that's currently on it.
 
I am currently in the process of building a stand for my 125 and it is costing me next to nothing, but then again my neighbor does construction and is getting my most of the lumber I need for free. I think that if I did have to purcahse all of the materials it would have been around 75-100.
 
DenisD;916359; said:
Could anyone please help me with this?
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Check the DIY forum...several are being done right now and if you search that section there are alot of finished one with pix too.

Or did you want someone to come over? :D

Dr Joe

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A super cheap stand could be made with concrete cinder blocks, a few two by fours, and some nice fabric to drap over the stand.
 
You might be able to buy a stand for not that much more than you could build one, but look at the stands you can buy at the stores!! They're a piece of junk. I WOULDN'T TRUST a store bought stand.

Build your own and know that it won't fall apart.

( of course you need to build it with a good design! )
 
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