I am in the process of building my stand for my new 125g and would like some opinions from other DIY'ers out there. Do you think it is necessary to use plywood (or other type of wood) on the top of the stand where the tank sits. The frame of my stand is made out of 2x4's and I was planning to just sit the tank on the 2x4's. But, in looking at some of the other stand on here, it seems that most people prefer to top the stand with a sheet of plywood or something similar. To me it seems that all of the weight of the tank would be on the trim, which would be supported by the frame of the stand, which would lead me to believe that the plywood is not necessary. But, I have been known to be wrong before. I am open to any opinions. Also, the tank will be drilled on the bottom and 2 canister filters will be plumbed through the holes. So, if I did add a sheet of plywood I would have to trim around the holes, which is not a big deal.
Question about DIY stand for 125g
- Thread starter PamAndJim
- Start date
If it's glass and your frame is level, it only needs to support the width of the bezel around the bottom. In fact, having a full plywood sheet could lead to issues if the glass bows enough downward and rests on the plywood (not extremely likely, but still). If it's acrylic, it will need to be supported evenly on the entire bottom.
If it's glass you don't need to but can. If it's acrylic use plywood.
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I should've mentioned the tank will be glass, but the bottom will be pvc. Does that change anything?
I'd love to see a photo of a 125G glass tank with a PVC bottom. I'm curious how they bond the two dissimilar materials together.
In that case, I would use a plywood base so the PVC has solid contact.
If this a manufactured tank, what do they recommend?
In that case, I would use a plywood base so the PVC has solid contact.
If this a manufactured tank, what do they recommend?
I'm not sure what the process is, but if seems to be a fairly common practice among tank builders at least in this area. I think it dates back to the old Oceanic days. There are two or three companies in the Dallas area that were started by former Oceanic employees and a couple of them use pvc bottoms.
Also, I never thought to ask the builder about the stand. I will ask what they recommend.
TT the lfs where I am ordering the tank from. He said the bottom is made up of 3/4" plywood and the PVC. So, it is not necessary to provide a solid surface. Question answered. Thank you all for your recommendations.