QUESTIONS!I'm building a 240 long stand!!

[STONEDFISH]

I'm about to order my tank from glasscages.com, but before I do I have a few questions about stands.
I want to build my own, and it seems pretty straight forward, but what are some specific details to pay attention to? Common errors?

I know you want everything level and square, and sturdy as possible. I'm thinking 16 24" pieces of 4x4 cross braced and framed with 2x4. Use heavy duty screws. What about the top? Thickest plywood i can find?

What is the deal with the foam? I read something about needing foam under the tank too?

The tank is 96x24x25, should the stand be 100x28?

stndfsh

 

[CichlidAddict]

I have that same tank and I made my stand too.
Just make sure the weight is supported by the wood, not the screws if that makes sense. I used 2-1/2 inch drywall screws.
For the top I used 3/4 inch plywood with 1/2 inch dense styrofoam on top. The foam is so the tank won't be stressed in certain areas if the stand isn't perfectly level across the top. I would definitely recommend it with a glass tank.

 

[Ianab]

Use the uprights like you planned, probably overkill, but that wont hurt. The most important is the bracing. I suggest you use plywood back and sides screwed and glued to the timber. If it were to fail it would do so by folding up, but with the ply back and sides that cant happen.

Heavy ply is good for the top, and a layer of foam just spreads the weight better and prevents pressure points on the tank that could crack it if the ply top isn't 100% flat.

Cheers

Ian

 

[STONEDFISH]

Too many 4x4's? maybe 8 or 10? Where do you get a piece of foam that big? like styrofoam cooloer styrofoam? Isn't that to dense? will the foam cause pressure points? or does it just crush into any gaps the you trim it off?
stndfsh

 

[Dr Joe]

Styrofoam sheets normally come in 4ft x 8ft sheets.