Hey everyone. I'm thinking of building a new stand for my 6x2x2, and I've had a look around here at all the stickies and past builds trying to figure out the best design for what I need, and now I've drawn up my basic plan I want to get all your opinions on it before I go ahead. I've only had limited experience building tank stands (one for an 18" cube tank and one for a 4'x15"x18"), and since this is a fairly big step up in size I want to make sure I avoid a disaster. 
So basically the main reason most of the stand builds on this website don't work for me is the size of my sump. It's 500mm wide, which means if I put any legs or extra supports on the inside of the stand's edges then the sump won't fit. So instead I've opted for a build where the extremities of the tank sit on the legs, with the frame slightly inset. I've got a picture below to give an idea:
As you can see, the outside edges of the tank will sit on the legs, and the legs will screw into the top and bottom frames. The stand will be quite high - 1000mm (40") - because I don't like bending down to look into my tanks, and so I've added cross-braces in the middle of three pairs of legs to prevent any possibility for buckling. The top and front of the stand will also be dressed in ply (possibly the sides as well, they can't be seen where the stand will sit so I might not bother). By having the legs at the extremities of the stand there is enough room left inside for my 500mm wide sump.
Not being a woodworker by trade (or even very DIY-inclined at all) I'm not entirely sure if the 90mmx35mm structural pine will be sufficient for the design of this stand. Or maybe I've completely over-built it, I don't know. That's where your experience comes in, before I go ahead with this build, in telling me whether this will hold or not. Or any other improvements to the design you may have.
Cheers everyone.
So basically the main reason most of the stand builds on this website don't work for me is the size of my sump. It's 500mm wide, which means if I put any legs or extra supports on the inside of the stand's edges then the sump won't fit. So instead I've opted for a build where the extremities of the tank sit on the legs, with the frame slightly inset. I've got a picture below to give an idea:
As you can see, the outside edges of the tank will sit on the legs, and the legs will screw into the top and bottom frames. The stand will be quite high - 1000mm (40") - because I don't like bending down to look into my tanks, and so I've added cross-braces in the middle of three pairs of legs to prevent any possibility for buckling. The top and front of the stand will also be dressed in ply (possibly the sides as well, they can't be seen where the stand will sit so I might not bother). By having the legs at the extremities of the stand there is enough room left inside for my 500mm wide sump.
Not being a woodworker by trade (or even very DIY-inclined at all) I'm not entirely sure if the 90mmx35mm structural pine will be sufficient for the design of this stand. Or maybe I've completely over-built it, I don't know. That's where your experience comes in, before I go ahead with this build, in telling me whether this will hold or not. Or any other improvements to the design you may have.
Cheers everyone.
