Custom building stands

[PghReef]

Like many of you fellow reefers I have built numerous stands over the years. I learned from building stands with my dad for his tanks and then did it on my own as I dove into the hobby myself. I am not a carpenter but am handy around the house and do a lot of woodworking in any spare time I have. I prefer to over engineer anything I build, especially something that will be supporting x# gallons of water in my house, and can over complicate things at times.

With that in mind, I am absolutely baffled as to how commercial stands sold with tanks support the kind of weight they do and don't collapse or fall over with the slightest of force! I am currently in the process of building a stand for a 46 bowfront to replace the one it came with that I did use for a few years before I bought a house. It is made out of .75inch particle board with no real wood or studs, no complex joinery for extra strong joints, and if I took it apart I doubt any decent screws or nails. It's all simple physics and downward force but I still have a hard time trusting them.

Just a little rant and venting. I will post photos of the stand and a eventually start a build thread. Still working on the framework of the stand, about 90% complete then time to skin and trim. Not sure how Im going to finish it yet I have been a big fan of wood dye for color, tinted Danish oil for depth, and poly for protection. Always used oil based poly but might try water based this time around.

 

[Greybeard]

Yup. Looking at factory stands leads me to believe that most of us seriously over build our stands.

Those factory particle board boxes work fine... until they get wet, which is a near certainty in this hobby.

I quit doing dimensional lumber stands and plywood skins, in favor of just a well build plywood box, without all of the 2x4's, some time ago. The last wood stand I built, for a 60g cube, was strong enough to double as a stool for an elephant... No screws in it at all, excepting door hinges. Plywood and solid poplar, just dado joints, glued and clamped, with some attention paid to how the load was going to be distributed. Ended up seriously over built, but hey, it'll last a lifetime... for the guy I ended up selling it to

My current stand is steel. 11 gauge 1.5" square tube, welded and powder coated. Way strong, should last longer than I do, and it was actually CHEAPER than buying the materials to build it out of plywood and poplar.

 

[mahindra.dev]

Agreed.. Commercial vs. what we build are different. I went to a civil engineering competition in undergrad. Goal was to build a bridge with Popsicle sticks that can withstand 10lbs for 60sec. The lightest bridge built was 1.6lbs and it withstood the weight without issues. While mine weighed 8lbs and could withstand my weight of 150lbs.

I built it strong !!!! But in this hobby its OK to do that. A small change in loading and boom, its a disaster. Anyway good luck with the build. The more you can make the more you will enjoy. I wanted to make my stand for this build but i could not with a new baby. My 30JBJ had a custom stand.

 

[xaflatoonx]

super excited to see your post.
I am in the beginning stage of learning woodworking as a hobby. and hoping to use what i learn to build the stand i need.

Looking forward to your build thread and learning from you and picking your brain for things i dont understand.

 

[jsker]

Nothing like a well planned good wood stand that one can take pride in

 

[drtrash]

 

[PghReef]

Agreed.. Commercial vs. what we build are different. I went to a civil engineering competition in undergrad. Goal was to build a bridge with Popsicle sticks that can withstand 10lbs for 60sec. The lightest bridge built was 1.6lbs and it withstood the weight without issues. While mine weighed 8lbs and could withstand my weight of 150lbs.

I built it strong !!!! But in this hobby its OK to do that. A small change in loading and boom, its a disaster. Anyway good luck with the build. The more you can make the more you will enjoy. I wanted to make my stand for this build but i could not with a new baby. My 30JBJ had a custom stand.

That's pretty impressive for popsicle sticks! I built a cat scratching post 5 or so years back and tested it by making sure it could support my weight of 180 lbs. My wife literally said omg are we getting a kitten or a panther!? Fast forward to today and we have our first child who used it to climb like a jungle gym and I'm just happy to know it's safe and strong enough to support his weight! Pretty sure she rest better knowing it was built for that panther we couldnt get

 

[PghReef]

Yup. Looking at factory stands leads me to believe that most of us seriously over build our stands.

Those factory particle board boxes work fine... until they get wet, which is a near certainty in this hobby.

I quit doing dimensional lumber stands and plywood skins, in favor of just a well build plywood box, without all of the 2x4's, some time ago. The last wood stand I built, for a 60g cube, was strong enough to double as a stool for an elephant... No screws in it at all, excepting door hinges. Plywood and solid poplar, just dado joints, glued and clamped, with some attention paid to how the load was going to be distributed. Ended up seriously over built, but hey, it'll last a lifetime... for the guy I ended up selling it to

My current stand is steel. 11 gauge 1.5" square tube, welded and powder coated. Way strong, should last longer than I do, and it was actually CHEAPER than buying the materials to build it out of plywood and poplar.

If only I knew how to weld I'm sure the steel frame stands are stronger and lighter than any wooden stand. With the price of lumber im not surpeised its cheaper too.

 

[Greybeard]

If only I knew how to weld I'm sure the steel frame stands are stronger and lighter than any wooden stand. With the price of lumber im not surpeised its cheaper too.

I can't weld either. Well enough to stick a busted steel plate back on my brush hog, maybe, but something like this? Nope. I have several friends that can, two of them volunteered to help me out, but I ended up going with a local fab shop. If a friend did it, and it didn't end up square, well, they were trying to help me out... you can't be too mad at them, or expect that they'll warranty their work. Paying a fab shop, if the stand didn't come out like the plan I gave them, well, I'm not paying for it