DIY stand (55 gal)

[fyrfytr]

So as many of you know I had purchased a 55gal and stand from Craigslist to start my saltwater adventure, which was vetoed by my wife in favor of the smaller 36gal bowfront that was a deal and a steal at PetSmart 2 years ago during their 12 Deals of Christmas sale. Fastforward 2 years and the saltwater thing is not a "phase or trend" in my life, nor is it in out kids life....and to be honest I think she is starting to get into it as well, however she has seen the limitations to the 36 gal tank.

The free stand that came with the 55 gal was free for a reason, it is collapsing under its own weight when we moved it to be able to put a dog cage on the corner when our dogs starting getting ridiculous about being loud at night. SO I have been given the yellow light (proceed with caution) to get a tank stand for the 55 gal. I told her that pricing wise, probably cheaper to DIY it. So I am looking for the pros and cons for DIY stands. Who has done them? What went right? What went wrong? What do you wish you had done?

 

[prsnlty]

I built my own stand for 125g and it worked out well except one thing. Mine is a peninsula so the stand is closed on one side and door openings on the other. I forgot about room to instal my sump and wound up using a smaller sump size than I wanted. Live and learn. I suggest using one of the DIY stand plan threads here on R2R. There are some really nice ones available.

 

[KoleTang]

I would only ever use a DIY stand. The factory things are cheap. Use this for the frame: DIY Stands Template and Calculator - Reef Central Online Community

This is one I worked on for a retirement home.

 

[geef64]

I built my own for my 125RR it is nice. The only problem i made it to tall so had to move somethings on the wall