DIY stand issue

[Claus84]

Hi all,

I made a stand for my 48x15x18 (55g) soon to be FOWLR and hoping for some advice to help with an issue I'm having.



The stand has 6 3x4's as legs and a rectangular frame of 2x4's at the top and bottom and I added a 2x4 horiztonal support across the centre of the top and bottom frames.

The problem I have is that the front-middle support post is not bearing any weight, the weight is instead going through the horiztonal centre support which I have somehow messed up to be slightly higher than the front post. You can see the light shining through in the below pic.



The top of the stand is finished off with a double layer of 3/16" plywood and a sheet of 1"thick polystyrene.

My question is, should I be concerned about this damaging the tank long-term or will the polystyrene even things out?

Thanks in advance!

Nick

 

[Claus84]

Edited to add pics, my cat walked across the keyboard and sent before I had chance!

 

[bigroost]

You could always just slide some shims between the horizontal support and the top.

 

[AngryOwl]

I think you're gonna be good here either way, shims mentioned above is the easiest solution and the foam + plywood should be helping to distribute the weight. Honestly I'm more concerned the tank is supported by the screws only. For a 55 you should be okay... but essentially the load is on the screws vs the wood.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Honestly I'm more concerned the tank is supported by the screws only. For a 55 you should be okay... but essentially the load is on the screws vs the wood.

Came here to say the same. I'd consider adding 2x4's like the purple panels in the image below:

 

[greaser9999]

Came here to say the same. I'd consider adding 2x4's like the purple panels in the image below:

+1 on this, I did the same as pic above when I built my stand. You can still add those in, try to make those snug fit in. All that weight on the screws...... [emoji27]

 

[Claus84]

Came here to say the same. I'd consider adding 2x4's like the purple panels in the image below:

Thanks everyone

Unless I'm interpreting the diagram incorrectly mine differs slightly in that the uprights are level with the floor and the plywood top so they are directly taking the weight of the plywood/stand whereas in the diagram it looks as though the top and bottom rectangles are taking the weight which is then transferred to the uprights?

I'm not sure whether this was the right thing to do or not as this is the first proper stand I have built aside from a much smaller one for my 15g QT.

I can pick more wood up at the wknd and add the purple supports in. The tanks full of water but no sand or rock yet so its easy enough to drain, definitely want to get to it right

 

[AngryOwl]

Thanks everyone

Unless I'm interpreting the diagram incorrectly mine differs slightly in that the uprights are level with the floor and the plywood top so they are directly taking the weight of the plywood/stand whereas in the diagram it looks as though the top and bottom rectangles are taking the weight which is then transferred to the uprights?

I'm not sure whether this was the right thing to do or not as this is the first proper stand I have built aside from a much smaller one for my 15g QT.

I can pick more wood up at the wknd and add the purple supports in. The tanks full of water but no sand or rock yet so its easy enough to drain, definitely want to get to it right

That video should explain it better than trying to explain with words.

 

[Claus84]

Okay so I have definitely not done it that way!

Can you foresee any problems with the way I have done it, with the top frame and the uprights directly contactng the plywood? I guess it means that it isnt the screws that are supporting the weight but I'm guessing there is a good reason to construct as per the diagram and vid instead

 

[Claus84]

Apologies the image is upside down and I'm not sure how to rotate through tapatalk

 

[Greybeard]

Normally, you want the top frame resting on the uprights. Gives you a more solid load bearing frame. If you were to pull that top off and cut the front support down an inch or so, it'd probably be a bit more stable, with the weight resting on the outside frame... you're still counting on fasteners of some sort to carry the load, which is why most folks want to see the frame resting on the supports.

In your case, with a standard 55g tank, you're probably OK the way it is.

Have you looked at the laminated OSB pressed wood garbage that tank makers are selling as stands? They hold up just fine. Rimless tanks? Yeah, the stand needs to be a bit more substantial. Large tanks? Yup... that weight adds up in a hurry, and if it cracks, you're in for a heck of a mess. A standard 55? No worries.

 

[AngryOwl]

Apologies the image is upside down and I'm not sure how to rotate through tapatalk

So that would be okay if your tanks edges were over those legs. The edges of the tank are where all the weight is. In your design the tank edges are on the rectangle attached to those legs. Which is held in by screws. That is why we're saying the weight is supported by the screws. The plywood will help move some of that weight into the legs though and the fact the plywood is directly attached to the legs is not a problem at all.

 

[AngryOwl]

Have you looked at the laminated OSB pressed wood garbage that tank makers are selling as stands? They hold up just fine. Rimless tanks? Yeah, the stand needs to be a bit more substantial. Large tanks? Yup... that weight adds up in a hurry, and if it cracks, you're in for a heck of a mess. A standard 55? No worries.

haha exactly, more of just an FYI in the future.

 

[jsker]

I agree with @Greybeard the current stand is fine, toss the foam because the foam will but settle over time and get water logged. the key is if the plywood rests flat on all six supports.

 

[greaser9999]

Here's a pic of mine for reference, but this rule applies to every wooden stand if you want it to be solid. Hard to see from the angle of my pic but you can see the top of it, I milled all my wood at work so my stand was perfectly flat!!

 

[Claus84]

The edges of the tank are where all the weight is. In your design the tank edges are on the rectangle attached to those legs. Which is held in by screws. That is why we're saying the weight is supported by the screws.

I didn't even consider that but now it makes sense thanks, every day is a school day on R2R!

Even if it is unnecessary for this size tank I think for peace of mind I will add in the extra uprights to support the top frame and ensure it is perfectly level with the existing uprights, even 55g will make an impact if its dripping through my living room ceiling!

Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice, as you can tell I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to aquarium DIY!

 

[jsker]

I didn't even consider that but now it makes sense thanks, every day is a school day on R2R!

Even if it is unnecessary for this size tank I think for peace of mind I will add in the extra uprights to support the top frame and ensure it is perfectly level with the existing uprights, even 55g will make an impact if its dripping through my living room ceiling!

Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice, as you can tell I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to aquarium DIY!

Not after this

 

[AngryOwl]

I didn't even consider that but now it makes sense thanks, every day is a school day on R2R!

Even if it is unnecessary for this size tank I think for peace of mind I will add in the extra uprights to support the top frame and ensure it is perfectly level with the existing uprights, even 55g will make an impact if its dripping through my living room ceiling!

Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice, as you can tell I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to aquarium DIY!

Here is mine just because I wanna show it off

 

[greaser9999]

I didn't even consider that but now it makes sense thanks, every day is a school day on R2R!

Even if it is unnecessary for this size tank I think for peace of mind I will add in the extra uprights to support the top frame and ensure it is perfectly level with the existing uprights, even 55g will make an impact if its dripping through my living room ceiling!

Thanks everyone I appreciate the advice, as you can tell I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to aquarium DIY!

I saw a bunch of videos on YouTube prior to and then just went for it lol im not carpenter by any means. Heres s couple pics of my finished stand, excuse the wire. Trying to program my radion [emoji19]

 

[EngineeringAquariums]

You always want upper pieces of wood to be resting on top of your legs. otherwise you are asking a screw to hold the weight, that will be the weak point. Your average decking screw can only support 50lb of shear under ideal conditions