DIY Stand Question

[cdfjr1975]

Just realized my sump 40 gallon breeder is 2 inches deeper than my 100 gallon tank. Could I use a plywood base for the DT if I make the stand the size of the sump or should I add a lip in the back to support the sump?

 

[cromag27]

I could offer you advise on how to do this. do you have it built yet?

 

[cdfjr1975]

Thanks @cromag08 No just the planning stage right now. I was going to leave the back open so thought if I added an extra 2x4 to the bottom back base it would work out but wasn't sure of any other options I may have.

 

[cdfjr1975]

I could offer you advise on how to do this. do you have it built yet?

I have the slowest build I think possible, but I'm getting ready to build the stand and I would thoroughly enjoy your advice. I've been reading a lot and every time I see stands you have great information.

My display is 60 x 16 (depth) x 24 height. My sump is aqueon 40 breeder 36 x 18 x 16.

I've attached pictures of sump tank and rear of DT.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

 

[JoshH]

So your stand isn't started at all? There are endless possibilities to resolve that issue depending on how you want things to look and function in the end.

 

[cdfjr1975]

Not at all. I haven't even bought the wood yet. I was looking at the rocket engineer build for ideas since I'm not a carpenter, wood worker or engineer so I have no clue what is really needed to support a tank properly.

I had thought to build the base square with a large enough space to allow for the sump
to sit inside of it. Need to determine best way to not have the equipment straight on the floor though.

Use pocket holes to join the uprights to the top square to maximize internal space. (This would be the first time doing this) Put length wise cross beam where the back of the DT would rest. Cover the top square with 1/2 or 3/4 ply.

With the extra depth on the stand I would drill holes for the pipes and wires. Do I build a back box from ply to cover the back for a cleaner look, while still leaving one side panel, or even the whole thing, removable for easier access when needed.

Haven't decided yet about the light holder, canopy or hang. I have SBReef lights, not the most stylish look so I thought some form of cover, even if it is just to "wrap" the lights.

I'm not sure I have the greatest imagination and even if I did my wood working is amateurish so not sure how much I could even make an intricate vision reality.

Certainly interested in entertaining any ideas as well as technical expertise.

Thanks!

 

[JoshH]

well to start off at least you seem to be willing to give things a go. Being the most important part, if you never do anything yourself you're not giving yourself a chance at honing those skills to a better level. So you're possibly looking at a full cover stand, covering up bottom back as well as a canopy for the lights as well (My personal favorite). Excellent idea and definitely doable at any "skill" level. You would definately need to make the back side panels removable and this can be done a few ways, hinges or magnets being the more obvious choice. What kind of budget were you looking at for this project? Trust me you need not be an engineer to complete this. There are plenty of members here who can help you along the way, a lot of them with TONS of building experience. Oh and BTW I think we're both in the running for slowest builds possible, going on 8 months and still don't have water in the tank lol. My wish list exceeds my budget.

 

[cdfjr1975]

Just pricing the wood alone I think it will be about 200. This doesn't include the hardware, paint/stain and the other things I know I'm not thinking of at this moment.

I'm just most concerned about the back rim not being supported by anything other than the plywood, at least from what I've been reading most always suggest ways to get it supported.

I've got most of the equipment and once I get a stand I can at least get it into position instead of in the garage. Another thought is I have enough room to make a stand for a 180 so make the larger stand but then I'm back to only supporting the tank on plywood if I don't have braces under the plywood. Then having a canopy the length of the tank and not the stand would probably not look good. And having a canopy the size of the base, 1 foot larger than the tank would look off unless I made side cabinets, but that would block side views.

 

[JoshH]

How long were you planning on keeping this tank?

 

[cdfjr1975]

For as much as I've put into it, it better be for a while. I've already got my head around the fact that I will probably have a catastrophic tank failure and will have to restart. Maybe if that happens I will determine if the tank is the right size.

 

[JoshH]

Well here is one option, building the stand and canopy to match your future goals and finishing the top of the stand and underside of the canopy with a nice removable piece so when you do upgrade all you have to do is pull the inserts out and drop your new tank in. Then cross brace the top of the stand to fit the size of the tank you currently have and you're good to go. the overhang of the canopy can rest on the rim of your tank and be supported from that as well as bracing at the rear. Just some rough sketches but you can get the idea. If you look and you're only talking about 1 foot of length you're only needing 6 inches on either side if you center the tank in the stand which wouldn't require cabinets persay only a build out which is the same depth as the gap behind your tank which could be EASILY made to be removable.

 

[Idoc]

well to start off at least you seem to be willing to give things a go. Being the most important part, if you never do anything yourself you're not giving yourself a chance at honing those skills to a better level. So you're possibly looking at a full cover stand, covering up bottom back as well as a canopy for the lights as well (My personal favorite). Excellent idea and definitely doable at any "skill" level. You would definately need to make the back side panels removable and this can be done a few ways, hinges or magnets being the more obvious choice. What kind of budget were you looking at for this project? Trust me you need not be an engineer to complete this. There are plenty of members here who can help you along the way, a lot of them with TONS of building experience. Oh and BTW I think we're both in the running for slowest builds possible, going on 8 months and still don't have water in the tank lol. My wish list exceeds my budget.

8 going on 9 months for me and just finished my stand! Still gotta put the doors on though, lol. Going slow here... but doing the build is alot of fun!

 

[Idoc]

I have the slowest build I think possible, but I'm getting ready to build the stand and I would thoroughly enjoy your advice. I've been reading a lot and every time I see stands you have great information.

My display is 60 x 16 (depth) x 24 height. My sump is aqueon 40 breeder 36 x 18 x 16.

I've attached pictures of sump tank and rear of DT.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Just realized my sump 40 gallon breeder is 2 inches deeper than my 100 gallon tank. Could I use a plywood base for the DT if I make the stand the size of the sump or should I add a lip in the back to support the sump?

Just make sure your DT is sitting on top of the main supports of the stand and then add a little more depth on the back of your stand to support the extra space needed for the sump. I just did this exact thing....my stand main bracing is 18" depth for my 75g tank, but the depth of the stand is 24" on the inside to give a little room inside for the 40g breeder sump I'm using.

Picture attached is the back of the stand where I added the extra depth.

The stand strength is defibitely overkill with the lumber used... but I'm not worried about weight since its gong on a finished basement tile floor.

This reminds me...I should start my build thread!

 

[cdfjr1975]

@Idoc I know about overkill see my kitchen nook design pictured below. This will match the tank in color and materials.

Ok so to my design idea

Outer box built 72 x 24 x 36
Inner box 24(d) cross beams at edge of 60 inch to support current tank
Uprights at 0 and 16 inch to support 60 inch cross beam through use of pocket holes for joins

This builds support for the current tank and internal room for a sump while keeping support for a future larger tank.

This is the base, I will work more on the cover and rear hiding box.

I could add bottom cross beams to support sump ply.

Possible sump skimmer area would be 14" water with skimmer rated for 6-8" so 23" skimmet would be at most 31" tall. I think this should work.

As always please debunk my amateurish calculations.

 

[Idoc]

It looks/sounds like it would work to me for a 60" tank. Your tank is going to be 60" long (mine was only 48") so center supports may be needed. I would recommend reaching out to @cromag08 ... he commented at the top of your post...If he hasn't responded, I would just send him an private message to touch base (all the posts on this site, sometimes they get buried fast). From what I see on here, he builds a lot of stands and gives some great advice on design.

Is there a reason you are adding 6 inches on each of the sides? I see you want to be able to upgrade to a bigger tank (72") in the future, but your current design may not support the upgrade later...by this I mean that 6 inches of each side of your future 72" tank wouldn't be supported on the outsides, which I would assume would be problems. So, your current tank may look "dwarfed" by your stand and may not be as asthetically pleasing to the eye as you would like. Besides, when you upgrade to a 72" tank, there will probably be things you will want to change about your stand...maybe new equipment, controllers, etc... so may be best to rebuild at that time! Going this route, you could just add a small 12-16" cabinet on the end of your 60" main stand to house your controller, ATO, etc... (this is what I did, but you can't see it in the picture I posted...I hadn't added on the cabinet yet when I took that picture). I think my added on cabinet is about 18"...I set it the same height as my stand, but inset it on the front about 5 inches just to break up the "big box" look...hopefully I will have completed pictures soon!