DIY stand questions

[MikeyLikesit]

Hey, I need to know what kind of tool you have at home. Router? Table saw? Track saw?

 

[Peach02]

I have used deck screws on my boat in salt water for decades and they look brand new.

Polymer-Protected
Polymer-coated steel screws, nails and bolts rely on a thin zinc plating covered with a non-reactive organic polymer coating to fight corrosion in copper-treated wood. The polymer coating acts like a plastic wrapper to keep water and dissolved copper from reaching and reacting with the zinc and steel.

Sounds good, I'll try to source those. Thanks again

 

[Peach02]

Hey, I need to know what kind of tool you have at home. Router? Table saw? Track saw?

I just have a handheld saw however I can get wood cut to size at my local hardware store but I'll need to do corner cutouts etc myself

 

[MikeyLikesit]

PM’d

 

[lapin]

Your local stockist should have something like this
Tank is 680 kilo's, 170 kilos per leg

Buildex 10-8 x 50mm Climacoat Square Drive Treated Pine Decking Screws - 500 Pack

Find Buildex 10-8 x 50mm Climacoat Square Drive Treated Pine Decking Screws - 500 Pack at Bunnings. Visit your local store for the widest range of products.

www.bunnings.com.au

B8 Decking Screws 10 Gauge 50mm | Better Hardware

A lower cost alternative to stainless steel decking screws, B8 Coated Decking Screws have the same corrosion resistance - and come in a 'platinum lustre' finish.

www.betterhardware.com.au

Razr Deck Screws Highload Ceramic | Decking Screws | scrooz.com.au

Razr Deck Screws Highload Ceramic Available at scrooz.com.au. For Professional Deck Builders. High corrosion resistance. Trusted by Over 50,000 Tradies. Free Fast Delivery Available.

www.scrooz.com.au

 

[MikeyLikesit]

Just some FYI for any inquiring minds.
cannot tell you all how many times I’ve seen people use pocket hole screws. They are not intended for structural support, load bearing weights are very low - and even worse if used in soft wood (which 2x4 lumber is)

Joinery is much stronger.

Dado. rabbet w/shoulders. Titebond 3.

decking screws snap and are not meant to hold weight, they are built for corrosion resistance, the structural aspects of a deck are lag bolts and brackets. Do NOT use decking screws, despite if they have worked for others- don’t do it. Even for a #8 deck screw, the shear strength is only 167lbs.

stainless steel screws are readily available. Use #10 screws, with a #2 square drive head. Make sure to countersink until the head of the screw is flush. A 2.5” screw, will leave 1/2” of room behind it, which is always ideal.

stainless steel screws are typically special order, make sure you purchase some that have threads that run along the entire shaft.

 

[Paul B]

True, I would not use those screws for anything but aesthetic planking on the outside. The structure needs bolts and I would use through bolts rather than lag bolts that have screw threads.

 

[MikeyLikesit]

A

True, I would not use those screws for anything but aesthetic planking on the outside. The structure needs bolts and I would use through bolts rather than lag bolts that have screw threads.

If it were mine, I’d glue 3/4 23 ply Baltic birch together to make my “ 2x2”... wayyyy stronger and more structural.

then I would just use Rabbet joints and secure with titebond 3, stainless screw to hold it together while glue dries.

would take an act of God to destroy it. Here is an example, using only 3/4”.. so it would be twice this pictured thickness.
This is just a cabinet I use in my shop.

keep in mind, this is not for an aquarium (the photo) I would 100% add a rail under the top piece

 

[C_AWOL]

Surprised nobody mentioned using 80/20 aluminum T slots.

Aquarium Stands | Framing Technology

www.framingtech.com

 

[Greybeard]

An alternative to consider...

I've built many large wooden aquarium stands. Works fine, no reason not to go that route, and lots of good info above.

Before you make your final decision, call a local steel fab company, and ask what a 1.5" square tube welded steel stand would cost. For my 60x30 footprint tank, it was under $600, and cost another $100 to have it powdercoated.

Now... I could have built a 2x4 stand for way cheaper, but if you're going to do a nice looking cabinetry grade stand, you're going to spend close to that $600 on materials anyway, and steel makes so much sense. Powder coated, it'll outlive the tank by a generation, it's way strong, so you can span larger distances, leave more open room under the tank, etc. Easy to 'skin', or whatever you want to do to make it attractive... Steel just gives you so many more options

 

[MikeyLikesit]

An alternative to consider...

I've built many large wooden aquarium stands. Works fine, no reason not to go that route, and lots of good info above.

Before you make your final decision, call a local steel fab company, and ask what a 1.5" square tube welded steel stand would cost. For my 60x30 footprint tank, it was under $600, and cost another $100 to have it powdercoated.

Now... I could have built a 2x4 stand for way cheaper, but if you're going to do a nice looking cabinetry grade stand, you're going to spend close to that $600 on materials anyway, and steel makes so much sense. Powder coated, it'll outlive the tank by a generation, it's way strong, so you can span larger distances, leave more open room under the tank, etc. Easy to 'skin', or whatever you want to do to make it attractive... Steel just gives you so many more options

I agree, but 1” 18 ply Baltic birch is only $78 a sheet for a 4x8. And glues two of them together = a true 2x2.
a car can drive over 32 ply, 2” thick BB/BB and nothing would happen to it.

but, it’s really only feasible if one has a router, table saw or track saw, and a lot of clamps for gluing sheets together (or a vaccuum press which is what I have)

so yeah, for normal guy. I’d vote for steel anyday 100%

 

[Paul B]

I like birch plywood to make furniture but a tank stand is going to get wet, sometimes very wet and birch and glue is not great with water. As I mentioned one 4 X 4s is rated for almost 7,500 lbs and redwood will not rot or warp so 4 of them is rated for about 30,000 lbs which I am sure his tank is not. Also a 4 X 4 is about $10.00. Redwood is probably twice that but not that much and that is for an 8' piece which he would only need two.

Only marine plywood is good when wet and that is a fortune.

Water will get into those plywood joints no matter what you coat it with and when water gets in, it's all over for plywood.

 

[MikeyLikesit]

18 ply Baltic birch (BB/BB) here in Nashville (and anywhere really) is all marine grade. And it’s $78 a sheetCan leave it in water bathtub and it would shrink or warp.

titebond 3 is waterproof. (Glue for joints)

redwood works though, I never had anything against that .
Other than warpage/bow/twist. Especially around a humid tank. Kiln dried i guess

edit: Really though. Normal 2x4 using that short King of DIY video will be more than enough @OP.
Get Kiln Dried 2x4.
Use #10 Stainless Screws.
Throw some Waterlox on there and call it a day.

 

[Paul B]

18 ply Baltic birch (BB/BB) here in Nashville (and anywhere really) is all marine grade. And it’s $78 a sheetCan leave it in water bathtub and it would shrink or warp.

I didn't know that. Thanks, good to know.

 

[MikeyLikesit]

I didn't know that. Thanks, good to know.

Even if by ok can’t get marine grade. BB/BB 18 ply doesn’t have any voids in it at all, and is glued together with waterproof adhesive. So if it gets splashes in it, nothing will happen.
Standard plywood ( only 4 plys) has lots of voids and that’s why it is destroyed so easy. But 18 ply with no voids is like wooden steel haha.

 

[Paul B]

I may build my next car out of it.

 

[lapin]

My 10 year old 125g tank stand is pine 2x4's unsealed and deck screws. Top is stained pine countertop. Has a home made 55 gallon sump underneath. How long will the stand last?

 

[Paul B]

Almost any stand will last for a hundred years or so. It depends on how wet it gets or if you have termites.

I posted the leg on my hot dipped galvanized stand and that was after about 30 or 40 years.

I never heard of a stand collapsing unless a real Jiboni built it out of whole wheat flour or cardboard.

 

[Peach02]

Just to confirm everyone is on the same page.
The consensus on wood is redwood or marine plywood?
The consensus on glue or nails is stainless screws, rabbet joints and titebond 3 or a combination of them?
4"4" or 2"4" is good for supports and most things are okay to wrap the stand?
The paint I mentioned is okay?

 

[Peach02]

Unfortunately I can only get pinewood or plywood but I'll can coat it with the paint I mentioned.