I joined Reef2Reef a short time ago, but have learned a lot since I started. I currently have a 65 gallon reef tank, that has been running for a little over a year now.
I originally posted a few days ago ( https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/building-a-stand-and-sump.281513/ ) regarding my desire to build a new stand. This stand had to have a few different characteristics that my current stand that didn't, but overall I just needed somewhere to put a sump and its contents, and whatever may end up being needed eventually. My current stand and tank combo is this http://www.petsmart.com/fish/suppli...aqueon-65-gallon-aquarium-ensemble-16714.html . As you can see, there isn't much room to do very much underneath. I could have probably figured something out, but a protein skimmer would nearly never have worked out.
The stand itself ended up being a very common stand that a lot of people online have built, it was something simple as can be.. except I have never done any sort of construction work other than putting a few screws into something here and there. Never have touched a miter saw before. ( even thought it was a circular saw itself..)
After a lot of help from everyone on the other thread, I was able to figure out dimensions on what i wanted and what to do with them based on lumber dimensions and all that fancy stuff. I had an idea to put a 40 gallon tank as a sump underneath. The original dimensions for the 40gallon tank were 48'L, 13'W. So this was my building block from here. I started to ask around based on everyones experience on how they felt this size stand would work, what I would need for required tools, supplies and wood. I realized that if I put my tank on a stand that was 48'L it would be a good idea to build it large enough for future upgrades such as 120g, or 150g. (I want a larger tank now.. as a lot of us probably do.. but can't really bring up a convincing argument on why exactly I need one... just yet.
So after doing my research I realized that I was an idiot and that a 40gallon tank, and a 40breeder.. were different dimensions. I have decided that a 40b would work just as well and would allow me to have more room under the stand itself for other stuff.
I originally planned to have my stand replicate the height of my current stand, but this soon seemed to be a bad idea. I already don't have enough room, why would I want to replicate the stand I have now.. especially if I do upgrade in the future in regards to needing a large space for a skimmer and whatnot.
Enough of me babbling on, lets show some plans I came up with the help of some really great people on this website. I never realized nor would have accounted for the sizing that a 2x4 and 2x6 experience after 'drying' they end up being 1.5'x 3.5' and 1.5'x5.5'. Thanks to @JoshH 's help, I realized that I was scaling my dimensions wrong. But despite after going back and forth and back and forth with a lot of questions.. I was able to come up with.. Sorry If they are ugly.. Ultimately I decided to 'overkill' my stand and add 2x6's instead of just doing all 2x4s, that some people do. I did this for two reasons. One was that I am really new to this, and figured that if I make any mistakes, the extra strength should withhold the tank. Another reason I did this was honestly because once its built, its built.. sort of like the sump, when do you hear people saying " my stand is too strong"? I sure havent heard that very often.. especially since the 2x4s and 2x6s aren't even that heavy overall.
Based on my measurements I calculated that I needed the
I decided to cut my own wood, cause based on everyone's experiences, getting precut wood from retailers tend to be off. I personally wouldn't have ever thought that shops would sell mis-measured wood, but who knows, mistakes happen I assume the saws aren't perfect either. Anyways, someone who has never cut wood before , I was really overwhelmed to think that I had to cut accurate measurements, (better than buying it) and I've never done it before. Luckily we had all the tools I would need at home, and all I needed to purchase other than wood was some 2 1/2in stainless steel exterior screws ( recommended by @Bluefish9 ) Yes these may be overkill, but similar like I said earlier, I rather overkill it the first time.. than regret some easy changes later. I learned about countersinking screws, which I have never heard of before .. I was surprised I never realized that people usually don't just use as screw as the starting point.. Starting the saw up really started to make me rethink why I am making a stand and not just buying a $50 one from craigslist.. I measured out the wood on two pieces, and then used those to use as a guide for the other cuts. I honestly surprisingly only made one mistake the whole time.. Ironically it was the last cut too. I measured the board ( 48 1/2 ' 2x6) but couldn't get it to stand up, so I decided to flip it over. Doing so I would have had to cut on the outside of the line, rather than the (now) inside. I got a phone call, got distracted, came back and tried to cut it, took it off, measured it and realized I literally messed this cut up by .5 of an inch.. and of course the boards are 8'ft long so a 4'1/2" mess up resulted in needing a whole another board all together . I purchased way more than I needed originally. I think I got 10 2x4s and 8 2x6s.. Now that I look up to the original numbers needed.. I was really overboard. I didn't know if i would have mistakes, if the wood was not nice enough.. or anything really. Whilst searching for wood, it was a nightmare. I decided to go to lowes based on reviews saying they tend to have better wood.. But I can't compare to home depot, but lowes had wood that was split, shattered, splintery (is that even a word?) . Anyways you get the picture. I got more than I needed cause I rather have extra than to have to go back to the store for one plank.
Heres a few pictures throughout the build of the stand. I was really surprised that it wasn't that difficult at all. I really had doubts that my cuts and everything would result in being straight, however it all worked out well. I managed to get everything leveled.
As of right now, I had similar plans as @redfishbluefish 's tank with a frontal cabinet and a side cabinet. The only thing difference is that my tank is in the opposite corner wall. meaning I need a cabinet on the left, rather than the right. The right side of my stand will be in the corner.
I am torn between a few different things. I am not sure if I want to trim the tank and attach siding to it, or if I want to attach some sort of magnet/ clip that allows me to take the siding off if need be. I guess I all comes down to what the siding would be itself. I saw some tanks with the rock siding that looks cool, however this is in my room and it would kind of look out of place.. (not that anything really looks or goes along with a scheme) I don't really know what I am doing for the top either. I figured some sort of plywood would work out. Like I said before, this is for a 65 gallon, but has the dimensions for a 75/120/150.
Here is a picture of my tank as of now
I currently only have a few fish,
2 clownfish
1 midas blenny
1 blue chromis
1 yellow watchman goby
1 pistol shrimp ( goby's buddy)
and a few miscellaneous hermits and snails.
Equipent I am running an mp40 and a Koralia 850
36 inch aquatic life t5 4 bulb fixture,
currently I have the stock bulbs, however the new bulbs I ordered should be here any day. I picked up 2 Blue + 1 coral + and a true actinic.
I currently have an Aquamaxx HoB protein skimmer, (which I will need to upgrade since I am now building a sump) So any sort of recommendations are great.. I am torn between buying an oversized one for the long run, or buying one for my sized tank..
I am planning on building my own sump. I don't really know what I want to put inside it for sections. However I am interested in either acrylic or glass. I would like to sort of make it as similar to a professionally made sump if possible. I am currently in the process of coming up with a sketch as well. I would love any advice, comments and suggestions !
I originally posted a few days ago ( https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/building-a-stand-and-sump.281513/ ) regarding my desire to build a new stand. This stand had to have a few different characteristics that my current stand that didn't, but overall I just needed somewhere to put a sump and its contents, and whatever may end up being needed eventually. My current stand and tank combo is this http://www.petsmart.com/fish/suppli...aqueon-65-gallon-aquarium-ensemble-16714.html . As you can see, there isn't much room to do very much underneath. I could have probably figured something out, but a protein skimmer would nearly never have worked out.
The stand itself ended up being a very common stand that a lot of people online have built, it was something simple as can be.. except I have never done any sort of construction work other than putting a few screws into something here and there. Never have touched a miter saw before. ( even thought it was a circular saw itself..)
After a lot of help from everyone on the other thread, I was able to figure out dimensions on what i wanted and what to do with them based on lumber dimensions and all that fancy stuff. I had an idea to put a 40 gallon tank as a sump underneath. The original dimensions for the 40gallon tank were 48'L, 13'W. So this was my building block from here. I started to ask around based on everyones experience on how they felt this size stand would work, what I would need for required tools, supplies and wood. I realized that if I put my tank on a stand that was 48'L it would be a good idea to build it large enough for future upgrades such as 120g, or 150g. (I want a larger tank now.. as a lot of us probably do.. but can't really bring up a convincing argument on why exactly I need one... just yet.
So after doing my research I realized that I was an idiot and that a 40gallon tank, and a 40breeder.. were different dimensions. I have decided that a 40b would work just as well and would allow me to have more room under the stand itself for other stuff.
I originally planned to have my stand replicate the height of my current stand, but this soon seemed to be a bad idea. I already don't have enough room, why would I want to replicate the stand I have now.. especially if I do upgrade in the future in regards to needing a large space for a skimmer and whatnot.
Enough of me babbling on, lets show some plans I came up with the help of some really great people on this website. I never realized nor would have accounted for the sizing that a 2x4 and 2x6 experience after 'drying' they end up being 1.5'x 3.5' and 1.5'x5.5'. Thanks to @JoshH 's help, I realized that I was scaling my dimensions wrong. But despite after going back and forth and back and forth with a lot of questions.. I was able to come up with.. Sorry If they are ugly.. Ultimately I decided to 'overkill' my stand and add 2x6's instead of just doing all 2x4s, that some people do. I did this for two reasons. One was that I am really new to this, and figured that if I make any mistakes, the extra strength should withhold the tank. Another reason I did this was honestly because once its built, its built.. sort of like the sump, when do you hear people saying " my stand is too strong"? I sure havent heard that very often.. especially since the 2x4s and 2x6s aren't even that heavy overall.
Based on my measurements I calculated that I needed the
- 2 2x4 ( 48 1/2) inches long ( orange posts) ———
- 4 2x4 (36) inches long (green posts) —————
- 5 2x4 (21 1/2) inches long ( black posts) ——
- 6 2x4 ( 27) inches long ( purple posts)
- 2 2x6 (27) inches long will be used in front posts (blue)
- 2 2x6 (21.5) inches long ( yellow posts, also possibly an overkill)
- 2 2x6 (48 1/2) inches long (red posts)
I decided to cut my own wood, cause based on everyone's experiences, getting precut wood from retailers tend to be off. I personally wouldn't have ever thought that shops would sell mis-measured wood, but who knows, mistakes happen I assume the saws aren't perfect either. Anyways, someone who has never cut wood before , I was really overwhelmed to think that I had to cut accurate measurements, (better than buying it) and I've never done it before. Luckily we had all the tools I would need at home, and all I needed to purchase other than wood was some 2 1/2in stainless steel exterior screws ( recommended by @Bluefish9 ) Yes these may be overkill, but similar like I said earlier, I rather overkill it the first time.. than regret some easy changes later. I learned about countersinking screws, which I have never heard of before .. I was surprised I never realized that people usually don't just use as screw as the starting point.. Starting the saw up really started to make me rethink why I am making a stand and not just buying a $50 one from craigslist.. I measured out the wood on two pieces, and then used those to use as a guide for the other cuts. I honestly surprisingly only made one mistake the whole time.. Ironically it was the last cut too
. I measured the board ( 48 1/2 ' 2x6) but couldn't get it to stand up, so I decided to flip it over. Doing so I would have had to cut on the outside of the line, rather than the (now) inside. I got a phone call, got distracted, came back and tried to cut it, took it off, measured it and realized I literally messed this cut up by .5 of an inch.. and of course the boards are 8'ft long so a 4'1/2" mess up resulted in needing a whole another board all together . I purchased way more than I needed originally. I think I got 10 2x4s and 8 2x6s.. Now that I look up to the original numbers needed.. I was really overboard. I didn't know if i would have mistakes, if the wood was not nice enough.. or anything really. Whilst searching for wood, it was a nightmare. I decided to go to lowes based on reviews saying they tend to have better wood.. But I can't compare to home depot, but lowes had wood that was split, shattered, splintery (is that even a word?) . Anyways you get the picture. I got more than I needed cause I rather have extra than to have to go back to the store for one plank.
Heres a few pictures throughout the build of the stand. I was really surprised that it wasn't that difficult at all. I really had doubts that my cuts and everything would result in being straight, however it all worked out well. I managed to get everything leveled.
As of right now, I had similar plans as @redfishbluefish 's tank with a frontal cabinet and a side cabinet. The only thing difference is that my tank is in the opposite corner wall. meaning I need a cabinet on the left, rather than the right. The right side of my stand will be in the corner.
I am torn between a few different things. I am not sure if I want to trim the tank and attach siding to it, or if I want to attach some sort of magnet/ clip that allows me to take the siding off if need be. I guess I all comes down to what the siding would be itself. I saw some tanks with the rock siding that looks cool, however this is in my room and it would kind of look out of place.. (not that anything really looks or goes along with a scheme) I don't really know what I am doing for the top either. I figured some sort of plywood would work out. Like I said before, this is for a 65 gallon, but has the dimensions for a 75/120/150.
Here is a picture of my tank as of now
2 clownfish
1 midas blenny
1 blue chromis
1 yellow watchman goby
1 pistol shrimp ( goby's buddy)
and a few miscellaneous hermits and snails.
Equipent I am running an mp40 and a Koralia 850
36 inch aquatic life t5 4 bulb fixture,
currently I have the stock bulbs, however the new bulbs I ordered should be here any day. I picked up 2 Blue + 1 coral + and a true actinic.
I currently have an Aquamaxx HoB protein skimmer, (which I will need to upgrade since I am now building a sump) So any sort of recommendations are great.. I am torn between buying an oversized one for the long run, or buying one for my sized tank..
I am planning on building my own sump. I don't really know what I want to put inside it for sections. However I am interested in either acrylic or glass. I would like to sort of make it as similar to a professionally made sump if possible. I am currently in the process of coming up with a sketch as well. I would love any advice, comments and suggestions !
