Tysm, that's exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll make the one in that post. May I ask how to connect the pieces together if that's appropriate to ask here? Like specific screws or nails to use, I know nothing. I've never worked with wood and it feels scary since it'll hold almost half a ton. Thanks again
Of course that's appropriate to ask here. =)
For screws - you want exterior decking screws, long enough to go completely through one piece of wood and about 1/2-2/3 of the way through the board beneath. Assuming you build the stand out of 2x4 or 2x6 boards - each board is 1.5" thick, so you'd want screws that are either 2.25" or 2.5" long for two boards. I'll save you some pain and recommend that you buy Torx-head screws - the traditional Phillips-head (looks like a plus sign) screw heads tend to strip out, making it difficult to unscrew if you ever need to.
The thing that makes the Rocket Engineer stand work is that the screws are not supporting the weight - every board in the stand is resting on another board. And that's good, because screws can't actually support that much weight - each screw can only support about 50 pounds before failing. The screws are there to hold the boards together and keep them aligned, not to support the weight of the tank.
When you're building furniture, especially furniture that will be carrying a load, you want to use wood glue (I prefer the Titebond series) to actually hold the wood, with the purpose of the screws being to apply a clamping force while the glue bond dries and cures. Titebond III is technically the best glue to use here as it's a waterproof formula, but your stand really shouldn't be getting wet enough for that to matter.
If you search around for Rocket Engineer DIY stand you should be able to find an abundance of information on it - it's a popular design for a reason.
To build it you need a few tools, don't neglect to factor their cost in when deciding if it makes sense to DIY your stand. At the bare minimum, you'll need a cordless drill, some type of saw, a work surface and some trigger clamps. For the saw, there are three types you can get that will work (circular, miter, or table) but the circular saw is probably your best bet for starting out. You can use a hand saw, of course, but you pay for the money you save in the form of less precise cuts (unless you have a lot of practice) and a lot of manual labor.
