Need basic carpentry help for building my own stand

[glb]

Looks to me that Joey followed the same plans as in the original post. Many people including myself have used the plan laid out in the OP.

So in your opinion it's strong enough? Did you add any additional support?

 

[kschweer]

So in your opinion it's strong enough? Did you add any additional support?

It's pleanty strong in my opinion. Take your time with the cuts and putting things together and it will be good. I'll try to find some Pictures of the build of mine. If you look through my build thread you should see some there as well.

 

[kschweer]

First post here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/kschweer-57-rimless-build.132739/

 

[TryingToLearn]

Very easy man. Just built me one today..
Will be adding cabinets tomorrow..

 

[Windy]

Don't need the snarkiness please. Everyone's trying to help.

What is snarkiness????

 

[Doc Holiday]

What if the floor isn't level?

Use wood shims to level the stand before the tank goes on the stand. You can pick up wood shims at any hardware store

 

[glb]

So should I buy those right angle clamps to make sure the stand goes together well? And when I glue, should I wait until the glue is totally dry before I drill?

 

[tdjma]

So should I buy those right angle clamps to make sure the stand goes together well? And when I glue, should I wait until the glue is totally dry before I drill?

Predrill , glue and screw .

 

[Stephanie11]

The stand design the op has is sound. I have a 125 sitting on top of that design. We had 2x6 for the top and no center brace. The kreg jig is awesome, I think we got the $40 version.

Cover the bottom with ply and you can rest your dump on top. We used a 40b for the sump. We made sure it was braced under it.

 

[Lynn52]

Here is my 125 stand base made using those plans. My only alteration was 2x6 s for the top frame.

Here is the finished product

It is very strong. I did lag the back upper support to the wall studs.

 

[glb]

Here is my 125 stand base made using those plans. My only alteration was 2x6 s for the top frame.

Here is the finished product

It is very strong. I did lag the back upper support to the wall studs.

That is beautiful!!!!

 

[glb]

Predrill , glue and screw .

Thanks. How do I clamp a right angle? I'm really a newbie at all of this!

 

[HenryReefer]

this is a great video check it out.

 

[Symbiosis PROJECT SALT]

There were quite a few mentions of using wedges and the like to level the tank/stand assembly which is a completely legitimate way to accomplish leveling, not sure if this helps with those reading this thread but a simple way to create a very level environment for any product, appliance, furniture etc is to install what is called a nut insert - which is a threaded component you can find alongside the nuts and bolts in home depot or any hardware store. When drilling into 2x4's or solid wood legs, they work extremely well and actually exceed their capacity because they essentially have nowhere to go. OK so you drill an oversized hole the size of the nut insert barrel and then you hammer the nut insert in or in some cases they are threaded - the kind that you hammer in with a wide washer-like bezel around one end works very well in this application and they have little teeth around the perimeter usually four that are turned toward the workpiece. Once you hammer them in these teeth insure that the inserted hardware stays in place while you screw a leveler foot into that nut threading. Make sure that your initial hole is drilled deep enough to accommodate the length of leveler threading that you have to mate with your nut insert. You can put these on all four legs or in some instances people make the front legs a bit shorter and only apply the levelers to the front half. All four gives you a little more control - using just the front two gives you a nice range of motion combined with ease of adjustment and ADJUSTMENT is the key here. Make sure to check the pounds rating on the leveling feet - 5/16" appliance levelers work really well because they are designed to carry the weight of large convection ovens etc.ie. if your tank water and glass weigh 800 pounds you want to get a leveling foot somewhere in the 250lbs per leveler insert to accomplish a well matched load ability. Once you have installed the leveling feet you can place your stand where you want it to exist and using a carpenter level, get the assembly as close to level as you can - the nice thing about having leveling feet is that you can now load the stand with glass water sand etc and after that "settles" for a few days you can go back and micro-adjust the leveling feet to accommodate any differences along the way that will surely happen. Using your tank water line as the truest level indicator you can now dial in the exact settings on the leveling feet. Check this line a month or so out and adjust accordingly. The same applies to a metal tank stand only you weld the nut insert to the frame of your stand.

 

[Symbiosis PROJECT SALT]

 

[Symbiosis PROJECT SALT]

A picture paints a thousand words - but I am going to add just a few more. Notice the slotted top to the threaded section of the leveler foot assembly - If you have access to the area above the top of your leveler you can drill that initial hole all the way through the material and then use a screw driver to adjust its height from the inside of your cabinet otherwise use a wrench on the hexagonal section of the base. It is sometimes nice to have the inside access thing going especially in the case of a low hanging skirt along the bottom perimeter of the tank display. This gives you an easy way of adjusting your four corners without having to struggle with sliding a wrench under the stand.

 

[stupid recruit]

This is what I came up with for my 40 breeder with a 20 long sump and just starting to figure out the canopy. I originally had the frame to the demension of the 40b but found out the 20 long wasn't going to fit so I just took it apart and redirected it to 48 inches long and made a little table top area for testing and feeding .

 

[glb]

This is what I came up with for my 40 breeder with a 20 long sump and just starting to figure out the canopy. I originally had the frame to the demension of the 40b but found out the 20 long wasn't going to fit so I just took it apart and redirected it to 48 inches long and made a little table top area for testing and feeding .

Nice! The tile work is beautiful and a great idea for a tank stand!

 

[glb]

Ok I have another newbie carpenter question. I don't have a work table due to lack of storage. How do you make sure you drill the holes and screw the screws in accurately? I'm going to get one of those right angle clamps, which will help, but what should I put the wood on when I drill it? Thanks for everyone's patience with my many questions!

 

[stupid recruit]

Ok I have another newbie carpenter question. I don't have a work table due to lack of storage. How do you make sure you drill the holes and screw the screws in accurately? I'm going to get one of those right angle clamps, which will help, but what should I put the wood on when I drill it? Thanks for everyone's patience with my many questions!

I don't have a work bench. I just ended up using the concrete and when I was cutting I just used two chairs and some clamps and went to town. As far as screwing everything together use a small drill bit smaller than the gage of the screw and drill out your pilot holes and it will help start the screw when you go to truly fasten the pieces together as well it will help prevent the boards from splitting or cracking.