Stand options for large tanks

FFFishy · Jan 30, 2018

I'm in the planning stages of a 'larger' tank. I've got a 120g now and will be moving up to something in the 180 - 210 range. What do you have for a stand? My two options are:
(a) A steel frame that gets covered with a cabinet skin
(b) A custom-built furniture quality cabinet

For those who have a steel frame, how did you get it skinned? Is that something that a custom cabinet maker does? How is the skin attached to the steel frame? Are portions of the skin removable for access purposes? Is access provided only through cabinet doors? Did you attach panels inside the steel frame for the purposes of mounting things (Apex, pump controls, etc.)?

I'd appreciate seeing pictures of your stands.
Thank You !
---Frank

Greybeard · Jan 30, 2018

My tank is ~140g or so... I had a local fab shop weld up a 1.5" 11 gauge square tube stand, to my specs. Wasn't expensive. Had another local place sand blast the mill scale off and powder coat it gloss black. Stand should last forever... stable, strong, and probably cost me less than buying the lumber to do it myself.

I then covered the top in 3/4" ply, surrounded the edges with oak, had my daughter paint coral scenes, and poured 1/4" of bar top epoxy over it all...

Eventually, I'm going to build a set of bookshelves to fill in under the tank. White inside, black outside, glass shelves, oak trim to match the stand surround, perhaps a single white LED in the top of each cabinet... Plan is something like this:

xaflatoonx · Jan 30, 2018

following -

FFFishy · Jan 30, 2018

Thanks for the pictures Greybeard! Very nice tabletop and your bookshelves are a nice concept.

Labridaedicted · Jan 30, 2018

I used the tried and true rocketengineer diy stand using 2x6 for the top rim and bracing and 2x4 for the rest. I skinned it all in ply and then finished it with vinyl hardwood planking (looks very realistic and is 100% waterproof). Used granite tiling to put the bar top acros the front. Still working on finishing the doors (got lazy once I started stocking and the stand hit the back burner...) I did a fairly detailed write up in my build thread (link in my signature).

Utilized a modified version of the same style to make the filter racks in the fish room.

I just realized I don't have a current picture of it on my tablet (all my pics are of the contents, not the packaging). I'll snap a pic and upload it tonight. You're in NJ so maybe you can check it out in person some time if you want.

FFFishy · Jan 30, 2018

Very nice stand, Labridaedicted. Thanks for the pictures.

Labridaedicted · Jan 31, 2018

FFFishy said:
Very nice stand, Labridaedicted. Thanks for the pictures.

Thanks! Here it is with the finished bar top and one (haha) of the cabinet doors.

landlubber · Jan 31, 2018

I'll go with a steel stand for my next build. they're just a little cleaner, the supports are smaller which allows more room underneath to work in and personally, I just like the look a little more.

Greybeard · Jan 31, 2018

landlubber said:
I'll go with a steel stand for my next build. they're just a little cleaner, the supports are smaller which allows more room underneath to work in and personally, I just like the look a little more.

I'm with you. I've build a plethora of wooden aquarium stands, from simple dimensional lumber stands skinned with thin plywood... did a canvas curtain skin held in place with velcro once... to some very fancy cabinetry stands, mosaic tiled tops, raised panel doors, you name it. Even helped a guy that was opening a local fish store design and build a whole bunch of inexpensive 2x4 stands for a fleet of 30g long display tanks.

I'll probably never build another one. At least not for a larger tank.

There's nothing wrong with wooden stands, but with wood prices these days, it's really not any less money to DIY a nice looking, cabinet grade plywood stand than it is to have a steel stand welded up and powder coated. You _know_ it's going to hold up, it won't warp, not going to rot, is going to give you maximum working space under the tank... skinning it can be as simple as a sheet of corrugated plastic with some peel and stick magnetic tape around the edges, or as fancy as you might want to make it.

FFFishy · Jan 31, 2018

landlubber said:
I'll go with a steel stand for my next build. they're just a little cleaner, the supports are smaller which allows more room underneath to work in and personally, I just like the look a little more.

I agree, and I like the look of a steel stand. However, my tank will be located on the first floor of a 'wood frame' constructed home, not on a concrete slab. With the steel stands that I've seen, all weight is transferred to the floor through a few leveling feet (maybe 8 of these feet on a 6-foot long tank). I think I'd have a more evenly distributed weight load with a wood stand because of how much of the stand contacts the floor. Or --- am I overthinking this? I do plan on having a structural engineer evaluate my tank location.

Greybeard · Jan 31, 2018

FFFishy said:
...my tank will be located on the first floor of a 'wood frame' constructed home, not on a concrete slab. With the steel stands that I've seen, all weight is transferred to the floor through a few leveling feet

I, too, had some concerns about this. If you look at the 1st pic, in the 2nd post on this thread, you'll see my stand design. Flat bottom, spreads the load out quite well. This is in a 1970's wood frame home with a crawlspace under the tank. There is a beam under the wall-end of the stand, a foot out from the wall, and I put a cinder block, a bit of 4x4, and a screw jack in the crawlspace under the near end. Rock solid, though it was not _quite_ level. I had to shim the front outside corner. A short stack of playing cards under the corner did the trick.

landlubber · Jan 31, 2018

FFFishy said:
I agree, and I like the look of a steel stand. However, my tank will be located on the first floor of a 'wood frame' constructed home, not on a concrete slab. With the steel stands that I've seen, all weight is transferred to the floor through a few leveling feet (maybe 8 of these feet on a 6-foot long tank). I think I'd have a more evenly distributed weight load with a wood stand because of how much of the stand contacts the floor. Or --- am I overthinking this? I do plan on having a structural engineer evaluate my tank location.

I understand your concern but in the end you could easily disperse the weight more evenly just by using a plywood base under the steel frame. it would give your sump a level surface to sit on and realistically, It would be a good idea anyway to avoid rust from ever contacting the floor.

revhtree · Jan 31, 2018

Mine was built by Planet Aquariums. No skimming because it’s in the tank room.

xaflatoonx · Jan 31, 2018

how do you skin a steel frame?

i mean with a wood frame you can nail stuff in - but how do you attached plywood exterior to the steel frame? do you glue it?

Szigedi · Jan 31, 2018

xaflatoonx said:
how do you skin a steel frame?

i mean with a wood frame you can nail stuff in - but how do you attached plywood exterior to the steel frame? do you glue it?

They make metal bands that you can wrap around the steel and screw into that so you dont have to drill the steel. Liquid nails also works if you want to glue. there are a lot of options if you do not want to drill into the steel. I personally would weld a tab to each corner and at every two feet and drill a hole into the metal tab and put a screw into that.

Greybeard · Jan 31, 2018

xaflatoonx said:
how do you skin a steel frame?

i mean with a wood frame you can nail stuff in - but how do you attached plywood exterior to the steel frame? do you glue it?

I've seen many different designs... the simplest one is to use magnets to hold the facade in place. Easy to remove, gives you good access for servicing under tank equipment. I've also seen free standing facades that simply 'sit' in front of the steel frame.

In my case, the bookshelves I'm building for under the tank (my sump and equipment are elsewhere) will be free-standing, not really attached to the stand at all, but simply filling in the openings, resting on the frame in front, and sitting on the floor at the rear.

I did have 6x steel 'tabs' welded onto the tank so that I could screw the 3/4" plywood top to the stand. I used 1/2" heavy duty stainless wood screws. Probably unnecessary, as once the tank is full, it's rather unlikely to slide around, but it did help while I was getting everything lined up.