DIY stand for my 25G

zzyzx85

zzyzx85

the casual hobbyist
Dec 3, 2007
1,008
0
36
OC, CA
Just thought I'd share a couple of pictures of the stand I built (w/ a few pointers from my dad) this afternoon. Took about 4 hours. All materials used was what we had sitting around in our "lumber yard" so it's not the prettiest thing. It's a bit shorter than I wanted (again, material limitations) but it'll do, as I just wanted it tall enough to be able to do a water change.

Combination of 2"x4" (pool shower room/shed), 2"x3" (patio rebuild), 3"x3" (pieces my dad found), and 3/4" plywood (also from the pool shower room/shed).

The tank dimensions are L36" x W10" x H16". The stand is L42" x W12" x H~23". Leaves some utility space but made me wary of how much I am actually supporting the tank.

I used screws so that if I ever wanted to upgrade or change something out, I could just unscrew it.

the Tank:
DSC_0899.jpg


the Stand:
DSC_0915.jpg

DSC_0918.jpg


Sucker is heavy. I was surprised. Feels pretty sturdy as well. Doesn't wobble, to my surprise. My dad sarcastically said it could probably support a Honda Civic.

Think it'll hold up?
 
Thought about it but decided against it...for now. When the tank and stand goes back home...err...back to my parents place, it'll then get a coat of paint so my parents won't complain about its ugliness.

But for now, the Ugliness is for all to see. :grinyes:
 
Looks strong enough in the vertical direction to hold up that civic, and I'm not kidding. The design looks wrong in one respect. If any horizontal forces are ever applied to it, like an earthquake for instance, it will fold flat to the floor. There doesn't look to be any bracing for horizontal forces. The simplest way to do that would be a piece of plywood or other sheet material across the back and at least one end. It can be used to give the stand an enclosed look and in the process provide all the bracing you would ever need with plywood as thin as 1/8 inch. It would have the further benefit of covering the rough looking frame work and dressing up the final product. For vertical strength I have built stands from 1x6 boards to hold up a 45 and its fine but if I push sideways on them, the horizontal bracing keeps them feeling solid that way too.
 
:iagree: Except that this stand is for a 25 gallon. The staggered screws into the 4x4s and plywood shelf (if tight enough against the 4x4s) should give more than enough lateral support. I bult a stand for my 90 gallon out of MDF and when it came time to install the lateral supports I decided against it because the method of constuction made the stand very stable. You can see the build here MDF STAND
 
Thanks for the concerns and advice.

Yes, I knew that if I didn't have the shelf on the bottom, the legs would be unstable. This is why that shelf is against the legs and also screwed into the 2x3s.

Future improvements would be putting paneling around it to make it look better (instead of painting it), as well as giving it more lateral support as mentioned above. Anyone know how much those panels cost? I'm sure they're inexpensive because they're basically made out of compressed bits of wood. $2-4 per sheet?
 
You could try cedar or pine which comes in bundles from any hardware store. Most are 8' in length and about 3-4 inches wide. I think there is about 14 sq. feet in a bundle. They are 8ft so u could cut them in half and have enough for 2 strips per board.
 
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