DIY stand for 125 gallon tank - feedback please

[ullbergm]

Ok, so my 125 gallon tank developed a small crack in the top of it.

The good news is that after calling the manufacturer they are going to let me have the replacement tank for a few weeks before returning the broken one to them.

The bad news is that i can't really have both tanks up in the house without putting the new one in a different location...

I have the new spot picked out and all i need is the stand.

I've drawn up some plans and i would appreciate some feedback from the more experienced people on here before i start building.

It was heavily influenced by Jason Baliban (thanks to dantra for linking to Jason's webpage in the pics thread).

Here is the full view, I'm planning on staining it instead of using laminate like the inspiration did, so my construction changed a little bit to reduce the number of plywood ends that you can see.


Here is a view without the doors and the front tank cover.


So in the end the load bearing pieces are these, with the back adding structural support.


The construction will be out of 3/4 plywood which will be doubled in a couple of places (base and the center supports.
The hinges will be "euro" hinges to give a seamless look.

The question is what you guys think of the support for the tank, plywood can hold a lot when the pressure is from the side but i'm curious what you think about the structural change by cutting the hole in them.

Thanks,
Magnus

[Postal Penguin]

If you are worried about it, why not just make the vertical supports out of 2x4's? I have a stand made out of doubled up 2x4s that could probably hold up an SUV without much worry.

In the link you posted, he uses 1.5" ply. In your case you may have trouble with the 3/4" ply and the screws bulging the wood when you go to fasten it together, particularly the top being joined to the verticals, since you have less wood thickness. That's really the only thing I could see being a problem.

[xmas_one]

Keep it all flat and plane. Screwed and glued.

Why do you have it sitting in that pocket? I never understood why people did that.

Wouldn't you rather have the tank flush with the stand?

[ullbergm]

Originally Posted by Postal Penguin

If you are worried about it, why not just make the vertical supports out of 2x4's? I have a stand made out of doubled up 2x4s that could probably hold up an SUV without much worry.

In the link you posted, he uses 1.5" ply. In your case you may have trouble with the 3/4" ply and the screws bulging the wood when you go to fasten it together, particularly the top being joined to the verticals, since you have less wood thickness. That's really the only thing I could see being a problem.

That's true, i had not thought about the the screws going in to 3/4 vs 1.5".

thanks

[ullbergm]

Originally Posted by xmas_one

Keep it all flat and plane. Screwed and glued.

Why do you have it sitting in that pocket? I never understood why people did that.

Wouldn't you rather have the tank flush with the stand?

I have a topfin from petsmart and it already has a black plastic trim at the bottom, to me it would look better if i covered that with wood.

[Hoppy]

The top of the stand will be reinforced to keep it from sagging between the verticals by the rim you show attached around the top. You do need that, or you need similar support under the top, front and back. I think the stand will be plenty strong if you keep the top reinforced that way.

[xmas_one]

Originally Posted by ullbergm

I have a topfin from petsmart and it already has a black plastic trim at the bottom, to me it would look better if i covered that with wood.

I agree, can't wait to see it!

[Dekker001]

What kind of joinery are you planning to use for the back wall?

[ullbergm]

Ugh, the boss vetoed it, its on hold for now until i can either convince here it looks alright or change the design to her liking

In other news, i've made some progress on the aquarium controller:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/di...r-project.html