40g breeder stand with hidden gurney feature

[GOJIRADOR]

Inspired by Hydrophites Industrial style stand I decided to make my own with a slight twist









Ahh shiny! The sides are recycled floor boards. Grooves were cut into the sides so that the center sheet of plywood could fit snugly inside them.

[GOJIRADOR]

Sorry for the wait I've just been a bit lazy A few steps were skipped so allow me to explain. I've got doors on either side because it's a room divider style tank and I felt like having access on both sides. I also painted it a clay-like color so that it not only matched the color of the floor boards that I used but also gives the idea that the aquarium is sitting on top earth so to speak.



Here the gurney handles are extended



the gurney is flipped over to reveal the handle extension mechanism



I was running out of time so a clever idea was needed to complete the locking mechanism for the handles. Screws were used to prevent them from going too far out or in. In the position seen below the pole is locked into place. To retract the handles simply twist them until the front screw hits the base and then push it through the gap between the brace and the base. Only the front screw can fit through this gap, the others stick out too far to fit

[GOJIRADOR]

might need this too

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

Interesting!!!

Why the groves in the top of the legs? Also are the legs regular 2x4s glued together?

subscribed!
Drew

[pweifan]

This is very cool. Looking forward to updates.

[GraphicGr8s]

So he can slide 2 2x4s under the top and with 2-4 people move the tank.

[moonshinetheslacker]

This looks like its going to be pretty awesome! It looks like you've softened all the hard edges with a sander instead of using a router (a personal favorite of mine, as the detail makes it slightly more personal instead of standard) and I'm guessing you are going to whitewash or leave the wood uncovered and unstained. Im sure its all going to be beautiful.

I do have two very small recommendations. Make appropriate cuts in your bottom shelf so you can install cabinet doors at a later date (think 5 or 10 years down the road) you can even place the cuts innthe back, so the front will still look the same. That, and find a spot to install a paper towel holder!! The second bit was very sage advice given to me when I was building my Asian aquarium stand.

Peace be with you. Good luck with your bad @@@ stand.

[GOJIRADOR]

Originally Posted by BoxxerBoyDrew

Interesting!!!

Why the groves in the top of the legs? Also are the legs regular 2x4s glued together?

subscribed!
Drew

Awesome no one has subscribed to one of my threads before! I needed the grooves so the retractable handles could be in the most stable postion, which is where the legs are.

Originally Posted by pweifan

This is very cool. Looking forward to updates.

Thanks

Originally Posted by moonshinetheslacker

This looks like its going to be pretty awesome! It looks like you've softened all the hard edges with a sander instead of using a router (a personal favorite of mine, as the detail makes it slightly more personal instead of standard) and I'm guessing you are going to whitewash or leave the wood uncovered and unstained. Im sure its all going to be beautiful.

I do have two very small recommendations. Make appropriate cuts in your bottom shelf so you can install cabinet doors at a later date (think 5 or 10 years down the road) you can even place the cuts innthe back, so the front will still look the same. That, and find a spot to install a paper towel holder!! The second bit was very sage advice given to me when I was building my Asian aquarium stand.

Peace be with you. Good luck with your bad @@@ stand.

Thanks! yes I used a sander. The gurney was coated in a finish (sorry cant remember what it is, but it was used to refinish an old table) that made it very smooth and watertight, the rest is painted.

I'm not quite sure what kind of cuts you're describing but oh well I've already got some doors on ha Definitely appreciate the advice on the paper towel holder it will be added to the design!

[GraphicGr8s]

Are you really going to try lifting a loaded tank up off the stand or is it to just move it on casters? OK just looked again. No casters. Do you think the wood screws (don't see any through bolts) will hold?

[GOJIRADOR]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

Are you really going to try lifting a loaded tank up off the stand or is it to just move it on casters? OK just looked again. No casters. Do you think the wood screws (don't see any through bolts) will hold?

Well I haven't gotten a chance to test it yet hahah I DO NOT plan on lifting it with a full tank on it, I don't even think I have the strength lol I plan to be able to lift it with a tank 1/3 full of water for when I move (I'm in college so it happens alot). I'd be surprised if it couldn't even handle that, but who knows!

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by GOJIRADOR

Well I haven't gotten a chance to test it yet hahah I DO NOT plan on lifting it with a full tank on it, I don't even think I have the strength lol I plan to be able to lift it with a tank 1/3 full of water for when I move (I'm in college so it happens alot). I'd be surprised if it couldn't even handle that, but who knows!

I'd be surprised if it DID hold. Leverage is on the tanks side here. Use the short handles as the gimmick but leave it so you can get them out. Then get a dowel that will span the entire tank and leave you enough to grab hold of. Then you have a continuous piece.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

I'd be surprised if it DID hold. Leverage is on the tanks side here. Use the short handles as the gimmick but leave it so you can get them out. Then get a dowel that will span the entire tank and leave you enough to grab hold of. Then you have a continuous piece.

I strongly doubt that those pipe brackets will work for the weight of the tank. If you are wrong about how well they will work you lose the tank, dump whatever water and substrate you have in it all over the floor, and have a major clean-up job to do, plus possibly paying for water damage. It isn't worth the gamble in my opinion. If you do as GraphicGr8s said, it would be much more likely to work - then it only fails if the dowels break, but I would use steel pipes instead.

[GraphicGr8s]

Hoppy, take a gander again at the pictures. Do you see those pipe brackets through bolted? I sure didn't. Drywall screws at worst, wood screws at best. But wood screws nonetheless. In a straight line with the load. That won't pull out straight away now will it? (Rhetorical)

[GOJIRADOR]

What I should say is thanks but it seems like I've left some details out of the description. They're not dry wall screws they're heavy duty wood screws that I bought seperately. There are Eight screws experiencing most of the load, I went to this website and calculated the weight of my tank at 1/3 volume which = 254.42 lbs / 8 screws = 31.8 lbs per screw, but they are not experiencing ALL the load because there is a second set of brackets that is accepting a smaller amount of force, even so 31.8 lbs is not enough in my mind to worry about. My research tells me that even at 70 lbs the wood is more likely to break than the screw is to rip out. My room mate and I have already tested our weight on it but I'll post a pic to provide some solid evidence

[GraphicGr8s]

Four of your brackets are taking all of the load. The outer brackets are only holding the rods in place. What you've created is a simple lever on the inner brackets and you're actually multiplying the forces there. You've got straight line force on wood fibers. Start sloshing water around added to your actually moving the tank and you're just asking for trouble. We're only trying to help you avoid a problem. Trust me, I've built a few things that sounded good, worked in theory, and actually worked great in practice. For a while. Fortunately those instances have been rare. Sort of. Last one was a lumber cart. Looked great though