Ran into the same problem myself. No matter much time I spend on picking up best 2x4's in the store, acclimating them at home to right temp/humidity, and carefully cutting to make square stock, they still bend and twist.
As soon as the weather gets better I will be re-building the stand for my 125 and will be attempting this method.
we're renovating our basement. picked up 2x3's to lower the point of contact on the ceiling for drywall. they were straight when we brought them home, next morning... warped and twisted.
construction lumber is very wet, in terms of lumber. some of it will even leave a moist feeling on your skin while moving it. It's just a fact that that stuff bends and warps as it dries.
but, so many folks have used it, and their tanks are still standing and still level.
Are you guys using treated lumber?
Even here in FL I haven't had the problems you're having.
I've got 2 x 3's sitting in my garage right now and sure they've bowed a but but not so bad I can't use them. Or anyone except me would ever notice. The 2 x 3's I used on my racks are in a moist area (my fishroom) and are still fine.
There is a better way than what he's doing. And plywood will warp. Try using a tongue and dado joint. It interlocks the parts and it's square. Always.
For a "professional" carpenter why was he using 2 x 4 construction anyway? And what appear to be drywall screws? Way over driven. What kind of connection is there between the legs and the top frame? Can't tell from the photos.
completely off topic for this forum. but! we're putting a drywall ceiling in our basement. We screwed 2x3's to the floor joists so we could clear some piping for our baseboard heat. I also routed some channels for existing wiring which we'll also toss on some steel plates so we cant screw through it.
much easier than cutting and moving pipe and drilling through the joists.
My current stand is made of 2x4's also... and it is good enough. Personally not a fan of curved angles for the exposed parts, and when I tried to square off 2x4's the bowed a lot. Still learning here... new to woodwork and thought the idea is pretty cool, although it's more work.
If you're new to wood then stick with tried and true methods. Better to over build. I am into woodworking and I don't think I'd ever use 2 x in a fish stand cabinet. All 3/4" plywood and 1 x material. And almost no screws. Use them more to clamp than structural. I use to be old school on the screws too. regular wood screws with a pilot, shank and countersink. Been using these new (to me) spax screws and liking them. Not brittle like DW screws and without the work of a conventional wood screw.
Thats surprising treated lumber is bowing that much!
That plywood design is similar to the stand my 125 came with. Always worried me though it was all furniture? Grade plywood (chip board stuff) but all the weight was actually supported on about a 1/4" lip all the way around the inside. It worked because vertical support went all the way around just did not care for the setup.
As to the above mentioned, if your not a regular wood worker or cabinetry person over build and sleep sound!
I am doing my next stand based off diyfishkeepers urajoey style listed on youtube very easy and is a very stout design!!
My judgement was simple, what's the most expensive, should be the best. LOL.
I didn't build my current stand, it was build for me and I don't like the quality. Not the best staining, plywood ends shipped and were sanded down, etc.
my 75 gallon stand DIY currently being built is 6 2x4's its very simple and absolutely overbuilt. 4 2x4's could easily support more weight
straight is not an issue if its being covered. we hand selected the wood, and immediately drilled, cut, screwed and covered. 6 days later its still straight and level and I AM NOT a woodworker
that's the trick with dimensional lumber, you use it right away. if you let it sit around for weeks/months it's going to warp. get that sucker stuck in the position you want it in while its moisture content is still high.
Don't buy if you ain't going to use it right away.
I have 6 2by3 sitting outside for month. Out of 6 only 2 was good.
I use 2by3 on my 40B anything bigger I go with 2by4.
Using plywood is best but the cost is close to just buying a new already made stand.
Usually in both Home Depot and Lowes they carry a stack of 'premium' 2x4 and 2x3 that are supposed to be kiln dried. I've had good luck using these so far, and they aren't much more then the green 2x4. They are sometimes damp, but not quite the sopping wet that the rest of the lumber typically is.
I sort through the pile and try to find fairly straight pieces with decent grain - look at the end of the piece, if the grain is C shaped, there is a good chance the piece will cup as it dries.
Looking at the pics and reading the blurb in the initial link, it looks like the guy is using 2x4s built out of plywood (also mentions engineered lumber). sounds way too expensive...
Here's a pic of a 40B stand I've recently completed (I still need to finish sealing it), built almost entirely of 2x4 and 2x3 lumber
Have you guys ever looked at what they sell for commercial tank stands? Never seen a single piece of 2" material in any of them. My LFS had a 180-gal display tank made completely out of 1" stock. It's not brute force that holds the tank up, it's all in how you distribute the weight and transfer it to the floor. If you are going to have legs, you need a different design than if you are going to build a cabinet that contacts the floor around the entire perimeter. The other key is to triangulate enough with your fasteners, etc. to keep the thing from racking.
Have you guys ever looked at what they sell for commercial tank stands? Never seen a single piece of 2" material in any of them. My LFS had a 180-gal display tank made completely out of 1" stock. It's not brute force that holds the tank up, it's all in how you distribute the weight and transfer it to the floor. If you are going to have legs, you need a different design than if you are going to build a cabinet that contacts the floor around the entire perimeter. The other key is to triangulate enough with your fasteners, etc. to keep the thing from racking.
That cheap building grade white or yellow pine will twist when it's not fully cured. That being said there are methods to building cabinets that will keep them from warping in any way. You do not need to frame out the stand with 2x4s you only need to use them for vertical and some horizontal support. See the stands I build on my signature none of them where framed out and they are fully squared.
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