[hydrophyte]

New (?) Boneheaded Stand Design

I put together a stand for one of my riparium setups (a 56 column, 30" wide X 18" deep) with a different kind of construction. It was pretty easy to put together and could be option for somebody pondering an open stand design.

Here it is almost all put together. The last piece to add here is the top...

All of those boards are double-thickness 3/4" plywood bonded up with Gorilla Glue.

It looks maybe like something you would buy at Ikea, but I sort of like it. I can imagine a few ways to make it look cooler and less like something from Ikea.

This is a simple kind of design that one can put together without expensive power tools, although it would be preferable to use a table saw for cuttings those baords and I did use a drill press to cut a few of those holes straight.

I have more pictures with more detail here I will post them up.

 

[jreich]

looks prety strong.

 

[hydrophyte]

It is really strong. There is very little side-to-side play.

 

[Taari]

I like it! Looks very cool, but I do see the resemblance to Ikea stuff. Still, probably much sturdier than Ikea

 

[xmas_one]

Over built

 

[hydrophyte]

It looks better set up.

It's not overbuilt. I wanted the plywood laminate endgrain as part of the design, so the thick plywood was intentional.

 

[xmas_one]

You know its over built, lol, its beautiful though, pulling your chain...

 

[hydrophyte]

I have thought that it might look cool with the flat surfaces painted bright colors but with the laminate with just the clear finish. You could even use a stencil to put some kind of nice floral or vegetative pattern on the sides.

 

[Hoppy]

Is the top also a double layer of 3/4 plywood? If there is a weakness in that design, it would be the top, which may develop a slight permanent sag in the middle, leaving the tank supported only by the ends of the tank. I find it very hard to find plywood that isn't already warped. Baltic Birch plywood tends to be the most flat, and it also has by far the most beautiful end "grain".

Like your other stand design this one looks like it will look great - excellent proportions.

 

[OverStocked]

Must. Have. more. Pics.

you always do this to me, Devin!

 

[hydrophyte]

Is the top also a double layer of 3/4 plywood? If there is a weakness in that design, it would be the top, which may develop a slight permanent sag in the middle, leaving the tank supported only by the ends of the tank. I find it very hard to find plywood that isn't already warped. Baltic Birch plywood tends to be the most flat, and it also has by far the most beautiful end "grain".

Like your other stand design this one looks like it will look great - excellent proportions.

Yep the top is 1 1/2" of plywood. These plywood panels were bowed when I got them, but I found that they staightened up nice when I bonded them. Yeah I saw the Baltic birch too but this stuff was cheaper.

The tank is actually only supported on the ends because I put felt pads under each corner. I understood that plastic frame aquariums are OK with support only on each end. Is this wrong? I wanted a bit of a gap all around so that spilled water would not seap underneath, become trapped in that void and soak into the plywood.

If bowing of the top panel were an issue one could also add supports underneath to match the ones under the shelf.

Here is a quick picture of the whole setup. Actually I am not so happy with the proportions; the stand is too tall.

 

[hydrophyte]

Must. Have. more. Pics.

you always do this to me, Devin!

Here are a few more that I got.

Brace detail...

What is this little threaded piece that I used called? I can't remember. They work really slick...

View of top from inside with angle brackets...

That drill was the only "skil" involved in any part of this project.

 

[jasonpatterson]

Very nice looking stand. I'm pretty certain that not all plastic framed tanks could be supported at the ends with no problems. I certainly wouldn't try it with something like a 40 long or a 125 gallon. Only way to find out is to try, though I wouldn't expect any problems with that tank (20H?)

That's a tee nut, by the way.

ETA: Also, why "boneheaded"?

 

[malaybiswas]

Sweet setup Devin.

 

[hydrophyte]

Very nice looking stand. I'm pretty certain that not all plastic framed tanks could be supported at the ends with no problems. I certainly wouldn't try it with something like a 40 long or a 125 gallon. Only way to find out is to try, though I wouldn't expect any problems with that tank (20H?)

That's a tee nut, by the way.

ETA: Also, why "boneheaded"?

This tank is actually a 56 column, but it is only 40% full. maybe I should spaceseveral more of the felt pads down each long side of the tank. I really don't want to leave the tank sit right on the plywood because I know humidity will get trapped under there.

Thanks yes a tee nut.

Boneheaded is the best I can do I am not cabinetry-inclined.

Sweet setup Devin.

Thanks! I got fish, water and plants in there too. I got some really great fish and plants for this setup I will try to post pictures later.

 

[rickztahone]

I really like it. I love the simplicity of it.

 

[Hoppy]

Devin, I had a stand I made using two layers of 3/4 inch thick wood as a top, with no brace under the front. The doors fit fairly closely under that top. After a few months the doors were binding against the top, so I trimmed about a sixteenth of an inch off the tops of the doors. In a few more months, the doors were binding against the top again. I trimmed another sixteenth of an inch off the tops of the doors, and they worked fine after that. But, it was obvious that this could have happened only because the top warped downward a bit, not really visible without holding a straightedge against the underside of the top. That had to mean that the tank weight had caused the warpage, so the bottom of the tank had to be slightly warped downwards too. It scared me a bit, but the tank was a very sturdy one and never did leak. I finally sold the tank and stand, so I don't know its later history. Since then I have always put a brace under the front edge of the top to avoid that.

For your design I think a brace under the middle of the top might be all that is necessary. I know that plastic framed tanks are supported by the plastic rim, but I don't believe they are intended to only be supported by the ends of the plastic rim.

I have never seen any problem with water getting under the tank, between the tank bottom and the stand top. And, I spill lots of water too.

I hope you put a set of photos of this in the DIY Stand sticky thread - it is a very unique way to make a stand, that many might want to try.

 

[Taari]

I've always understood that plastic rimmed tanks must be supported all the way around the edges, else they will bow in the center and can break. I'm sure bigger/longer tanks are more susceptible to this than say a 5.5 or 10 gallon though.

 

[lbacha]

I know it's already together but in the future if you rotate one of the pieces of plywood 90' it will help stabilize the other piece, the other suggestion I have is to buy a aquamat from ADA it is 1/4" neoprene and it will allow for a little flex in the stand and protect the wood from water.

Len

 

[hydrophyte]

I have set up a number of 15s and 20s with the felt pads in each corner because it helps to level them out on some of the uneven surfaces that I have in the fishroom, but this is a substantially bigger tank so maybe it does need support all the way around. Ugh now I need to go back and drain the tank again and shave those pads off.

If I were to add more support under that top I would make two braces to match the ones under the shelf, for the sake of looks.

Did I mention that the stand is also too tall? The proportions are not so pleasing to me and it needs to be about 4" shorter. What a pain to find all this trouble after I already set up the tank. This is truly a boneheaded design.