Building stand for 120 gal

I started building a stand for my new 120 gallon tank, but
have gotten cold feet after calculating that the weight of the water
will be roughly 1.4 metric tons (12 pounds/gallon?). I've already
built my original design, but am afraid to move ahead.
What I've got so far (tank dimensions are 24"x24"x49.5"): one
24" 2x4 (leg) in each corer of the tank, going from the tank to the
floor. These are held together by 2x4's, one on top, and one on the
bottom, connecting to each neighbor leg (connectors). So, basically,
the four legs bear the weight of the tank, and the remaining 2x4's
keep those legs from falling over. Then I'll tack on some 1/4" pine
or oak on the front and sides for looks.
Now I'm thinking about going back and adding in three 2x4's on
the long connectors (one every 12"). And one more on the short
connectors. But I'm still not confident in this design either, this
is more weight than I've ever dealt with before. Can anyone provide
any advice?
The one's in the stores look like they're made out of 1/4" oak
on the sides, top, and bottom and almost nothing in the back or the
front (except some doors).

I've seen some great stands made from 4x4s, you don't even see them since
they are on the inside.... and they can withstand alot of pressure...

Greg,

I built a stand for my 90 gallon using 2x4as at each corner and another
one front and back at the mid point. I'm pretty sure the 90 has the same
footprint as a 120 but its just a bit shorter.

I made sure to stack all the wood before fastening. That is make sure
that gravity was working to keep the joints together rather than relying
on just the fasteners to do the work. The back is open. The sides and
top which the tank rests on are 1/2" Oak plywood. The front is an Oak
frame with 4 oak frame doors with the remaining Oak plywood as inserts in
the door frames. I have about $75 in materials in it and the Oak hood I
built to accomodate the AH lighting and I know its much sturdier than the
ones sold in the shops which use 1" oak with something that looks like
paneling or a veneer for the outside "wood" look.

The whole thing took me about 4 nights after work to build and another
weekend to do the finishing. The hardest part was finding a nice oak
board to use to build the hood and the frames for the front and doors.

Chris

Greg Miller wrote:

I started building a stand for my new 120 gallon tank, but
have gotten cold feet after calculating that the weight of the water
will be roughly 1.4 metric tons (12 pounds/gallon?). I've already
built my original design, but am afraid to move ahead.
What I've got so far (tank dimensions are 24"x24"x49.5"): one
24" 2x4 (leg) in each corer of the tank, going from the tank to the
floor. These are held together by 2x4's, one on top, and one on the
bottom, connecting to each neighbor leg (connectors). So, basically,
the four legs bear the weight of the tank, and the remaining 2x4's
keep those legs from falling over. Then I'll tack on some 1/4" pine
or oak on the front and sides for looks.
Now I'm thinking about going back and adding in three 2x4's on
the long connectors (one every 12"). And one more on the short
connectors. But I'm still not confident in this design either, this
is more weight than I've ever dealt with before. Can anyone provide
any advice?
The one's in the stores look like they're made out of 1/4" oak
on the sides, top, and bottom and almost nothing in the back or the
front (except some doors).

Greg Miller (gmiller at gregmiller dot net)
http://www.gregmiller.net
http://www.net-chess.com

In article , Chris Spierings wrote:
Greg,

I built a stand for my 90 gallon using 2x4as at each corner and another
one front and back at the mid point. I'm pretty sure the 90 has the same
footprint as a 120 but its just a bit shorter.

I made sure to stack all the wood before fastening. That is make sure
that gravity was working to keep the joints together rather than relying
on just the fasteners to do the work. The back is open. The sides and
top which the tank rests on are 1/2" Oak plywood.

I would also put plywood on the back. This will add rigidity to the
stand keeping it square. This type of frame is very strong, but any
side to side movement and the stand can quickly foldup and
collapse. You don't have to cover the back completely. Atleast the two
corners and the top of bottom horizontal beam should be connected
together with a single sheet of plywood. Although covering all the
back is better. You can put cutouts in the ply wood for ventilation,
plumbing, power cords, etc.

This stand discribed by Chris is very strong. Several times stronger
then it needs to be, but that good. This style stand can easily be
used for larger tanks by adding more vertical pieces to the front and
back. 2x6 are often used for larger tanks as well, although that
probably is not necessary.

Greg Miller wrote:
I started building a stand for my new 120 gallon tank,
but have gotten cold feet after calculating that the
weight of the water will be roughly 1.4 metric tons
(12 pounds/gallon?).

1 L (water) = 1 kg
120 gal = 454 L = 454 kg


tank dimensions are 24"x24"x49.5"

That tank size contains a max volume of 467 L. It could therefore weigh 467 kg

2X4's Way, Way, Way, Way, Way overkill. I went to PetsMart and looked at
their tank stands made out of 1X4 Yellow Pine boards for $300.00. I went
next door to Lowes and bought $70.00 worth of Tongue and Grove Wainscot 3/4"
thick and built a square frame from 1"x2" stock. Some 1/2" Plywood for the
bottom & a shelf. $15 for hinges & stuff. If it weren't for the custom
routing on the trim, I had it built in about 3 hours. (helps to have an air
nailer & staple guns)

If you compare tanks stands, Their $300 stand to my $70 stand, that'd make
mine worth about $600.00. Would you like me to make one for you?

JOhn :-)


"Greg Miller" wrote in message
news
I started building a stand for my new 120 gallon tank, but
have gotten cold feet after calculating that the weight of the water
will be roughly 1.4 metric tons (12 pounds/gallon?). I've already
built my original design, but am afraid to move ahead.
What I've got so far (tank dimensions are 24"x24"x49.5"): one
24" 2x4 (leg) in each corer of the tank, going from the tank to the
floor. These are held together by 2x4's, one on top, and one on the
bottom, connecting to each neighbor leg (connectors). So, basically,
the four legs bear the weight of the tank, and the remaining 2x4's
keep those legs from falling over. Then I'll tack on some 1/4" pine
or oak on the front and sides for looks.
Now I'm thinking about going back and adding in three 2x4's on
the long connectors (one every 12"). And one more on the short
connectors. But I'm still not confident in this design either, this
is more weight than I've ever dealt with before. Can anyone provide
any advice?
The one's in the stores look like they're made out of 1/4" oak
on the sides, top, and bottom and almost nothing in the back or the
front (except some doors).

Greg Miller (gmiller at gregmiller dot net)
http://www.gregmiller.net
http://www.net-chess.com

Couldn't find any data on Pine but a 1X1 piece of spruce (hardwood) can
take up to 7000 lbs before it snaps! I built my 70 gal stand out of pine...
2X2s (finished size is actually about 1.5X1.5). Pine is soft wood but I
figured that it could take the weight of the 70 gal 795 lbs plus a 100 lbs
in sand etc and spread that over the 6 legs... That's only 116 lbs per
1.5X1.5 leg! Anyway, I put 6 vertical pieces (one on each corner and two
1/2 way along the long side). These verticals were put inline with the top
and bottom rectangular frame (made from 2X4s) so that the tank's weight
would transfer from the top frame to the 6 verticals to the bottom frame
directly without the reliance of fasteners. The fasters are only there to
hold the wood frame parts together and not for load bearing reasons. Then I
wrapped 3 sides in 1/2 inch plywood. 1/2 inch ply on the top too and then a
1/4 inch veneer around the sides/top etc. The back is open for pipes,
electrical etc. I cut out large openings in the front and fabricated and
installed doors. This tank stand could easily hold double the size of the
70 gal.
2X4s will be overkill.

Go for it! Home made stands are so much better and stronger and cheaper
than the store bought ones... however you do have to have just a little DIY
knowhow.

DJay


"Greg Miller" wrote in message
news
I started building a stand for my new 120 gallon tank, but
have gotten cold feet after calculating that the weight of the water
will be roughly 1.4 metric tons (12 pounds/gallon?). I've already
built my original design, but am afraid to move ahead.
What I've got so far (tank dimensions are 24"x24"x49.5"): one
24" 2x4 (leg) in each corer of the tank, going from the tank to the
floor. These are held together by 2x4's, one on top, and one on the
bottom, connecting to each neighbor leg (connectors). So, basically,
the four legs bear the weight of the tank, and the remaining 2x4's
keep those legs from falling over. Then I'll tack on some 1/4" pine
or oak on the front and sides for looks.
Now I'm thinking about going back and adding in three 2x4's on
the long connectors (one every 12"). And one more on the short
connectors. But I'm still not confident in this design either, this
is more weight than I've ever dealt with before. Can anyone provide
any advice?
The one's in the stores look like they're made out of 1/4" oak
on the sides, top, and bottom and almost nothing in the back or the
front (except some doors).

Greg Miller (gmiller at gregmiller dot net)
http://www.gregmiller.net
http://www.net-chess.com

Okay and agree, however the point is that 2X4 construction is more than
adequate. Here's a nice DIY link for a stand for 135 gal tank.


http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_stand.php


"SG" wrote in message
...
In article , Djay wrote:
Couldn't find any data on Pine but a 1X1 piece of spruce (hardwood) can

spruce is actually softwood. It is a coniferous evergreen. Pine is a
little weaker then spruce.

take up to 7000 lbs before it snaps!

This is not 100% true. Spruce will take a 7000 psi load that is
parallel to the grain if you keep the wood from bending. The 7000psi
number is for very short pieces of wood. Something like the same
length as width or maybe twice as long as wide. I have long since lost
the link that describes this. If nothing is keeping the wood from
bending the load is much smaller, between 400-600 psi. This is why the
plywood is important. The plywood keeps the frame of the stand from
bending making the stand much stronger.

The point is, The stand can never be too heavy,, It's better to have
overkill, on the materials
then have the thing collapse at 2 am.
I make stands out of old Upright Piano's, We remove all the string
framework, be it timber of cast iron. Then remove the Keys and key lid..
Then we cut down each side with a Chainsaw to a distance level where the
keys will fit..We then fit a floor level with the keys
board,the key hammers are trimmed off and are refitted and the tank slides
in from the back
of the Piano, The underside of the Piano lid holds the strip light, and any
external Filters, and the Air pump, fit in the section under the key board..
The normal Piano will hold a 4ft tank
about 15 inches deep and 18 inches high.. The one I have at the moment has
a 3ft tank. which meant we had to cut the Piano in half with the Chainsaw,
These stands weigh about twice what a full tank would weigh, But if you can
get a Piano [ for free] with a nice veneer finish, they make a nice feature
in the room,, Also helps if the Fish are musical..

bassett

Djay wrote in message ...
Okay and agree, however the point is that 2X4 construction is more than
adequate. Here's a nice DIY link for a stand for 135 gal tank.


http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_stand.php


"SG" wrote in message
...
In article , Djay wrote:
Couldn't find any data on Pine but a 1X1 piece of spruce (hardwood)
can

spruce is actually softwood. It is a coniferous evergreen. Pine is a
little weaker then spruce.

take up to 7000 lbs before it snaps!

This is not 100% true. Spruce will take a 7000 psi load that is
parallel to the grain if you keep the wood from bending. The 7000psi
number is for very short pieces of wood. Something like the same
length as width or maybe twice as long as wide. I have long since lost
the link that describes this. If nothing is keeping the wood from
bending the load is much smaller, between 400-600 psi. This is why the
plywood is important. The plywood keeps the frame of the stand from
bending making the stand much stronger.

bassett wrote:

The point is, The stand can never be too heavy,, It's better to have
overkill, on the materials
then have the thing collapse at 2 am.
I make stands out of old Upright Piano's, We remove all the string
framework, be it timber of cast iron. Then remove the Keys and key
lid..
Then we cut down each side with a Chainsaw to a distance level where
the keys will fit..We then fit a floor level with the keys
board,the key hammers are trimmed off and are refitted and the tank
slides
in from the back
of the Piano, The underside of the Piano lid holds the strip light,
and any external Filters, and the Air pump, fit in the section under
the key board.. The normal Piano will hold a 4ft tank
about 15 inches deep and 18 inches high.. The one I have at the
moment has
a 3ft tank. which meant we had to cut the Piano in half with the
Chainsaw, These stands weigh about twice what a full tank would weigh,
But if you can
get a Piano [ for free] with a nice veneer finish, they make a nice
feature in the room,, Also helps if the Fish are musical..


My wife is a professional pianist. I just forwarded this to her. I've
got a grand piano in my living room.

It will be interesting to hear how loudly she screams...

-Donald
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

We only use old rusty uprights that are past there used my dates,, Will that
help..
Grand Piano's now there's a thought, Mini pond, no bad idea..


Donald Kerns wrote in message

My wife is a professional pianist. I just forwarded this to her. I've
got a grand piano in my living room.

It will be interesting to hear how loudly she screams...

-Donald

bassett wrote:

The point is, The stand can never be too heavy,, It's better to have
overkill, on the materials
then have the thing collapse at 2 am.
I make stands out of old Upright Piano's, We remove all the string
framework, be it timber of cast iron. Then remove the Keys and key
lid..
Then we cut down each side with a Chainsaw to a distance level where
the keys will fit..We then fit a floor level with the keys
board,the key hammers are trimmed off and are refitted and the tank
slides
in from the back
of the Piano, The underside of the Piano lid holds the strip light,
and any external Filters, and the Air pump, fit in the section under
the key board.. The normal Piano will hold a 4ft tank
about 15 inches deep and 18 inches high.. The one I have at the
moment has
a 3ft tank. which meant we had to cut the Piano in half with the
Chainsaw, These stands weigh about twice what a full tank would weigh,
But if you can
get a Piano [ for free] with a nice veneer finish, they make a nice
feature in the room,, Also helps if the Fish are musical..