2x4 tank stand for 75 gal.

[GEOlson]

Okay, I redrew the plans a bit, everything to scale.

The base of the tank will be at 31 inches from the floor.

Here's the frame of my current stand:

You can see the additional 2x4 supports.

For the paneling I used just wood glue, you can see the clamps while it was drying.

The finished stand.

'


The stand with the aquarium on it before setting it up.

I hope this helps your next stand.

 

[AquaRick]

Wow, very nice! Giving me lots of thoughts for the next build! Thanks again for sharing.

 

[GEOlson]

Your very welcome, I'm excited someone else liked my work. I'm very glad that I could help you for your next project.

 

[GEOlson]

Stand Part One

Here are some pictures of the construction of my 75 gallon aquarium stand. I used 2x6 lumber for the main frame and 2x4 for the supporting frame.

You can see the 2x4s that make up the inside of the leg on a 2x6 and then the second 2x6 is attached to complete the leg.

This is the leg free standing, the 2x4s are longer than the 2x6s so that the 2x6 aquarium footprint can attach to the legs.

My original plan for the footprint didn't include miter joints but it seems to have worked well enough. Usually my miter joints aren't perfect, the sides usually are not flush with each resulting in uneven corners.

The stand all framed together

Here's what an open corner looks like before the short end 2x6 was attached.

And you can see that the corners are not perfectly flush. I think such a small amount wont matter because the plastic rim of the tank should be taller than it but just in case I used a flush cutting / reversing backsaw to remove some of the extra height of the 2x4s.

 

[GEOlson]

Stand Part Two

For the paneling around the top of the stand I used miter joints for a better appearence and it's important to make sure that the lumber used are the same width. Some of the older stock I had was actually about 1/8" wider than what I just bought. I used the wider stock on the back where it will never be seen.

For the center I used two 1x2 pieces to create a seam for the cabinet doors. I'm planning on using sliding doors and the way I have the stand paneled the edges of the door shouldn't be visible.

And for the sides of the front I have 1x10 boards to cover from the edge of the side panel over the edge of the left.

Because the frame behind the corners is 3" thick it's a bit to get through with either screws or nails so I decided to use a brad nailer to tack the panels on. It leaves marks but at least their small. I can always fill them later too.

So far that's what I've got. Tonight I'm hoping to finish the side paneling and I'm not sure when I'll get to the cabinet doors but the majority of work will hopefully be done tonight. I also hope that cabinet doors will not become a project that I keep putting off.

 

[AquaRick]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing pictures Geo. I'll probably need to get a miter saw to do some trim work on my stand. Great work again!

 

[GEOlson]

Thanks. Yeah I got a power miter last winter and it's a dream compared to using a hand saw for everything. It's fairly square and saves all the time of cutting by hand

 

[GEOlson]

Here's the final image of the stand. All the trim is on. I chose not to put trim on the right side (looking at it) and the back so it could fit that much closer to the wall. Probably over the weekend I will do the sliding doors for the front.

And the best part is the stand it quite level! That's a 48" level center on the top front of the stand. The other 3 sides looked just as good.

 

[AquaRick]

That's some great work Geo! Glad your stand turned out so well! I know what a nightmare it can be to level everything! Great work.

I'm having issues with mine at the moment. Frame is good to go. Skinned it with cabinet grade plywood. However, I have built it so that the front panel is connected with a platform inside the frame so that my sump will slide out on wheels.

The weight of the front panel is causing issues in how easily the front/inside slide out. I probably need to take a 1/4" off from the front panel on the bottom and/or create some kind of rail system to guide everything as it's coming out. Grrrr

 

[GEOlson]

Hmm that sounds interesting. So is it kind of like a drawer with the only side being the front/panel? And is the weight causing it to drip down so the panel srubs on the floor when you pull it out? I'm trying to create an image in my mind. For my new stand I gave about 1/8" clearance front the bottom panel to the floor so it resting completely on the 2x4 footprint.

 

[AquaRick]

Yes, that's it exactly. I was going to do a simple skin, but i thought it might be worth it to sacrifice a bit of looks for a good amount of utility. Bought some rails today. Will see if they help guide the platform.

 

[GEOlson]

Sounds good, let me know how it goes.

 

[GEOlson]

What do you have the sump going to? Did you build it? I thought about one for my new 75 but the LFS recommended agsinst it. So I was think of getting a canister.

 

[AquaRick]

Sump is inside the stand/frame below the DT. The sump sits on a moveable platform inside the frame.

 

[GEOlson]

I finished setting up the tank and moved the fish. Here's the success of the move.

The completed stand

The finished tank

Proper color balance of the gravel

Cheers!

 

[AquaRick]

Looking good! I actually like the multi colored neon gravel!

 

[GEOlson]

Thanks, Rick. We have our goldfish tank as our fun theme and the tropical tank as a natural theme.