2x4's v. 2x6's

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lyquidphyre

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Joined
Nov 19, 2003
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McKinney, Tx
I went to lowes to get some estimates on building this tank and the guy (and my boyfriend) were saying I should get 2x6's instead of 2x4's to make it "invincible". While im thinking it will be more expensive. If I follow the basic skeleton plans that from garf and this other site (which say 2x4s) I should be okay right?

I plan to use white pine.

Oh, also for ya'll's tanks did you buy a cabnent door or did you have to "make one" because lowes doesn't sell just the doors. Does home Depot?

And is there any stain you liked best? Im thinking about getting pine wood for the outer cover part to stain a dark cherry color.

Did you use angle brackets for additional support?

Sorry for all the questions I just want to get all my facts straight before I buy anything.
 
This is for a 75 gal tank, if I recall.
I think the 2 x 4's will be more than strong enough assuming they are joined properly. The 2 x 6's won't add too much to the cost, but they will make that stand one heavy sucker to move!!! Just wondering - is your bf hoping to make the stand tornado-proof? :p J/K - it's really not such a bad idea to over-engineer something like a tank stand. Above all, you want to make sure the stand cannot rock or tip if someone bumps into it.

Home Depot sells doors in their kitchen and bath dept, but I found them to be very expensive. Check out www.rockler.com - they can make custom-sized doors in several styles and woods - pretty reasonable too.

Stain is really a personal preference. I would just pick something that complements the other furniture in the room. I like Minwax Early American on pine because its light enough to bring up the grain, yet dark enough to hide any imperfections in the wood.

Angle brackets will provide extra protection from side-to-side rocking. Some design tips: The stand's rectangular top frame should sit on top of the vertical supports, not inside them. All joints should be glued and screwed together. A plywood outer skin will give the stand a nice, finished look as well as add incredible strength and rigidity.
 
I'd also suggest a lighter to mid-toned stain for pine. A darker one would just hide the beautiful grain, in which case you might as well use a cheaper wood.
 
I loooooove dark colored cherry furniture and I was just curious if anyone has stained anything that color before or has a stain brand preference.

Yah, im thinking 2x4's as well.

Thanks for the site qtoffer- if its easier to buy one from there than it is to create one with molding I might just do that instead.
 
lyquidphyre said:
I went to lowes to get some estimates on building this tank and the guy (and my boyfriend) were saying I should get 2x6's instead of 2x4's to make it "invincible". While im thinking it will be more expensive. If I follow the basic skeleton plans that from garf and this other site (which say 2x4s) I should be okay right?

2x4 should be fine. Tank stands you buy are 1x4 and 1x6 with particle board.

lyquidphyre said:
I plan to use white pine.

Standard #2/btr lumber is SPF (spruce, pine, fir)

lyquidphyre said:
Oh, also for ya'll's tanks did you buy a cabnent door or did you have to "make one" because lowes doesn't sell just the doors. Does home Depot?

The only cheap doors at HD are melamine doors, which are also quite ugly for a tank stand. You can build one pretty easy.

lyquidphyre said:
And is there any stain you liked best? Im thinking about getting pine wood for the outer cover part to stain a dark cherry color.

If you're going to stain dark cherry, use #2/btr lumber. It's cheaper and dark stains hide everything.

lyquidphyre said:
Did you use angle brackets for additional support?

Only if your planning on lateral force (say, running into the stand with a VW Bug) Think about the stands sold today.

lyquidphyre said:
Sorry for all the questions I just want to get all my facts straight before I buy anything.

Or end up with a tank on the floor.

HTH
 
the only thing I'll add, is if you're going to have pine exposed for staining, then I would go with a gel stain (minwax gels are nice). They're a little easier to apply and a bit more forgiving on soft woods, such as pine. However, I would recomend going with a veneered plywood to "wrap" around your stand. You'll want the plywood to give it rigidity and the veneered will give a more appealing grain than pine (which doesn't have much character, IMO)
 
I was thinking about getting oak plywood or "quarter inch exterior import plywood" to wrap about the tank.

I really don't want to put angle brackets on my tank but my boyfriend swears up and down I need to *rolls eyes* but they are expensive. The only thing that will run into my tank is my tiny cat. She will prolly jump up on top every chance she gets but I doubt thats gunna be a problem. HA i just got off the phone with my boyfriend and read to him what you said Bearfan and he was like "I still think you need a couple of angle brackets" Yah.. ill make him pay for those if he really wants stinkin angle backets.

I drew up the plans and everything but not the details with doors and molding and things like that. I think the details will be the hardest part. I don't mind making doors but if I can find some doors that work well it might help take some guess work out of some things.
 
they aren't expensive like $100 expensive... but if I were to support the outer corners it would be about $16-$20... Which isn't expensive per se but thats money I could use on something else for the tank.
 
That's actually a little expensive, I figured you meant angle brackets that are a couple of bucks maybe.
 
Hardware is always expensive. When I built my bettatank stand/bookshelf, I spent more on the door hinges and screws than I did on the wood.
 
how much was shipping? or were the doors expensive? because I looked at the approx size I would get and they are fairly inexpensive. And I can't find anything that talks about shipping rates
 
I believe the 'total' bill was $72. I think it worked out to $15 per door and about $12 to ship. I can't remember the name of the girl that I ordered them from, but she's real knowledgable on doors ... great customer service. I checked out other internet door companies and they seemed to be around 30 to 35 per door (plus shipping).
 
Just wanted to add my two cents. I have a 125g and I used 4x4's for the vertical posts but 2x4 for everything vertical. There has been no bowing or warping or any sings of stress. I even forgot to put a vertical support column in the middle of the lenght. You will be more the fine with 2x4's
 
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