Aquarium Stand Build

[ccross]

Starting a new aquarium stand for my bedroom. In the process of drawing it up in google sketch. So far I have the lower section of the stand drawn up. It will hold a 20g tank. The stand itself will be made from left over 2x4's that I have in my garage. I need feedback on whether this portion is going to be sturdy enough to support the tank. Here are a few sketch's of my idea.

Photo #1: Top portion portion of the base where the tank will sit. I will be using 5/8in particle board directly under the tank.

Photo #2: The actual structure of the base. I want to be sure this will properly support the edges of the tank so I dont run into problems.

Photo #3: What it will look like with the tank. Everything is to scale.

 

[blert]

I'm no carpenter but...
Without seeing where you are going to be putting the vertical supports (legs) its hard to tell. It looks quite sturdy, again depending on where your verticals will be. I would avoid particle board and use plywood instead. Particle board will soak up water and expand.

 

[BHead707]

I'm no carpenter but...
Without seeing where you are going to be putting the vertical supports (legs) its hard to tell. It looks quite sturdy, again depending on where your verticals will be. I would avoid particle board and use plywood instead. Particle board will soak up water and expand.

i second the particle board issue. just go with plywood

 

[ccross]

See if this makes a little more sense.

 

[ccross]

A couple more...

 

[Bschowa]

you are going to want your top and bottom peices to rest on the supports otherwise the brunt of your weight will in essence only be held up by the screws you use.

does that make sense? otherwise i can try to explain it a different way

 

[ccross]

you are going to want your top and bottom peices to rest on the supports otherwise the brunt of your weight will in essence only be held up by the screws you use.

does that make sense? otherwise i can try to explain it a different way

It wont matter because the tank is in the bottom of the stand. The top isnt going to be used fir anything heavy. I read once that a decent 2 1/2in screw is good for 16lbs per screw. there will be at the very least 20 screws for the top alone. I'm not too worried

 

[ccross]

Almost done. At least with the planning..

 

[Bschowa]

gotcha, sorry, i was under the impression that the tank shown was the sump and a larger tank would be going on top.

yea the design looks good, i would agree with the plywood comment,

you also might want to put some sort of sealant on the 2x4's and everything on the inside of the stand to prevent mold and rotting from the evaporation of water/spills.

 

[ccross]

gotcha, sorry, i was under the impression that the tank shown was the sump and a larger tank would be going on top.

yea the design looks good, i would agree with the plywood comment,

you also might want to put some sort of sealant on the 2x4's and everything on the inside of the stand to prevent mold and rotting from the evaporation of water/spills.

Would chipboard work as well as plywood? Trying to use just what I have on hand.

 

[Bschowa]

it would definately be a better option compared to particle board. if you were to seal it i wouldnt see a problem. the issue with particle board is it is basicly just a cardboard like material so it soaks up water very easily and once that happens it falls apart.

 

[Mlani]

I wouldn't use chip board or plywood (from my own personal experience) neither material holds up well to the wet or weight. I used four by four posts for my legs and two by fours for supporting braces and then ran two by twos across for the bottom and top. I then "prettied" it up by using crown molding around the seams. I also made sure to seal all the wood before I put it together. That unit was made over 20 years ago and is still solid!

 

[ccross]

I wouldn't use chip board or plywood (from my own personal experience) neither material holds up well to the wet or weight. I used four by four posts for my legs and two by fours for supporting braces and then ran two by twos across for the bottom and top. I then "prettied" it up by using crown molding around the seams. I also made sure to seal all the wood before I put it together. That unit was made over 20 years ago and is still solid!

The whole stand is built from 2x4's. 2x4's will be supporting the tank as well. The chipboard will just be over the top of the 2x4 frame..

Finished project. Hope the real thing looks better, lol

 

[Mlani]

Chip board is the same thing as particle board. The process in which it's made is glue and sawdust. It swells up and becomes similar to the texture of wet drywall. Plywood is the same only they use large thin pieces glued together. I wouldn't use it anywhere near moisture for it won't hold up to time. Just trying to save you some heartache down the road.

 

[ccross]

Chip board is the same thing as particle board. The process in which it's made is glue and sawdust. It swells up and becomes similar to the texture of wet drywall. Plywood is the same only they use large thin pieces glued together. I wouldn't use it anywhere near moisture for it won't hold up to time. Just trying to save you some heartache down the road.

so should I just put the tank right on the 2x4 frame?

 

[Mlani]

You could run one by twos across the bottom, it's for a 20gal? I'll show you a picture of what I mean.
That's the bottom of one of my stands. Or you could (if you're on a tight budget) take the top of an old solid wood table and cut it to size? I don't know what tools you have access to or how much work you want to put into this though? Or if you really want to get creative use tile board and tile the bottom and top to match?

 

[TT71]

One idea I had but I didn't give it a whole lot of thought to perfect it was to use concrete backer board on top of plywood then lay down ceramic tile on top of the concrete backer board. I think it might work because it would be similar to a shower wall in a bathroom. One the down side it might be costly to build.

 

[ccross]

i think I'm going to make a platform out of 1x2's. It'll help raise it up a bit too. The whole point of this stand is so I can watch my fish while in bed, lol. I have BAD insomnia and somehow they relax me enough to sleep some nights I know, sounds weird.

 

[Mlani]

Doesn't sound weird at all! I completely relate to the calming effects of the tanks and the fish. Make sure if you do the one by twos that you include braces in the middle underneath too. That will help structurally. If I were you, I'd check out my local lumber store, flooring store or counter tops and see what they have for "cut offs" or discontinued tile. Who knows you could walk out with a beautiful piece of granite or marble for next to nothing

 

[ccross]

Doesn't sound weird at all! I completely relate to the calming effects of the tanks and the fish. Make sure if you do the one by twos that you include braces in the middle underneath too. That will help structurally. If I were you, I'd check out my local lumber store, flooring store or counter tops and see what they have for "cut offs" or discontinued tile. Who knows you could walk out with a beautiful piece of granite or marble for next to nothing

Its funny you should mention that. I have a piece of marble counter top buried in my garage. I bet it would be just the right size to make a base from.