DIY Stand for 20g long - with pics

[JustOneMore20]

I wanted a new stand for my 20g long and I didn't want to pay $150 plus for a stand. I found some good plans here. I knew that Lowe's and Home Depot would cut wood for you and since neither of us have a nice saw for woodcutting, we used the services of Lowes.

I basically supervised while my boyfriend built the stand for me. I did hold alot of the boards in place while he drilled. He said that was the important part. With the paint and everything it cost me about $50 to build this stand....much better than $150! We used 2x4s for the frame, 1x6 for the front trim, and plywood for the 2 sides and the doors. We used mostly 3" screws, some 2.5" screws, and a couple 4" screws just to be sure. Its very sturdy and I have no doubt it will hold up the 20 long. I wanted it to be about 35" and after its built it ended up being about 37" tall, which is fine. It is the perfect height for me to mess in the tank and not have to bend over or lay on the floor.

For anyone that is considering building a stand, I would recommend it.

Here are some pics along the way.

2x4s!

making the bottom square

adding some legs

more legs

looks like a stand!

front trim applied (1x6) and testing it out with the tank

painted black to match the rest of my aquarium furniture

I have the doors and sides painted and will apply them this week. They are made of plywood (bf had some plywood, so it was free). Pics of the completed stand to come.

 

[reflex1]

Looking good - keep the pics coming!

 

[BigJim]

Nice. Cinder blocks and 4"x4"s work cheaply too, but your stand sure looks nicer.

 

[Todd2]

Looks under built.

 

[maxima423]

looks real nice, in the 6th pic i thought he was trapped inside lol! real nice work ^_^ i am also building a 55g stand and already have the plans, just need to do it

 

[krap101]

How did you secure the vertical 2x4's? Did you angle the screws downward?

 

[missmary49]

This looks awesome! I think i will modify these steps and build my own. its so much nicer to see some one build it in steps instead of blueprints. its assuring to see how solid it is. any photos of the other parts? or complete stand?

 

[capj64]

groovy

 

[Todd2]

How did you secure the vertical 2x4's? Did you angle the screws downward?

Pocket screws or you can use another 2 x 4 or 1 x 4 as a "screw strip". It spans the length of the top box and the legs (covers the gap... would only need to be say 10" long or so). Screw screws into the top box and legs, that way the "screw strip" holds them in place.

I just built a stand for a 40 breeder out of 1 x 4s in much the same manner. It holds the weight fine. As I don't own the tools necessary for pocket screws I used 1 x 3s as screw strips. And instead of having a bottom "box frame" the 4 L legs rest on the ground and there is a 1 x 3 rectangle screwed to the inside of the legs with thin plywood on top. I sanded and stained it all w/ min wax pine stained. The tank is on it now with water, but if I could've done it again I would've also used polyurethane as I had a mini flood w/ my canister filter the other day and I would've made a bottom box frame. As it is though, it holds the weight fine.

There is a huge thread on reef central regarding this stand design. It's about 80 pages long in the DIY forum.

Mine cost me $30 for the wood, $5 for 100 ct wood screws,$4 for wood glue (optional), $5 for the smallest container of mini wax stain (I was too cheap to splurge for the $11 quart of Polyshades which is stain + polyurethane). Roughly $44 and a few nights or an entire weekend.

 

[JustOneMore20]

How did you secure the vertical 2x4's? Did you angle the screws downward?

Considering neither my boyfriend nor I really have woodworking skills, we just screwed the screws at an angle. Probably doesn't do any good, but it felt very sturdy. I think if it had been for a larger tank, I would have looked into another way of securing the verticals...if anything, just to make me feel better.

And attached are pics of the finished stand. I put 3/4" plywood on the sides and used it for the doors as well. I could have found some cabinet doors but because the stand is so tall and not very wide, I don't think I could have found the right size. One of the handles is crooked in the picture, but I fixed that after I took the pic.

 

[JOMA]

just wondering, what are the exact dimensions, i like this stand but have limited space

 

[gil]

Nice!!

Looks strong, you can probably put a 29g on top of it with no problem. Did you paint or used a dark stain?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Thanks! I painted it. It was easier to paint it than to stain it, atleast I think so....haha.

JOMA...I'll measure it and get back to you.

 

[JOMA]

ok thanks