a lot of diy stands and those commerically produced have a 'hollow' top, with only framing to support the tank on it's plastic edges ...
I assume this only serves to reduce cost and weight of the stand? wouldn't a solid top, even it most of it is not supporting the tank directly, benefit the stand by increasing ridgedity
I'm considering building a new stand to support my current 30 gal and perhaps down the road a new 55 gal (or bigger depending on budget )
the method I used to build the stand for my 29 gal is a slightly modified version of the plans found at
http://users.rcn.com/reef101/diystand.html
I used 2x4 studs for the whole thing, without any cabnitrey finish ... plus plenty of big 'ol steel screws ... I'm sure it can hold a lot more than that 29 gal can throw at it...
so I was planning on building a 48" x 24" x 36" model, using 2x6's for the top shelf, doubled up on horizontal spans so I don't have any legs getting in the way of the middle, and to make sure it could hold a car if need be ... I also plan on a solid top and bottom, so it can support a variety of tanks ...
I'm going to put the old 30 gal on the bottom, and build its lights inside the 'top' ... leaving the top shelf open for whatever I can afford down the road
any thoughts or comments would be appericated
I assume this only serves to reduce cost and weight of the stand? wouldn't a solid top, even it most of it is not supporting the tank directly, benefit the stand by increasing ridgedity
I'm considering building a new stand to support my current 30 gal and perhaps down the road a new 55 gal (or bigger depending on budget )
the method I used to build the stand for my 29 gal is a slightly modified version of the plans found at
http://users.rcn.com/reef101/diystand.html
I used 2x4 studs for the whole thing, without any cabnitrey finish ... plus plenty of big 'ol steel screws ... I'm sure it can hold a lot more than that 29 gal can throw at it...
so I was planning on building a 48" x 24" x 36" model, using 2x6's for the top shelf, doubled up on horizontal spans so I don't have any legs getting in the way of the middle, and to make sure it could hold a car if need be ... I also plan on a solid top and bottom, so it can support a variety of tanks ...
I'm going to put the old 30 gal on the bottom, and build its lights inside the 'top' ... leaving the top shelf open for whatever I can afford down the road
any thoughts or comments would be appericated