300 g stand

[REEFAHOLIC]

I am now getting to the point of ordering stuff for my new tank set up. I am just conserned with the ability of a wood stand being able to support 300 g off water. For those of you who have large aquariums, Tim, Minh, or who ever out there, should I be concerned. Thanks for any input.

Tina

[Tim Marvin]

No just get a solid well built stand. A good thick coat of paint, or sealer over the wood will also help a lot.

[witecap4u]

I was worried about that with my 150, nowhere near as big as a 300, but I looked at premade stands for 150g tanks and didnt see any 2x4's or anything, just 3/4" sheets holding it up. I used 4x4's anyways to support the corners and middle of the stand, and a couple 2x4's also, and have no worries at all, other than having to move it....cs

[z28pwr]

I am now getting to the point of ordering stuff for my new tank set up. I am just conserned with the ability of a wood stand being able to support 300 g off water. For those of you who have large aquariums, Tim, Minh, or who ever out there, should I be concerned. Thanks for any input.

Tina

Tina, I had Alamo tell AquaTrend to reinforce my stand for my 150 and will be doing the same for my 375. They charged me an extra $20 bucks for my 150 stand and put (5) 2 X 4's more then they normally put in. Now the stand is very sturdy. I don't know if you've seen there stand but they are pretty reinforced compared to Oceanic's.

[utmachete]

The best way to build a stand is to make a frame out of 2"x4"s. (a miter saw is crucial for this job) If your tank is rectangular build two frames with horizontal joisting less than two feet apart. For example if you have a 8' x 2' tank then your top and bottom frame would consist of two 8' long 2"x4"s and 4 to 6 21" 2"x4"s use heavy duty screws and join them with 24"- 30" vertical joist around the perimeter (if you dont need the space underneath then you could support it more by adding a couple of center vertical joists). After you have done this get 1"x4" or 1x6" boards and try to find someone with a pocket cutter. now you can trim the outside of this rectangular frame and make it a nice looking stand. the pocket cutter comes in handy when your joining 1"x4" to 1"x4" endwise.
I know this is kind of hard to explain in words but its really important to make a frame with 2"x4"s and also if you are putting an acrylic tank on it then you need to put a piece of plywood across the top so that the bottom of your tank will not recieve any excess stress.

[Henry]

I built a stand for my 200gal tank. I used 4x4's all around, except for the base. I followed the design on this link. It was very easy and very study. I'll try to post pics if I can get a camera.

http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsandman2/

Henry

[utmachete]

http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsandman2/
Yeah that looks pretty sturdy, you can eliminate all that metal bracing by using a pocket hole cutter. I bet those braces that they used on this website were pretty expensive and if you use the normal framing braces from home depot they'll rust pretty quickly.