Building In-Wall Stand

[ScottH]

Hi - I'm finishing my basement, and I'm getting ready to build an in-wall stand for a 72"x18"x22" 125 gallon glass tank. I would like the bottom of the tank to be about 4 feet off the ground. My plan was to just frame out the wall as I normally would, but where the tank will be put an opening (like for a door) with a header, and have 4x4's holding up the tank at every corner, and perhaps 2 more 4x4's on each side in between (front and back). I was going to use pressure treated lumber, but someone told me not to do that because the arsenic in the treatment could eat away at a tank if it has a metal frame. Even if this is the case, wouldn't it be okay to do this as long as I put some plywood in between the tank and the stand? Also, I would like to be able to put a 37 gallon underneath it for DIY filtration, but won't be able to get it in/out if I put as many "legs" as I'm planning on. Also, if I don't use the pressure treated, what if I just use cedar?

[Captain Hook]

The first thing you must remember is that tank when fully filled will probably weight somewhere between 1500 and 2000 pounds. Is there any reason why you don't want to use spruce, which is what walls are normally made out of aren't they?

For the tank underneath if all you want is to use it for filtration you could use an access door similar to a panel box or water valve. It is an option but it would not look the best. Sorry I am not much help.

[DIYMatt]

I would think you use a microlam board under the front and put posts just on the corners. Someone may want to chime on this but I would think that two or three 2x8's back to back turned upright with the posts on the corners would carry the weight and you full access underneath the tank. Just my two cents.

[chefkeith]

For my aquarium stand, I used presure treated 4x4's for the legs, and framed 2x6's for a base, then topped that with 3/4" plywood.
From what I've read, the 4x4's should be spaced atleast every 4 ft. The base should be framed like a horizontal wall, with atleast 24" centers. 2x8's with 16" centers would be even better. There are plenty of ways to do it.

You must have a high ceiling in your basement or else How do you plan on cleaning the tank? If the top of the aquarium is almost 6' off the ground you'll need a platform of somekind I would think.