Cheap stands!

[clyde95]

I thought Id share a money saver with you. I bought these (pic) unfinished cabinets from Home Depot last weekend. I reinforced them with some internal framing and made a 3/4" plywood top for them. It took me about 3 hrs to get them ready for the aquariums to set on. The cabinets are "upper kitchen" cabinets, they stand 30" high and are 12 1/2" wide. They also have "lower kitchen" cabinets that are 34" wide. Ive got a 37 gal on the small one and a 55 gal on the larger. The larger is accualy two 24" cabinets framed together. Ive got about $120.00 in all.

[LunchBox]

that's a good idea actually. I would never have thought to use unfinished cabinets :) probably cost about half what a LFS would hcarge eh?

[clyde95]

Yep, there about $60.00 pc. I thought it was pretty cool too!

[kody1192]

wish i could do that but my tank is 36" wide :mad:

[LunchBox]

you should be able to find 36" cabinets... I bought one as part of my kitchen remodel from home depot about a year ago.

[kody1192]

hmm ill have to check for that then i can just add about a bumch of support since my tank will way 2000+ pounds

[Bmeasure]

What tank do you have that will weigh 2,000 lbs? I was assuming a standard 3' tank at first till you mentioned that weight. I have a custom 150 that I built myself, and with the stand, equipment, sump, and fully stocked with roughly 100 lbs of sand/gravel, I'm pretty sure it doesn't weigh a ton (2,000 lbs). Maybe you meant 200? If it's standard, I'd think of 300-400 lbs.

[partsrep]

Great idea! I often thought of doing that, now I may just have to.

[peth]

can you please post a pic of how you reinforced the interior of the stand?

thanks

[budrecki]

A gallon of water weight about 8.5 lbs.

55g = 467.5 + tank+ stand+ decor = 625ish

[clyde95]

can you please post a pic of how you reinforced the interior of the stand?

thanks
Sorry I havent followed this topic for a couple of days. Ill get a pic in the morning and post it for you. Its going to be kind of hard because they are against the wall, but I think I can get a few. check back @ about 1:00 EST tommorrow afternoon.

[born2lovefish]

Nice never thought of that. You can make stands out of 2x4 really easy. Cheap too. Oh and if you don;t like the look just add some panel from menards or lowes.

[clyde95]

heres a few frame pics from the back of the stands I reinforced. You can use 2x4 or 5/4 (acctually 1" thick) corner boards. The legs in the back go to the floor obviously and then I ran one the length at the top to support the "joists" I ran on the inside (inside pic). The top is made of 3/4" CDX ply which is very rigid, its probably what your "sub-floor" is that your standing/setting on now in your home. Then I edged it with 1x2 clear yellow pine which also gave me another 1.5" in width and length. Let me know if you have any more questions. by the way, I screwed everything in place using 1 5/8", 2 1/2" and 3 1/2" screws.

[peth]

nice work! thanks for posting the pics

[clyde95]

nice work! thanks for posting the pics
no problem peth, let me know if you have any more questions

[kody1192]

my tanks over 200 gallons. i think its like 235 gallons. i might use this

[clyde95]

my tanks over 200 gallons. i think its like 235 gallons. i might use this
Just remember that the front of the cabinets are made of oak and will hold a lot of weight, but the sides and back are made of partical board and need reinforcing! Think of the sides and back as just the bracing for you framing and look at the second set of pics I posted to get an idea. I have a 55 on mine but before I used it me and 4 of my friends climbed on it to see how it was. Just guessing thats probably about 600 lbs and it didnt even creek. Also you could use any cabinet or more than one like I did for the 55 (2-24"). That gave me another support wall in the middle of the tank. Good luck. :coffee2: