Fishroom Multi Tank Stand Construction?

i dont really like the idea of having such a big tank over another. if you had a 55 or even the 75 over the 135 it would be better. then you can have another 55 over the 110 and the 15 and 20 over the 90.

Why do you want to hide them all in one room?? I'd spread them out all over the house, livingroom, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, porch.

Another issues that may possibly come up is power handling, are you sure the outlets of 1 room can handle that much useage or have you already worked something out for this?

Support your joints!

For tanks that size, go with the 4x4 corners and just make sure that your horizontal framing members are resting on notched vertical supports (or have the vertical supports placed under both sides of horizontal joints). I saw this design on a homemade stand once and it makes perfect sense. Too often I see the horizontal frames attached to the sides of the 2X4 legs and I get a little creeped knowing the only thing that is keeping the top frame from crashing to the floor is a couple of screws ( or worse nails!) waiting to shear off.

I used this approach recently as I am building a stand for my 75 but wanted to build in capacity for the inevitable 120 upgrade (see attached photos). The notching of the 4x4's was a breeze with a reciprocating saw. This thing is as solid as a rock.

The homebuilt stand sure won't cost me what I would pay for a particle board equivalent in the store... but the time investment has been longer than I thought. The prefinished beadboard paneling is the way to go!

I just had a crazy idea for access to your bottom tanks if you wanted to get fancy, you could build a high stand for the top tank (missing the front lower band) and put the bottom tank on a low roll out platform... like a trundle bed.

Good luck on your project.

Thanks. With the cladding in my case being non-load bearing, I had to go with the strong dimensional frame. On a linear foot basis, the 2x4's will be a considerably cheaper route for you.

Nolapete said:

They are all going in the fishroom/hatchery or maybe in the garage. I haven't decided yet. I'm going to have one freshwater and one saltwater 36x18 tank somewhere in the house.

jm, I understand your logic, but it's personal preference and making the best use of the space I have. That said, those configurations are my first thoughts and subject to change based on the feedback I get. Your idea definitely has me thinking though. Thanks. If I build them strong enough to put the two large tanks together I can always swap out the large tank for multiple small tanks.

I'd like to have it somewhat modular and bolted together, so if I change how I want them or get different tanks I can reuse parts.

Click to expand...

if you were to make the stande have a solid base for the tanks to sit on (not the lip of wood that most premade stand have) then the plan could work. i just saw the 110 falling through because the lip was to weak, but if the base is a board of wood that covers the entire bottom of the tank (like in the second pic above) it should be fine. you can use steel also to help with support.