Stand build journal for 125 gallon tank

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NewObsession

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So Im finally getting around to building the stand(s) for the tank(s) I'm planning on building. Figured I would take a crack at doing a build log on here as I've seen so many people do. I've often gone through them and picked up some great ideas. Thought I would throw mine on here simply so you guys can join me in the adventure and if it helps anyone else it's a bonus. Feel free to ask questions. This is the first one of these I;'ve done and I'm not sure where the line is between under expaining/not enough pictures and over explaining/too many pictures

Tank will be 60" L x 24" W x 20" high

Here are the 2x4's ready to go. I picked the straightest and truest lumberas possible then ran them through the planer and then the table saw to get rid of as much warp and twist as possible and get them nice and sqaure so they are actually 1-1/4" x 3-1/4" rather than the standard 1-1/2" x 3-1/2"

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fishorama

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Cool! Perfect timing for me, a friend is going to build a stand for me almost the same dimensions. If you have really good links can you share, there's a ton just on AC as I'm sure you know.
 

dundadundun

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i always like to see what people come up with... i'm in...
 

NewObsession

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You'll have to bear with me as I don't know how to insert text between pics and put it al in one post so I either do each step in a seperate post, or do all the descriptions at the top and a handful of pics in the bottom of each...

this is actually one of two stands as I have two tanks I'm building ( did I mention that? can't remember) but figured I would just journal one of them since other than a slight dimension difference in width, they are both being built the same way.

as I mentioned the tank for this one is a 60"x24" foot print so I'm buildong the stand to be 62"x26" to give myself some breathing room on either side. It's going to be your typical top build a top frame, build a bottom frame and join them together.

To figure out what height to make it I went to Big Al's and walked around their showroom with a tape measure to find out what height their tanks were at and then add or subtract as I saw fit (ie I want it higher than this..this one is too high). I strongly suggest this because what may seem right on paper or sound right based on numbers can be a world of difference once it's built. The best example I can give you of this is that if I were to tell you I was going to build you a desk 29" high and you took a look at that measurement on a tape measure (go ahead, get a tape and pull out 29", I'll wait...) most people would think it was ridiculously low and yet standard height for most desks, home or office is 28"-29".

Another thing to watch for if you go to Big Al's like I did is that they put their tanks on stands, but the stands themselves are on a 4 or 5" riser for display so you have to meaure from tank to floor, not just the height of the stand (or simply read the stand dimesions) or else your tank will be 4" below where you thought it would be.

The height of mine is based on an aproximation of the height I wanted taking into consideration casters on the bottom, and the fact that where one of the tanks is going is in front of a set of switches and a thermostat that I had to drop a couple inches for so it wouldn't block them, and then planned the second stand so that the top of both tanks would be roughly the same height (both are going in the living room but one tank is 4" higher than the other).

Lastly the other dimesion that I take into account when measuring for a stand, as silly as it sounds, is to measure the height from the floor to your armpit. Take that measurement and subtract the height of your tank and take that height into consideration for the top of your stand . I know it sounds silly but it beats building a stand and then not being able to reach into your tank the first time you drop something because the rim of the tank is 4" higher than your armpit or needing a step stool eveytime you want to do something in the tank....
 

fishorama

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Good hints on stand height. I did the armpit measure too LOL but I might need a step stool anyway to reach the back. Maybe my friend can make a pull out step or matching stool.
 

NewObsession

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Here is the simple jig I built for cutting the pieces for the frames. It's really nothing more than a piece of plywood with a 2x10 screwed to the end of it. For each group of cuts for the different components you just move the saw the appropriate distance from the end piece and make your cuts. It has two advantages. First, once you measure the first piece and the rest you just slide the wood until it hits the endblock and make your cut so you save time not having to measure and mark each one. Second and more important (at least to me) is that even if your measurement is out by a hair or two, ALL the pieces are out by the same amount and end up identical in length which helps keep eveything square.

The last pic is the pieces for the top frame cut and ready to go. These pieces are for the cross members. The longer ones out of frame to the right are the front and back rails for the frame. I was more concerned with getting a close enough shot to show the consistency of the cuts when you use the jig described above.

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NewObsession

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is that a unicycle i see in the background?
umm..yes, yes it is. And just to the left of the saw you can see one of a pair of stilts...
 

NewObsession

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Laying out the frame pieces before assemply. Making sure to start off as square as possible...
The joints are all glued and nailed with my air nailer to hold them in place then screwed with 3" deck screws. I know the 2" bad nails won't ake weight but it made life so much easier to tack things in place that way and not worry about things misaligning while I was trying to put screws in

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