5 feet tank stand with no center brace

D

DenisD

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Jul 5, 2007
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Hey everyone,

I am buying a 108 gallon AGA Hagen tank shortly. Its 60 by 18 by 24.

I want to make a stand that is roughly 36 inchs high for it with the possibility of puting a 2nd tank under it in the near future.

Can I make a stand with no center support for a 5 foot tank?

I was thinking using 2by6 doubled in each corner vertically and then 2by 6 horizontaly accross for the top shelf.

Would something like this work with no center brace?

Thanks!
 
i wouldnt recommend anything made of wood over 3 feet without a center brace. iron or steel, 4 feet.. but even then you have to watch for bowing.
 
http://www.awc.org/pdf/WSDD/C2B.pdf

a single 2x6 on a 5' span can handle 1000 lbs. Double them up, front and back, and you are in the 4x6 catagory. A 4x6 can handle 2300 lbs on a 5' span. So if your horizontal uppers are two 2x6s, front and back, you could easily support over 4,600 lbs.
 
rbishop said:
http://www.awc.org/pdf/WSDD/C2B.pdf

a single 2x6 on a 5' span can handle 1000 lbs. Double them up, front and back, and you are in the 4x6 catagory. A 4x6 can handle 2300 lbs on a 5' span. So if your horizontal uppers are two 2x6s, front and back, you could easily support over 4,600 lbs.
Click to expand...
I agree, just use double 2x6's and you should be okay.
 
Thank you so much for the help!

What about the 4 legs? what do you guys recommend? I was thinking 2 by 4's doubled up in the shape of a V in each corner?
 
DenisD said:
Thank you so much for the help!

What about the 4 legs? what do you guys recommend? I was thinking 2 by 4's doubled up in the shape of a V in each corner?
Click to expand...

That's all you need on the vertical. Really though, 2 2x6's front and back is overkill.... a single 2x6 rim on all four sides is plenty for that tank. Your main concern after that is bracing the diagonal which can be done cheaply and affectively with plywood. It doesn't even have to be 3/4 ply either.

I bring up not doubling the 2x6's for another reason. You are going to be placing a large tank on them, and you would need to be sure that doubled up 2x6's were perfectly level with each other on all four sides.... even assuming you'll be putting foam down. Doubling them up makes this more of a challenge especially with the crappy quality of lumber these days.

I always read in interest the posts here on stand construction, partly as I'm into fish, and partly as my garage is not for cars. - It is for my wood shop. Hence I often cringe at the level of overkill some stands are built to. Yes, better safe than sorry... but at some point overkill becomes WAY overkill, and wasteful. However, I wish house builders/designers would spend as much time as we do designing and building our stands.... maybe our houses would be built better then. :)

I digress..... Are you going to sheath the stand in plywood as a covering? or is this going to be an open frame stand?

Another tip for you..... using too many screws or burying the heads too deep actually can weaken joints... don't go overkill. Remember, if you are wrapping this thing in plywood, that will add a large volume of strength and rigidity.
 
You could use 2x4s. They are strong enough, as long as they are under the top and not attached to the side of the top. As Wackydan stated, most stands are overbuilt. The main thing you will need is lateral support (side to side movement) almost any sheathing will do as long as it is attached properly. On the subject of overbuilding, the stand my 75 gallon is on is only particle board, 4 uprights, top and bottom. The lateral support is only 1/8". The whole thing is held together with 16 screws and 8 nails. I would not have build one this way, but since I didn't have time I bought it and I knew it would support the 800+ pounds on it.
 
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