DIY 2.5gallon tank wood stand for 15 tanks

From the picture it looks like you used 2x4 on the outside and 1x2 on the inside. I would've gone all 2x4. I wouldn't trust it the way it is but I might be wrong.

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its tall and slender, id be more worried about it possibly falling over. It looks like you put one small "foot" on the bottom left there, you may want better footing or secure it to your wall
 
gordonw said:
its tall and slender, id be more worried about it possibly falling over. It looks like you put one small "foot" on the bottom left there, you may want better footing or secure it to your wall
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I meant to mention this as well...

how long were the nails that you used?
 
My concern is the nails and glue. Screws are your best bet, over time the wood will separate from the joints. Over the changing seasons cold, hot, dry, humid.. these aspects play a huge role is how wood structures hold up and i dont believe nails and glue will hold as long as you may intend. Painting the structure is good too, most wood is treated but a good lacquer coat will add to the worthiness of a good wood structure like this.


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the individual tanks may be small, but together they will weigh over 300 pounds when filled.

i share the concern of gordonw and kenjivaj -- i'm a lot more worried about the unit tipping over than about it holding the weight. screwing the unit to the floor doesn't help that, because those points don't have much leverage against tipping.

you need to secure the top of the unit to the 2 or 3 studs in the wall behind the shelf unit. it would be easier to cut a strip of wood (looks like you'll need 2x4 at least) to fill the gap between the wall and the back of the unit, finish that piece as desired and secure it to the studs flush with the top of the unit. then you can screw the back of the unit to that board wherever it is convenient.

i agree with kyeung28 that screws would have been better, but i think the basic construction looks solid.
 
The horizontal pieces/beams are being supported by vertical pieces all the way to floor. It's more than sturdy enough to handle that weight.

Unless you have no heat/a.c, no doors and no windows in your house, you're not going to get enough humidity changes inside the house to effect the glue and nails.... at least for many.. if there will be any significant changes at all.

You could have used all 4x4's with 6 inch sheet rock screws along with nuts and bolts where possible... bolted the stand through the floor into the floor joists, knocked down the back wall and rebuilt the wall in with the back of the stand... and someone would have replied back "If it were me I would have went with 8x8's, 8" screws, and welded a half inch steel frame around the entire stand.... but you'll probably be OK with it like that".

That stand will last longer than you'll probably need.

But yes as mentioned, you need to do some additional securing of the unit to the back wall... as high up as you can. Maybe create 2-3 small shelves in the back that are joined in somehow to the studs in the wall. Then you could have a little bit of storage in the back for nets, rolls of paper towels, food, etc. Hang a piece of fabric on the end... kind of like a skinny curtain there if want to hide what's in the back.

Are you going to use sponge filters?

What are you using the tanks for?

Where did you get the tanks at and how much were they?

I've been considering something very similar to this... maybe a few less tanks... but either 2.5 or 5 gallons for grow out tanks for various shrimp and fry. Looks nice.
 
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rastoma said:
The horizontal pieces/beams are being supported by vertical pieces all the way to floor. It's more than sturdy enough to handle that weight.

Unless you have no heat/a.c, no doors and no windows in your house, you're not going to get enough humidity changes inside the house to effect the glue and nails.... at least for many.. if there will be any significant changes at all.

You could have used all 4x4's with 6 inch sheet rock screws along with nuts and bolts where possible... bolted the stand through the floor into the floor joists, knocked down the back wall and rebuilt the wall in with the back of the stand... and someone would have replied back "If it were me I would have went with 8x8's, 8" screws, and welded a half inch steel frame around the entire stand.... but you'll probably be OK with it like that".

That stand will last longer than you'll probably need.

But yes as mentioned, you need to do some additional securing of the unit to the back wall... as high up as you can. Maybe create 2-3 small shelves in the back that are joined in somehow to the studs in the wall. Then you could have a little bit of storage in the back for nets, rolls of paper towels, food, etc. Hang a piece of fabric on the end... kind of like a skinny curtain there if want to hide what's in the back.

Are you going to use sponge filters?

What are you using the tanks for?

Where did you get the tanks at and how much were they?

I've been considering something very similar to this... maybe a few less tanks... but either 2.5 or 5 gallons for grow out tanks for various shrimp and fry. Looks nice.
Click to expand...

I am trying it without a filter. In the long run it will all be use for shrimp tank. I only have RCS for now. Going to get different shrimps later. Some tanks are empty for now. Maybe put some trio guppies to breed for color in each tank and to put some betta in them for a while. I have traded some of my African fishes for these tank (7 Blue Dolphins for 12 tank and 4 more tanks for some juvenile African fish frys). A guy on the Craigslist were selling them for $7 each but he decided to trade for them.

I use 1x2 to make it look better and it is a lot easier to frame the stand to be more supportive. I nail from both side using finishing nail and glue. The glue now days are as strong as nails when glue together. I was aware that nails pushes back out in the long run. That's why I use glue. I did not wanted to use screws because it would make the stand look ugly. If in the future one tank fall then I would know to remove rest. It will be hard for the tank to fall because of the way I built it. I did think about using 2x3 but I knew that it will not look as good as 1x2.

I have also supported the back with a brace. This should be strong enough from falling forward.
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