building stand

[von_rahvin]

hello all i have now broken down and ordered a bigger tank. i am going to do a 190 aggressive tank. i am going to build my own stand and i figured i would ask if any of you have and good ideas for things that i should build into it. I have built my own furniture before so wood work is not a problem. so throw out some crazy ideas for things i should think about doing.

 

[fish for life.]

Your gonna really want to design your stand to your system, obviously. I hae also used ceramic tile to decorate the stand. It realy looks nice with a salt system. I used bright blue and white tiles with an yellow sea shell tile I found at home depot. It looks great. Have fun, 190 I am jealous.

 

[von_rahvin]

we all have our addictions. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" /> i just wish mine was some rare drug. i would save moeny <img src="graemlins//bah.gif" border="0" alt="[bah]" />

 

[taku]

I just finished up building a stand with my dad, for my 120 gallon. We used 4x4's as the leg supports and 2x4's as cross beams and to support the base of the tank. Since I was a bit skeptical... we used 8 4x4 leg supports. Now I've learned that 6 would have been plenty but my peace of mind was well worth another $10 for the additional wood
Here are a couple pix of us in the progress of painting:
<a href="http://a5.cpimg.com/image/71/56/9025905-1a47-028001E0-.jpg" target="_blank">http://a5.cpimg.com/image/71/56/9025905-1a47-028001E0-.jpg</a>
<a href="http://a6.cpimg.com/image/72/56/9025906-529b-028001E0-.jpg" target="_blank">http://a6.cpimg.com/image/72/56/9025906-529b-028001E0-.jpg</a>

 

[taku]

A day later.. I noticed I didn't even answer your question < kicks self >
Inside of the cabinet door, I'd hang a fish net, scrubber for the glass, misc other items. Also have several "pantry door" style shelves that you can place any medications / water test equipment / dry foods etc on for easy access.
I also suggest mounting your ballasts and power supplies on the inside wall of the stand and possibly mounting a fan in there with timer to come on with the lights to help cool the ballasts.

 

[grouper 42]

I have been researching the issue for some time since I want to upgrade to a 225 but don't want to pay a $1000 plus for a new stand. Most of the plans for stands I have seen on the internet seem way overbuilt to me. Go to your local fish store and you won't see many (if any) stands built with 4X4's and 2X4's. They are all built out of 3/4 inch plywood just as my current Oceanic 128 gal stand is. The compression of plywood is several thousand pounds per square inch. An even stronger plywood is Baltic Birch or a product called Appleply (the latter I can't find anywhere in Texas). I am going to use a combination of Baltic Birch and regular birch plywood.