Bulding a stand and hood

[kniquy]

I am looking into up grading to a 75g rect. tank. After researching different brands i have realize that some of the biggest expences are the stand and hood (not the cheap pine stained products). I am pretty handy and my father has a whole work shop. Where do I start in developing the stand in order to ensure proper support? Are there any designs to look at?

 

[thewizzrd]

go to you rlfs and look at the stands that they sell there, they may be cheap pine but that cheap pine holds a tank apparently. Doesn't take much I guess. I went overboard on mine, but you cant see teh stand on my tank so it didnt have to be pretty.

 

[bdhough]

Just make sure you get a solid foundation. Realize you're placing around half a ton somewhere.....
My brother built a stand for a 90. He used cross supports in the back(big X). He also used a square base(4 legs bolted length and width wise with 2x4's) as opposed to 4 legs.
You also really only need to make the front pretty.... I would keep that in mind

 

[kevinf]

Most of the designs I've seen use a "box" design. So have wood alll around. Hard to explain. One thing is I want to make it a little taller than normal stands. I plan on using hardwood for the exterior and pine for the support frame. See any problems in this?