DIY 150 gallon stand

[oceanists]

Hey guy...
I am buying a 150 Gallon Oceanic Reef Ready Dual Overflow tank and making my own stand.
I last stand I made was for a 55g and it was as solid as a tank because I used all 2x4 for the frame screwed and Liquid nails. I have looked at stand to buy and it seems like nobody uses 2x4 and everything is made with thin particle board... Does anybody have any suggestions on making a stand for a tank this big.
also im taknig the lighting from my 55 which is 10K 2x250 MH & 2 10K 2 50/50 4X65 PC .... so im going from 13.8 watt p/g to 5.6 watts p/g. Is this going to be enough light and will this big of a change stress my corals and anemones???
Also Im turning my 55 into a refugium. any suggestions is greatly needed and appreciated ........ for the most part on building the stand .... but I will appreciate any info.
Thank you in advance! :help: :help: :help:

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by Oceanists
Hey guy...
I am buying a 150 Gallon Oceanic Reef Ready Dual Overflow tank and making my own stand.
I last stand I made was for a 55g and it was as solid as a tank because I used all 2x4 for the frame screwed and Liquid nails. I have looked at stand to buy and it seems like nobody uses 2x4 and everything is made with thin particle board... Does anybody have any suggestions on making a stand for a tank this big.
also im taknig the lighting from my 55 which is 10K 2x250 MH & 2 10K 2 50/50 4X65 PC .... so im going from 13.8 watt p/g to 5.6 watts p/g. Is this going to be enough light and will this big of a change stress my corals and anemones???
Also Im turning my 55 into a refugium. any suggestions is greatly needed and appreciated ........ for the most part on building the stand .... but I will appreciate any info.
Thank you in advance! :help: :help: :help:

bump

 

[hot883]

Use the same theory, 2x4's with plywood sheating for extra strength. make it plenty wide and TALL to ensure proper room for the 55 under the tank.

 

[am3gross]

as far as your lighting goes i would add another mh if the 150 is 6 ft long as they say halides are only good for a 2 foot span. if you are getting a 150 tall i would consider switching to a dual 400 watt mh system. reason to switch to the 400 is because of the depth difference. good luck and show us some pics...... i love looking at pics to get ideas for my own setup.

 

[oceanists]

right on guys ..... i will deffinatly add pics when i get going on this project

 

[teresaq]

I am doing the same setup. 150 gal with a 55 gal sump/fuge. I am doing 3 250 mh and somesort of supplement. I have to remake my canopy because its only about 6 inch high, and has cross braces in the top, so i cant add pcs. I alreaady have my stand, its made from pine.

 

[isistius]

MY 135 HAS THE SAME BASE DIMENSIONS AS THE 150. I MADE MY STAND OUT OF 2x4'S W/OAK OUTSIDE. JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INSIDE DIMENSIONS CAN HOUSE YOUR SUMP/FUGE AND YOUR SKIMMER (HEIGHT). ALSO REMEMBER, THAT WHEN STANDING ON END, A 2x4 WILL SUPPORT 750 LBS/ SQ.IN. VERY STRONG. I USED 12 UPRIGHTS. OVERKILL, AND LIMITED MY WOKING SPACE UNDERNEATH. BUT WHAT THE HELL DID I KNOW? IT WAS MY 1ST ONE. NEXT TIME IT'LL BE DIFFERNT, AND THOUGHT OUT BETTER.

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by TeresaQ
I am doing the same setup. 150 gal with a 55 gal sump/fuge. I am doing 3 250 mh and somesort of supplement. I have to remake my canopy because its only about 6 inch high, and has cross braces in the top, so i cant add pcs. I alreaady have my stand, its made from pine.

Teresa can you add pics of your stand and stuff..... Im going to get another 250 maybe MAYBE 400 watt MH for the center ..
Isistus .... thats the way I was with my first stand for my 55 .... waaaaaaaaaaay overkill ..... but id rather go overkill then have a flood on my brand new floor.

 

[biggredd]

My stand is extremely heavy, extremely stable, and just so happened to be dead-spot on level. Score one for me. I could've done a better job of being able to fit a bigger tank/sump in though. I kinda messed that one up but I have to give myself credit for building something this fancy.
I used 4x4's on the corner and 2x4's the rest of the way around. I then used plywood and putty to get it smooth. I put trim all around. IT's still under contruction but pretty much done. Sorry for the bad pic, stupid cellphone. Doesn't give you much for detail of the trim and love I put into making it but you get the idea....

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by Biggredd
My stand is extremely heavy, extremely stable, and just so happened to be dead-spot on level. Score one for me. I could've done a better job of being able to fit a bigger tank/sump in though. I kinda messed that one up but I have to give myself credit for building something this fancy.
I used 4x4's on the corner and 2x4's the rest of the way around. I then used plywood and putty to get it smooth. I put trim all around. IT's still under contruction but pretty much done. Sorry for the bad pic, stupid cellphone. Doesn't give you much for detail of the trim and love I put into making it but you get the idea....

that looks AWESOME

 

[dogstar]

This is a basic layout of how I built my stand for my 150g aga RR...
2 x 4 and 1/2 plywood and 1 x 3 trim, 2 x 2 at the bottom of door opening so trim fits even around everwere. no floor and lots of room, I also did a door on the end to slide sump in....
I painted everything black but you can do trim in constrasting colors,
The hood is just the plywood and trim, no frameing inside the hood.
Do the numbers to fit your equipment and veiwing.....

 

[oceanists]

Dogstar thank you for the pic and diagram that is awesome ... so you didnt use any 4x4? when you went with black did you use black stain, spraypaint, or paint? I am going to go with black and I am not sure what is going to look the best.

 

[biggredd]

Just to follow up...I put 4x4's in the corners, I then put my 2x4 across. I then put a piece of 2x4 verticaly between the two long horizontal 2x4's so that if for some strange reason the horizontal 2x4 screws gave out the vertical 2x4 would be there to continue supporting it. Hope that makes sense. I skinned it with plywood but it was super rough so I got some putty and puttied the hell out of everything exterior and then sanded it. I used black oil based paint to finish. It's bigger pain in the butt and requires longer drying time but I'm convinced the overall finish and reliability of it will beetter than regular latex or whatever paint.

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by Biggredd
Just to follow up...I put 4x4's in the corners, I then put my 2x4 across. I then put a piece of 2x4 verticaly between the two long horizontal 2x4's so that if for some strange reason the horizontal 2x4 screws gave out the vertical 2x4 would be there to continue supporting it. Hope that makes sense. I skinned it with plywood but it was super rough so I got some putty and puttied the hell out of everything exterior and then sanded it. I used black oil based paint to finish. It's bigger pain in the butt and requires longer drying time but I'm convinced the overall finish and reliability of it will beetter than regular latex or whatever paint.

yeah that what I was thinkng ... I not setting my 150 up untill sept 1st so i have some time that I can put into the stand and canopy ... I kinda rushed through my 55 gallon stand and regretted it as I didnt have room for my sump and fug so I had my sump on the side of my tank .... it was a huge eye sore

 

[dogstar]

Yep, IMO, never tranfer weight horizonal.....always verticaly down wards...my schetch allows tank to rest on plywood directly over top frame, top frame directly over risers and risers directly over floor frame, wraped with plywood helps gives extra all round frame supoort and does not allow swaying....Glass tanks need support mainly at corners but acrylic needs total bottom support so the bottom does not bow and more cross beams and thicker plywood only at the top may be needed, and maybe a couple more risers depending how long the tank is...I used black semigloss enamel but you can get creative if you want to and have the time......my 180g was leaking at the bottom and thats why I built this so I could tranfer to the 150g I had to go buy and I built the stand in a hurry

but still made sure it was strong...Did not care so much about looks so much at the time but still turned out OK....I love this hobby

 

[oceanists]

yeah that black stand is awesome .... I dont really understand what you mean by not transfering weight horizontal , but go vertical... can you explain that alittle more? Sorry for my ignorance.

 

[biggredd]

I drew a crude drawing. This is a side view.
Let's say you have a 6 foot tank. You have your 4x4's in the corners. Then you bolt on 4 different 2x4's that are 6 feet long. Two along the tops and 2 along the bottoms. Let's say one of the screws on the top 2x4 broke for some reason. The stand could fail. What I am saying is that you can put bolt another 2x4 against the 4x4 with one end of it on the bottom 2x4 and the other end sits right up underneath the top 2x4. It's all just extra precaution considering I'm dealing with over 1,500 pounds.
I'm not great at instructions so I hope the picture helps. but I can try and elaborate further if needed.

 

[dogstar]

Red posted his as I was drawing mine.....haha good job red...Im posting mine anyway, HA
Yes, trust the wood to hold the weight, not the nails or screws....

 

[jlem]

4X4's are overkill and take up alot of room. I have built lots of stands and 3/4 plywood with 2X4's in the corners is plenty. You don't need to have a full 2X4 frame. You want the stand to be able to flex so it does not crack the tank. No matter how hard you try you will not get the stand perfectly square and if you over build it your stand, the little inconsistencies could cause stresss on the tank. The stand should support the tank and be able to form square to the tank. I will be building my own 150 gallon Oak Stand in a week or so and will document how I do it so you can see how I do it.

 

[oceanists]

Originally Posted by Dogstar
Red posted his as I was drawing mine.....haha good job red...Im posting mine anyway, HA
Yes, trust the wood to hold the weight, not the nails or screws....

so what you guys are saying is use the left picture and stack the wood rather than th right side where alot of the weight I would be relying on screw ... right?
When I built my 55 g stand I did this to my 2x4's and then put everything together with Poly Uerathane Moisture Glue and Deck Screws ...... Will this way work for the weight of a 150?