Anyone Know Where To Get Stand Plans For A 180

Well I went to the LFS to buy my 180 gallon tank, a real deal at $400, when I asked about the stand the price was $350, I am sure I can make it for under 100 and I made the last stand for my bowfront. If anyone has any plans for these or know where I can purchase quality plans I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Well I went to the LFS to buy my 180 gallon tank, a real deal at $400, when I asked about the stand the price was $350, I am sure I can make it for under 100 and I made the last stand for my bowfront. If anyone has any plans for these or know where I can purchase quality plans I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

I just built a pretty unique stand for my 60 that would work for you. It is 30" tall and survived two small very local earthquakes this morning. It uses four 4x4 legs a 4x4 deck and a 4x4 perimeter around the base. The legs are part of the upper and lower deck. Every 18" there is an 8 inch lag bolt that goes all the way through the deck from front to back and back to front. I used wood glue to clamp each 4x4 to the other before bolting it. There is no cross bracing. I built a similar table that is 6' long and 24 inches high by 18 wide for a 37 inch old tube type TV. It was in some pretty serious earthquakes and never budged. I sanded it well, smoothed it off and clear finished it.

If your interested I can make some drawings and take some pics and send them to you. This is a very strong table and can be easily modified for a 4x4 lower deck.

If your in a tornado zone or earthquake area this is the table you would want to be under and cost is very reasonable.

I just built a pretty unique stand for my 60... ....It uses four 4x4 legs a 4x4 deck and a 4x4 perimeter around the base.

Well its nice to see Im not the only person that overbuilds aquarium stands.

original poster- Im somewhat surprised that you have seen a stand for your aquarium and you cant figure out how to duplicate it. Just use twice as much bracing and wood that is twice as thick. Use plywood instead of the particle board that is most often used on storebought stands.

Heres the stand I built for my 120 gal. It could hold a car.



Basic 2x4s with 3/4" plywood top and bottom- Nothing complicated.



Changes I intend to make the next time: No plywood top or bottom, build the frame to contact the bottom frame of the aquarium only. Also I could eliminate about half the 2x4s by notching them together rather than putting all the weight on the screws alone. Also I intend to make my next stand look like real furniture instead of something I just built on my back porch- but hey, check out that plywood TV stand in the background, lol.

Well its nice to see Im not the only person that overbuilds aquarium stands.

original poster- Im somewhat surprised that you have seen a stand for your aquarium and you cant figure out how to duplicate it. Just use twice as much bracing and wood that is twice as thick. Use plywood instead of the particle board that is most often used on storebought stands.

Heres the stand I built for my 120 gal. It could hold a car.

Basic 2x4s with 3/4" plywood top and bottom- Nothing complicated.



Changes I intend to make the next time: No plywood top or bottom, build the frame to contact the bottom frame of the aquarium only. Also I could eliminate about half the 2x4s by notching them together rather than putting all the weight on the screws alone. Also I intend to make my next stand look like real furniture instead of something I just built on my back porch- but hey, check out that plywood TV stand in the background, lol.

Nice stand, you must get earthquakes too. We had 6 in all in 24 hours yesterday and I think we just had another mini. Here are some pics of mine. The front and back rails actually hide the large bolts going through the 4x4's.

and the other stand:

here are a few pics of a stand i built for my 125 gal at my office









I wanted to have a 5" ledge on the front, so the structural framing sits back 5" or so, and the top plywood covers the whole thing. I am used to designing and building cabinets (kitchen, etc) so i went with a full plywood top, rather than have the framing support the glass itself.

here are a few picts of a 75 gal / 40 gal stacked stand i built



I build the bottom framing of the stand 1st



then add the virtacle supports





Note: after living with this setup since feb, i have come 2 the conclusion that it is not at all practice for the 40 gal to be on the floor like that, it is hard to clean (siphon) and water changes via python take longer. I am pressed for space in my current home so it will continue for now.

It seems like everyone who puts a tank near floor level winds up regretting it.

Fish tend to be more skittish when tanks are low. They don't like movement above them that much.

I just have to comment on Skipjacks stand he built for his 8 foot long stream tank. Excellent job NOT overbuilding. I think has a better idea of whats required for support. I expect my next stand will be more similar to this one.