Home made aquarium Stands?

Hi just wanna anyone here put their tanks on any furniture other than store bought tank stands? Do you guys build your own? I have a 29 gal acrylic tank (30X12X18) and am trying to find a stand for it...saw some nice ones at a local pet store but it was like $200-$300!!! ...and then theres those at Walmart that look a lil shaky...so does anyone have around a same tank size as I do and put theirs on any shelf etc?

I haven't done it but have seen it done and that is use kitchen base cabinets with counter top for a stand.

Bill F.

Water weighs about 8 pounds a gallon. Make sure everything is reinforced. You may want to ask an experenced wood worker's advice.

Yup that would make my tank 232 lbs!!!
Thats why I am kinda weary in buying some of those stands that look like skinny bird legs...theres some of those cheaper metal frame ones but they sway left and right easily....I noticed another member here used something like this:

http://www.lowes.com...1398&lpage=none

I build all of my own tank stands. I'm no carpenter but it seems pretty easy to me. If you look at the stands that cost $200-300 their made from particle wood and decorative laminate. I simply use 1"X4" pine boards and build a frame that's covered with 1/4" laminate plywood. The trim will cost more than the plywood and frame material combined. These will look better than any stand you can buy and cost almost as much as the purchased stands. I think you could put a mid-sized car on any of my stands.

I've built my own stands, and a couple of friends built stands for their 75 gal tanks. It's quite simple. You can do it with 2x4s. If you scroll around the 'net, you'll find a number of patterns, all pretty much the same. Like teleost said, you basically build a frame, and that's what supports everything. The wood that covers it is purely cosmetic, and you don't even need it. Essentially, you cut 4 legs, and 8 inside pieces. 4 of the inside pieces are the length of the front, and 4 are the length of the sides. Screw the inside pieces together so that you make 2 square "picture frames". I like to put corner brackets on the inside for stability. One of the frames will be the top, and the other will go about 2/3 of the way down. THe legs attach to either the outside or inside of the frames, depending how you want it. If it isn't going to be covered in plywood, I like the legs on the inside. I think it looks neater.

If you make a stand for a very large tank, I would put a sheet of styrofoam between the tank and the stand to buffer any imperfections and reduce stress. You can find the styrofoam in the insulation section of the home despot. Cut it exactly the same size as the stand. The styrofoam can be painted to match the stand or the rim of the tank.

Wow cool to hear you guys make your own stands....can you (teleost n nativeplanter) post pics of your tank stands...like from different angles?....my wife just got me a DeWalt drill/driver set for my Bday...so this project might actually get started...

here are a few picts of the stand i built for my 125 gal tank

cool that stand looks very sturdy, Hell I have a 240 Oceanic and the Stand dosent look like its that reinforced. , mine is sturdy dont get me wrong but i think you could use that to hold a car up

thats a great price

I am just wondering, why do you have a false front on it? It appears that the tank is meant to sit back about 6-8" from the front.

it does, i wanted a 6" ledge on the front of it, i designed it so that the weight is carried inside the footprint. if you look hard on the pict below you will see some pencil lines, this is where the tank actually sits. the front 6" or so of the stand are just screwed and glued on to the structural support. the tank sits on a piece of 3/4" plywood


the slot in the back is for hoses and the like

I laminated a piece of Formica on the top, and had a cabinet guy order me some doors

another pict before i put the doors on and painted


if anyone is interested i can give some fairly detailed plans

Cool looking stand...I have to plan mine for my tiny 29gal.

That's nice, clean work, Harry. You're a credit to your profession!

Could you email me a copy of those plans?

blaze88@gmail.com

Could you email me a copy of those plans?

Or could they be posted as an attachment?

OK I have a gripe. Members should not be able to post photos of this nature. I love the stand and tank but you are making me want to go out and spend money I don't have. I am envious. Beautiful tank. I was just looking at a 125 at my Local Pet Store and it must have been a 125 long because it sure was a beauty. Some day. Right now my largest is a forty breeder. Neat tank but a little on the small side. And to the question on the tank building I build all my own stands. I havent seen any store bought ones that strike my fancy as far as sturdy and quality looking. Mine are contempory in appearance though. No doors. Just a nice open stile and rail type stand. Will post a photo if I can find one I have if not I can take another.

Hi nativecajun...sure would like to see your home made stands...please post pics...thanks

Kind of trashy in my fish area right now but here it is. Now don't go thinking this guy does not take care of his fish very well. That water you see in there comes from Louisiana. I brought around fifty gallons of the stuff back with me. The water down there is highly tanin stained. So I am slowly and I do mean slowly acclimatizing the fish to the water from here. So now that I have the dirty area dirty water explained here goes the explanation of the stand. Like I said nothing complicated. I put pointers at two points under the stand to point out that I put an inside stile behind the outside stile to transfer weight from the rails that are holding the tank to the rails on the bottom. So the weight is distributed between both sets or rails. By the way in carpentry terms rails run horizontal and stiles run vertical. So with that said I think no further explanation is needed. I just measure the base of the tank then make both sets of rail frames just a tad bit over. Then I put them together. Then when I make the stiles the middle ones of course are straight forward. But I do not 45 the corner ones but I just make the one that is facing the front the full width then the one on the side I subtract the thickness of the rail from it. So when you put it together they look the same width on both sides. Notice I leave the stiles stick up a little from the top frame to keep the tank inside the stand. I just like the look and extra security. Like I said simple and very inexpensive to build. I really love the stand that guy has for his 125 gallon but it looks pricey. But if I had a 125 I would put my skills to work and make something like that also. I have a degree in Homebuilding, I am a liscensed Electrical contractor at the moment on disability, and I do proffesional photography as a paid hobby right now. When I did carpentry, trim carpenter work was my favorite. You name it I have built it. Built in chest of drawers in closets, wine racks. cabinets built right on the site etc etc. I hope these photos give you some idea. you may want to go inbetween the expensive set up for the 125 stand and mine. Like maybe adding doors to this design which would be very simple to do.

On my stand up there. The cords are all showing right now because I am right in the middle of making some major changes where my fish are and moving stands around. When in permanent location I just use those black zip lock thingamobbies like the police use for hand cuffs you know. I use black and just tie the wires to the backs of the stiles and rails. Because they are the same color unless you bend over and look very close you do not see them at all. Then the wires are very hidden. I use one of the power bars with multiple plug ins on the back of the frame also. That way when you want to do cleaning/maintainence you just flip the switch on the power bar. If you wanted to you could add a timer to the lights to go on and off automatically. There are endless options for stands. Like I said if I had a very large beautiful tank like the guy has above I would want to make a beautiful stand like the one he has for his. Of course for a 125 the plan for your stand would have to be a little more beefy and pretty like the guy has above than the kind I have. This is just a fifteen gallong tank. But I do have one for my forty breeder. I did not photograph it because I have this 18 gallon rubbermaid type container in front of it holding some pirate perch awaiting transport to some friends on the forum. To hard to move. But the one for my forty is the same only I added two stiles along with the corner ones. Works fine, I've have had it for years and so far I haven't had forty gallons of water in my living room. Hope this helps.

Of course there is the choice of wood. I use # one clear knot-less white pine. Poplar is a good hard wood for painting if you wanted harder wood. Pine is cheaper and when painted it looks the same and is plenty strong enough for these size tanks. Now if you wanted a oak or cherry stand or something like that more care would have to be taken in the construction than the ones I made here. That is why I like these, easy to make easy to finish. A couple of cans of spray matte black paint and some putty for the nail holes and you are done. By the way I use wood screws on the inside not nails. I have air powered nailers for the trim nails which makes it handy. I do not even bother to try and hide the screws on the underside/inside of the stand. I just screw them flush and paint over them. Believe me you do not see them. It is dark under there and they are the same color as the stand. Same with the ties if you are not looking for them you never know they are there.

The outside of my stands look fine but it looks like they could stand a coat of paint on the inside. But then again you do not really see this because it is dark under there.

The stands are very very sturdy and no swaying or moving whatsoever. I mean they are there, nice and solid.