Building A Stand For 2 New Cory Tanks...

[ICEEGRL]

It is too tall and too heavy. It is also not stable. It will fall over very easy! I'm just not sure how to fix it.

Here are a few pics...
This is the frame on the bottom


This is the frames that the 2 tanks will sit on

These have extra supports in them.

More on the way...

Here is what I have done so far.


I don't have the outside legs on one end yet.
I was going to enclose it with plywood and put a top on the top tank to match.
Now I don't know what to do. I have to get it shorter and more stable.
It is for 2 20g long tanks with bottom storage. I used 2 x 4's.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for looking (and maybe helping)

 

[Tolak]

Ok, per this topic; http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/21...ilding-Stands-/

If the middle shelf only has to be tall enough for a 10 gallon or a 20 long you have too much space between the middle shelf & the top shelf. A 20 long is 12" tall, another 6" above it would be plenty. Add 3 1/2" for the 2x4, and you have shelfs that are 21 1/2" apart.

A stand built that sturdily will have quite a bit of weight. It will seem tippy as well with no weight on it. Once the tanks add weight to it tipping it is tough, unless you want to really climb on it.

I would cut back on the space between the top & middle shelf, I would be tempted to put a 3rd 20 long on the bottom, and use a pump, but I'm a sick man in that respect. It's just too tempting.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks!

I don't have a third 20 long. I do have 3 10g tanks though.
I am going to do a stand to hold those next. Then one that will hold 2 55g tanks.
I do have a 29g... no... I can't do that. I have got to get it shorter so I can reach the top.

As for climbing on it... I have a 4 year old monkey! She is going through a stage... I hope it is a stage!
I am afraid of her pulling it over on her while "trying to get where she can see". I don't want her to get hurt. I can't move it alone it is so heavy, and it isn't even finished yet. I still have to do all of the outside and add tanks.

So... Do you think this will be sturdy enough? (I will be taking the height down to the right height...) Will I need to fix it to the wall just to be safe?

Thanks again!

 

[Tolak]

Sturdy enough? No doubt! With a younger child who is prone to climbing I would attach it to the wall, better safe than sorry.

 

[dave1987]

yes i would secure it to the wall that way you dont have to worry at all about it falling over

 

[drewry]

cos uv got kids ICEEGRL

id secure it to the wall to be on the safeside
all you,ll need is to do is to bolt it to the wall at the top as if it was to fall it would come top first

 

[ICEEGRL]

I took it apart and got the legs cut down. I have only gotten it partly put back together though. My son, Luke, got hurt.
He was bringing in a bucket of limestone he was washing for me, and he fell down the steps backward! He fell over a metal table and on a cast iron grill. The grates from the shelf below got him pretty good. I took him to the hospital to get checked out just to make sure he was ok. He is. They said that he will just be sore for a while. I was really glad to hear that! He is 17 and bigger than me, but he is still my baby boy. It really scared me. He has a lot of cuts and knots and bruises, but it could have been a lot worse. Especially considering the way he fell, and he hit his head really hard too. I was most worried about his back though. It took the hardest blows, and has the most damage.

I am going to try to get back on the stand this weekend. I really want to get it finished, and get the tanks set up. It is killing me that I have 3 empty tanks sitting here. It is like giving a child their favorite candy and then telling them that they can't eat any of it. It is cruel!

I don't think Shay would mess with the stand once it has tanks on it, but right now it looks like a play place to her. I am going to make sure it is strong enough to stay put if she does try to climb it. (just to be safe)

Thanks every one!

 

[drewry]

well im glad ure sons ok
and good luck with the project ICEEGRL

 

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks. I moved some tanks around today. I will be back on the stand in the morning. I hope to have it finished and ready to use by the weekend.

I am working really slow because I have so many things going at the same time, and I have Shay to keep up with. I am going to get it done though. I have hurt too many toes not to...

I have wood and stuff everywhere. You can't walk through the house without kicking something somewhere. I would really love to be able to clean the house and have it look like someone lives here instead of looking like a construction zone.

I will let you know when I finish it, or run into another problem.

 

[Tolak]

Your house sounds like my house atm. I have styros & coolers in the living room from the weekend's auction, a load of paperwork in the dining room from the club meeting on Friday, and my basement family room is destroyed, full of fishroom odds & ends, lumber, sawdust, and general garbage due to a friend & I building the mother of all tank racks earlier in the week.

Remember, destruction goes along with construction. If you aren't making some sort of mess when you are building something you really aren't building. I lost my dog in the basement twice this week, try not to lose any kids.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I didn't lose any kids, but I lost half of the kitchen, the diningroom, the livingroom, and about half of the bedroom! I have now recovered the diningroom and kitchen, but the livingroom looks like a storage unit that has been hit by a tornado. It has gotten so bad that it is a challenge to get from one end of the house to the other. So far no one has gotten hurt... if you don't count toes.

Tolak... I looked at that site you sent me to. Either I am worse with a pc than I thought or it is kind of hard. I tried to use it, but I couldn't figure out how. I did get a pic loaded on there, but then I couldn't find it. First I couldn't find a way to get it from there to here... then I just couldn't find the pic.

I will try to figure it out one day... if I ever get some free time.

I will let you know how the stand turns out...

Thanks for helping.

 

[madgap]

Sturdy enough? No doubt! With a younger child who is prone to climbing I would attach it to the wall, better safe than sorry.

Secure the child to the wall? What a fantastic idea.

 

[Tolak]

Sturdy enough? No doubt! With a younger child who is prone to climbing I would attach it to the wall, better safe than sorry.

Secure the child to the wall? What a fantastic idea.

That's what ductape is for!

 

[darkwolf29a]

Umm...Maybe it's me, but I keep getting a premissions error when I try to look at the pictures.

Is there something I'm doing wrong?

 

[ICEEGRL]

madgap & Tolak... Love the way you think!

darkwolf29a... I have no idea. Tolak set it up for me. Maybe he will come back and check it out.