Building A Tank Stand

[faildeadly]

Okay....

Following on from my earlier thread about not being able to find a suitable stand for my tank, I've come to the conclusion the most economical thing is going to be to build one. It's only a 2ft length tank but is approx 36 cm wide (its this bit that is causing the problem).

Plans that I've seen online seem quite straight forward but what wood do you reckon I should use? Bigger tanks seem to use a 2x4 timber for the frame, but that seems a bit overkill on a 2ft tank. I was thinking 2x2 timber?

Any advice on this??

 

[DrRob]

It's all about bracing. Fish tanks are very top heavy, so if you knock them they need to not rock enough to let the weight move to start pressing on the side of any uprights. If that happens it's game over.

2x1 should be fine to take the weight of a 2 footer, just remember to stop it rocking in any direction.

The ones I make could probably hold a lump of lead of similar dimensions, but I have a small person at home and am paranoid.

 

[brian1]

HI FD, I would think 2x2 would be ok, just make sure the top section sits on the down sections, an example is a 16 gallon tank weighs about 11/12 stone, so that is about the average man standing on it.......

 

[faildeadly]

2x1 should be fine to take the weight of a 2 footer, just remember to stop it rocking in any direction.

Whats the easiest way to do this?

 

[ShinySideUp]

2x1 should be fine to take the weight of a 2 footer, just remember to stop it rocking in any direction.

Whats the easiest way to do this?

Integrated wooden panels or diagonal bracing, or both.

 

[OldMan47]

A tiny 24 inch long tank does not need any 2x4 lumber. I built a stand for a 5 foot long tank about 3 years ago using nothing more than 1x6 lumber. Even that was overkill but i wanted at least the 6 inch nominal to make draining the lower tank easier. Check out my stand thread that you can reach from my signature area. It gives some of my thoughts about why I did what I did. My hope is that it becomes more easily used because it gives reasons in place of simple dimensions.