Building your own stand - the right way!
One of the most overlooked pieces of critical equipment in a reef tank is the stand. It is impossible to have a tank without a base for it to sit on. Sure, you can go out and spend a couple hundred dollars on 4 legs and a top, but just how safe are these types of stands and will they last the lifetime of your tank? Why not spend less, sleep better at night, and have the satisfaction of knowing you built something and your tank is as stable as it can possibly be?
The first question is what do I use to build my stand? Wood or metal? Wood is much more forgiving in that you can work with it a lot easier. Probably will be heavier in the end, but in my opinion looks nicer. Metal is hard unless you have worked with metal a lot, but there is less materials in building it.
Think about how much weight is involved in an average reef system. We have 2 tanks, the display and the sump. We have sand and rock, a range of equipment such as heaters, chillers, skimmers, and all other electrical equipment. Then theres the WATER.
To calculate the weight of a system… use averages. But always work on the heavy side of that average, as this gives you greater margin for error, and you will know that the stand is built easily strong enough. For a 50 gallon display system, Weight would be something like this;
· 50 gal (approx. 200 litre) display tank, mine is 12 mm glass and weighs about 45KG.
· Sump tank (150L) 8mm glass, weighs about 25 KG.
· 350L of water (@ 1.026kg per litre ) weighs 359KG.
· Rock, I will have about 20-30KG in mine, but this may vary, is 30KG
· Equipment in sump (simmer, heaters, return pump, sand and rock) about 50KG
When this is all added, we have a figure of 482KG. That’s nearly HALF A TONNE. Yes, this is somewhat overestimated, but even at 400kg, that’s still a lot of weight to be playing with. Weight adds up quickly, and people don’t realize when an average size system is set up.
Yes, those four legs will hold the tank most probably. But think about the floor. Unless you are on a concrete slab that is A LOT of weight concentrated into those four points. With wooden floors this could easily break through over time. Key points of a well-designed cabinet include things like:
· Designed and built taking in account the weight of tank, water, sump tank, equipment, rock, etc.
· Spreading the weight EVENLY over a wider area. I can’t stress this enough as any serious low or high points Can and WILL crack tanks. Distributing the weight over a wider area on the floor also spreads the load, meaning less stress on the floor.
· Using the right type of timber for the application.
· Building to the right height. If people are sitting down to look at your tank, don’t build it 1200 high. Vice versa, unless you want to be looking down into it, don’t build a stand 400 high if it’s going where people will be standing to look at it.
· Electricals should be neat, high, and have drip loops. They should also be placed in the most ventilated area of the cabinet to stop humidity affecting them. Use the appropriate sized cable, and if you have no electrical experience, please DON’T attempt to wire it up yourself. If things are done wrong, Your stand can turn into a bunch of ash very quickly, as well as your house.
· When you have decided on a height, You can calculate what size uprights are needed. To be honest, I personally would use 4x2 regardless. Whats worse, spending $20 dollars extra on timber of having the tanks contents on the floor? Anything over about 600mm I would recommend a perpendicular upright (3x2) screwed into the other 4x2, has structural purpose as it creates much more lateral strength.
Guys let me know what you think... probably make 3 parts. Shorter? longer? feel free to throw pics in!
When people buy a stand, the norm is a couple hundred dollars. That’s well and good, but what are you getting? Basic top frame, four legs and maybe a hit of varnish. Where’s the nice clean cuts? Electricals? Lighting? What about if you wanted that top to be a different timber or thicker? You also wanted it enclosed. Buy the time you have change everything you are already hovering around 5-600 dollars. Should have built it yourself hey ;)
I am going to put up MY list of gear that I bought, but don’t be scared off. It is a fully enclosed, interior painted, outside stained cabinet. 13mm top and bottom, all electrical are ready to be plugged into the wall, just put your tank on and fill. Yes, I tend to over engineer things but I would rather something that never falls apart than skimp on materials and pay the ultimate price.
My list to date is something like this :
· 4.0 M of 4x2 structural pine.
· 6.0 M of 3x2 structural pine.
· 6.0 M of 50mm pine trim
· 55 X 316 grade 90 MM 8 guage SS screws.
· 25 X 70 MM Gal screws
· 25 X 70 MM Nails
· 1 X 1800x600x12mm glued pine
· 1 X 1200x600x12mm ply
· 1 x 1200x900x9mm ply
· 2 x 900x600x9mm ply
· 2 x individually switched 4 way power boards.
· 2 double gang power outlets
· 1 x twin 20W fluorescent light
· 1 x 1 lt tin white undercoat sealant
· 1 x 1 lt tin of ‘jarrah’ stain
This is a ready to put a tank on stand, that has power leads that plug into the wall. The overall cost for this project was around $ 280, but could have been done cheaper if I bought in bulk. This is still HALF of what you would pay for a typical stand.
The basic construction of a solid, reliable stand is quite simple. 2 identical ‘frames’ are constructed, like a wall frame is built. ALWAYS stand the wood up on its long side, as this gives the greatest structural strength.
[The easiest way to do this is decide what size the stand will be (ie a 1200x600mm base)
To cut the long side, cut 2 1200mm pieces. A drop saw is the best method as they can cut very cleanly and square when set up correctly. To cut the short side, you must subtract the thickness of the timber from your width. To screw, always us a pilot hole. A pilot hole takes out some timber so that there is not as much friction when the screw goes in, preventing a split. Make sure the drill that is drilling the pilot hole is smaller than the full thickness of the thread, i.e. if using a M4x1 screw, don’t use any bigger than a 3mm drill (example)
If you ae using 3x2, the typical thickness is 45mm.
The frame also needs braces. I recommend a brace, cut the same size as the end piece, and screwed in between the two long pieces every 400mm (if using 3x2 as a frame) This gives the frame much needed stegnth against twisting, and helps support/spread the load more evenly. Now that you have constructed these, you have your top and bottom.
Now that the frame is done, it is time to do the legs. As I mentioned earlier, It is advisable to use 4x2 as legs. When using single 4x2 as legs, use 2 screws per end and glue. G clamps are a godsend here. This gives extra strength when a force is applied from the side. 1 srew in the other direction (ie 1 in the skinny side and 2 in the long side) will help will lateral force also. When using a perpendicular brace, have the long face of the 3x2 screwed into the skinny face of the 4x2. This will help give maximum strength. When using the second brace, have it INSIDE the two fromes. This an take a lot of the load off the legs and screws that are providing strength lateraly.
1. indicates the main 4x2 upright. Notice that this stretches to the top inside of both the top and bottome frma (900mm high stnd = 900mm high upright. tank a few mm off so it doesnt stick up)
2. indicates how the second upright should be secured ( insideb oth frames, subtract thickness of widest face x 2 75x2 = 150, 900-150 = 750.) should be cut so that it is hard to push in.
Green lines indicate how screws should go in. Put as many as you want, but aim for a min 2 top 2 bottom 2 in the perpendicular brace.
Time to screw the top on. This isnt really too important how it goes on, as long as its secure. The weight of the tank will keep it flat. By now you should have something that resembles this
The last two parts covered the structural design and construction of the stand. Now that the base is sorted, it's time to decide on what you want your stand to look like!! Depending on your budget, this is where you can get creative and do whatever. This really has no effect on the strength of the stand anymore, if anything screwing a large piece of flat timber on will just make it more rigid which is a good thing.
The most accessible and affordable timber for almost any DIY project is good old pine or plywood. For my cladding, I used a good quality ply, front and sides. By quality I mean not too many knots, blemishes, just overall smooth finish. The top trim was constructed from pine skirting board, but you can use what ever you want. I think a nice dark wood on a light stand would look great, but depends on how much you are willing to spend. I have made mine to sit about 30mm above the top timber base so that it forms a lip. This has a few functional aesthetic purposes:
1. Forms a rim that the tank will sit in, not allowing the tank to move or skew in any way. ( not that it would with all that water! )
2. Allows the foam to sit flush inside the trim if you are using foam underneath your tank.
3. Covers the thickness of the foam, and the thickness of the glass base, so that all you see is the bottom of the viewing part of the tank.
4. Makes the tank look taller.
For the sides, the piece should be screwed just below level (i.e. 1mm below) of the top bench piece, and stretch to just off the floor. This is to make sure:
1. The tank doesn’t sit on the trim wood and risk the integrity of the tank.
2. The trim wood does not rest of the floor before the base does, rendering the base frame useless. You can get wood cut to size at your local timber yard/hardware shop.
The front is slightly harder. If you are intending on having doors or a door, then a hole needs to be cut to accommodate this. Additional uprights should be installed, if you wish to run hinges as this serves as a solid base to pivot off. Don’t scrimp on the screws that secure the hinges, unless you want doors falling off. This plywood should be cut to size so that it overlaps the front face of the side ply, but does not exceed past it. This can then be covered with a 90 degree trim wood like I have done. Unless you plan on viewing the stand from all sides, there is no need for a backing piece of trim wood. This also serves a functional purpose. Humidity and heat get trapped inside enclosed cabinets and cannot escape, often ruining wood and equipment. With no back on, the heat and humidity can escape freely. It also costs less as you are not paying for the wood.
Now that your stand is complete, It is time to do a couple of preparation work. I recommend painting the inside of the stand/cabinet so that the wood is not raw and soaking up any water, also if any water splashes it can be wiped off. Looks good, too. Decide on wether you will paint or stain your stand. Make holes for plumbing through to top/back with a hole saw, making sure it doesn’t interfere with the cross braces of the frame.
Work out how much of a load in electricity this tank will create. An average household electrical GPO circuit can carry 10 amps, that’s 2400W. Basic electrical, Wattage is voltage X current, i.e. 240V X 10 = 2400. If your tank exceeds this, talk to a licensed electrician about installing it's own circuit. An average tank will not pull near that amount of power, you are lucky to pull 400W. This means there is plenty of room for expansion or other equipment on the same circuit. It does not matter how many power points are on a circuit, as long as that 10 amps or 2400W isn’t exceeded. This means don’t use your vacuum in your aquarium PowerPoint!!!!! Work out how many pieces of equipment are going to be running and accommodate for that. Give some room for expansion as well. If you have 8 pieces of equipment, put 10-12 power points in. something as simple as 2 individually switched 4 way power boards will do this. That is not out of the question for anyone to attempt to install. A few points worth remembering with electricity near water:
· ALWAYS have a drip loop in your cables. This allows water to rip off and not run into your GPO.
· Keep all cabling as neat as possible. Will be much easier to manage and there is much less chance off catching a cable that is secured neatly than a mess of cords running everywhere.
· If possible, Use an RCD (residual Current Device). Overkill, maybe, as circuits have breakers at the board. But RCD’s are specifically designed to cut off before current reaches a critical level at which it is fatal to humans. These have saved many a life. Can be a bit pricey, but look what you have just spent on your tank!! would you rather $100 or to not be alive.
· Inspect cabling regularly for cuts, slices, deterioration etc.
· DON’T TOUCH POWERPOINTS WITH WET HANDS!!!
Building your own Aquarium stand – The right way!
One of the most overlooked pieces of critical equipment in a reef tank is the stand. It is impossible to have a tank without a base for it to sit on. Sure, you can go out and spend a couple hundred dollars on 4 legs and a top, but just how safe are these types of stands and will they last the lifetime of your tank? Why not spend less, sleep better at night, and have the satisfaction of knowing you built something and your tank is as stable as it can possibly be?
Theory behind a well designed stand/cabinet
The first question is what do I use to build my stand? Wood or metal? Wood is much more forgiving in that you can work with it a lot easier. Probably will be heavier in the end, but in my opinion looks nicer. Metal is hard unless you have worked with metal a lot, but there is less materials in building it.
Think about how much weight is involved in an average reef system. We have 2 tanks, the display and the sump. We have sand and rock, a range of equipment such as heaters, chillers, skimmers, and all other electrical equipment. Then theres the WATER.
To calculate the weight of a system… use averages. But always work on the heavy side of that average, as this gives you greater margin for error, and you will know that the stand is built easily strong enough. For a 50 gallon display system, Weight would be something like this;
· 50 gal (approx. 200 litre) display tank, mine is 12 mm glass and weighs about 45KG.
· Sump tank (150L) 8mm glass, weighs about 25 KG.
· 350L of water (@ 1.026kg per litre ) weighs 359KG.
· Rock, I will have about 20-30KG in mine, but this may vary, is 30KG
· Equipment in sump (simmer, heaters, return pump, sand and rock) about 50KG
When this is all added, we have a figure of 482KG. That’s nearly HALF A TONNE. Yes, this is somewhat overestimated, but even at 400kg, that’s still a lot of weight to be playing with. Weight adds up quickly, and people don’t realize when an average size system is set up.
Yes, those four legs will hold the tank most probably. But think about the floor. Unless you are on a concrete slab that is A LOT of weight concentrated into those four points. With wooden floors this could easily break through over time. Key points of a well-designed cabinet include things like:
· Designed and built taking in account the weight of tank, water, sump tank, equipment, rock, etc.
· Spreading the weight EVENLY over a wider area. I can’t stress this enough as any serious low or high points Can and WILL crack tanks. Distributing the weight over a wider area on the floor also spreads the load, meaning less stress on the floor.
· Using the right type of timber for the application.
· Building to the right height. If people are sitting down to look at your tank, don’t build it 1200 high. Vice versa, unless you want to be looking down into it, don’t build a stand 400 high if it’s going where people will be standing to look at it.
· Electricals should be neat, high, and have drip loops. They should also be placed in the most ventilated area of the cabinet to stop humidity affecting them. Use the appropriate sized cable, and if you have no electrical experience, please DON’T attempt to wire it up yourself. If things are done wrong, Your stand can turn into a bunch of ash very quickly, as well as your house.
· When you have decided on a height, You can calculate what size uprights are needed. To be honest, I personally would use 4x2 regardless. Whats worse, spending $20 dollars extra on timber of having the tanks contents on the floor? Anything over about 600mm I would recommend a perpendicular upright (3x2) screwed into the other 4x2, has structural purpose as it creates much more lateral strength.
Guys let me know what you think... probably make 3 parts. Shorter? longer? feel free to throw pics in!
Costs and expenses,
When people buy a stand, the norm is a couple hundred dollars. That’s well and good, but what are you getting? Basic top frame, four legs and maybe a hit of varnish. Where’s the nice clean cuts? Electricals? Lighting? What about if you wanted that top to be a different timber or thicker? You also wanted it enclosed. Buy the time you have change everything you are already hovering around 5-600 dollars. Should have built it yourself hey ;)
I am going to put up MY list of gear that I bought, but don’t be scared off. It is a fully enclosed, interior painted, outside stained cabinet. 13mm top and bottom, all electrical are ready to be plugged into the wall, just put your tank on and fill. Yes, I tend to over engineer things but I would rather something that never falls apart than skimp on materials and pay the ultimate price.
My list to date is something like this :
· 4.0 M of 4x2 structural pine.
· 6.0 M of 3x2 structural pine.
· 6.0 M of 50mm pine trim
· 55 X 316 grade 90 MM 8 guage SS screws.
· 25 X 70 MM Gal screws
· 25 X 70 MM Nails
· 1 X 1800x600x12mm glued pine
· 1 X 1200x600x12mm ply
· 1 x 1200x900x9mm ply
· 2 x 900x600x9mm ply
· 2 x individually switched 4 way power boards.
· 2 double gang power outlets
· 1 x twin 20W fluorescent light
· 1 x 1 lt tin white undercoat sealant
· 1 x 1 lt tin of ‘jarrah’ stain
This is a ready to put a tank on stand, that has power leads that plug into the wall. The overall cost for this project was around $ 280, but could have been done cheaper if I bought in bulk. This is still HALF of what you would pay for a typical stand.
CONSTRUCTION
The basic construction of a solid, reliable stand is quite simple. 2 identical ‘frames’ are constructed, like a wall frame is built. ALWAYS stand the wood up on its long side, as this gives the greatest structural strength.
[The easiest way to do this is decide what size the stand will be (ie a 1200x600mm base)
To cut the long side, cut 2 1200mm pieces. A drop saw is the best method as they can cut very cleanly and square when set up correctly. To cut the short side, you must subtract the thickness of the timber from your width. To screw, always us a pilot hole. A pilot hole takes out some timber so that there is not as much friction when the screw goes in, preventing a split. Make sure the drill that is drilling the pilot hole is smaller than the full thickness of the thread, i.e. if using a M4x1 screw, don’t use any bigger than a 3mm drill (example)
If you ae using 3x2, the typical thickness is 45mm.
45x2=90
600-90=510
Therefore the ends must be cut @ 510mm.
The frame also needs braces. I recommend a brace, cut the same size as the end piece, and screwed in between the two long pieces every 400mm (if using 3x2 as a frame) This gives the frame much needed stegnth against twisting, and helps support/spread the load more evenly. Now that you have constructed these, you have your top and bottom.
The uprights (legs)
Now that the frame is done, it is time to do the legs. As I mentioned earlier, It is advisable to use 4x2 as legs. When using single 4x2 as legs, use 2 screws per end and glue. G clamps are a godsend here. This gives extra strength when a force is applied from the side. 1 srew in the other direction (ie 1 in the skinny side and 2 in the long side) will help will lateral force also. When using a perpendicular brace, have the long face of the 3x2 screwed into the skinny face of the 4x2. This will help give maximum strength. When using the second brace, have it INSIDE the two fromes. This an take a lot of the load off the legs and screws that are providing strength lateraly.
1. indicates the main 4x2 upright. Notice that this stretches to the top inside of both the top and bottome frma (900mm high stnd = 900mm high upright. tank a few mm off so it doesnt stick up)
2. indicates how the second upright should be secured ( insideb oth frames, subtract thickness of widest face x 2 75x2 = 150, 900-150 = 750.) should be cut so that it is hard to push in.
Green lines indicate how screws should go in. Put as many as you want, but aim for a min 2 top 2 bottom 2 in the perpendicular brace.
Time to screw the top on. This isnt really too important how it goes on, as long as its secure. The weight of the tank will keep it flat. By now you should have something that resembles this
The last two parts covered the structural design and construction of the stand. Now that the base is sorted, it's time to decide on what you want your stand to look like!! Depending on your budget, this is where you can get creative and do whatever. This really has no effect on the strength of the stand anymore, if anything screwing a large piece of flat timber on will just make it more rigid which is a good thing.
The most accessible and affordable timber for almost any DIY project is good old pine or plywood. For my cladding, I used a good quality ply, front and sides. By quality I mean not too many knots, blemishes, just overall smooth finish. The top trim was constructed from pine skirting board, but you can use what ever you want. I think a nice dark wood on a light stand would look great, but depends on how much you are willing to spend. I have made mine to sit about 30mm above the top timber base so that it forms a lip. This has a few functional aesthetic purposes:
1. Forms a rim that the tank will sit in, not allowing the tank to move or skew in any way. ( not that it would with all that water! )
2. Allows the foam to sit flush inside the trim if you are using foam underneath your tank.
3. Covers the thickness of the foam, and the thickness of the glass base, so that all you see is the bottom of the viewing part of the tank.
4. Makes the tank look taller.
For the sides, the piece should be screwed just below level (i.e. 1mm below) of the top bench piece, and stretch to just off the floor. This is to make sure:
1. The tank doesn’t sit on the trim wood and risk the integrity of the tank.
2. The trim wood does not rest of the floor before the base does, rendering the base frame useless. You can get wood cut to size at your local timber yard/hardware shop.
The front is slightly harder. If you are intending on having doors or a door, then a hole needs to be cut to accommodate this. Additional uprights should be installed, if you wish to run hinges as this serves as a solid base to pivot off. Don’t scrimp on the screws that secure the hinges, unless you want doors falling off. This plywood should be cut to size so that it overlaps the front face of the side ply, but does not exceed past it. This can then be covered with a 90 degree trim wood like I have done. Unless you plan on viewing the stand from all sides, there is no need for a backing piece of trim wood. This also serves a functional purpose. Humidity and heat get trapped inside enclosed cabinets and cannot escape, often ruining wood and equipment. With no back on, the heat and humidity can escape freely. It also costs less as you are not paying for the wood.
ADDITIONS
Now that your stand is complete, It is time to do a couple of preparation work. I recommend painting the inside of the stand/cabinet so that the wood is not raw and soaking up any water, also if any water splashes it can be wiped off. Looks good, too. Decide on wether you will paint or stain your stand. Make holes for plumbing through to top/back with a hole saw, making sure it doesn’t interfere with the cross braces of the frame.
Work out how much of a load in electricity this tank will create. An average household electrical GPO circuit can carry 10 amps, that’s 2400W. Basic electrical, Wattage is voltage X current, i.e. 240V X 10 = 2400. If your tank exceeds this, talk to a licensed electrician about installing it's own circuit. An average tank will not pull near that amount of power, you are lucky to pull 400W. This means there is plenty of room for expansion or other equipment on the same circuit. It does not matter how many power points are on a circuit, as long as that 10 amps or 2400W isn’t exceeded. This means don’t use your vacuum in your aquarium PowerPoint!!!!! Work out how many pieces of equipment are going to be running and accommodate for that. Give some room for expansion as well. If you have 8 pieces of equipment, put 10-12 power points in. something as simple as 2 individually switched 4 way power boards will do this. That is not out of the question for anyone to attempt to install. A few points worth remembering with electricity near water:
· ALWAYS have a drip loop in your cables. This allows water to rip off and not run into your GPO.
· Keep all cabling as neat as possible. Will be much easier to manage and there is much less chance off catching a cable that is secured neatly than a mess of cords running everywhere.
· If possible, Use an RCD (residual Current Device). Overkill, maybe, as circuits have breakers at the board. But RCD’s are specifically designed to cut off before current reaches a critical level at which it is fatal to humans. These have saved many a life. Can be a bit pricey, but look what you have just spent on your tank!! would you rather $100 or to not be alive.
· Inspect cabling regularly for cuts, slices, deterioration etc.
· DON’T TOUCH POWERPOINTS WITH WET HANDS!!!
