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Hi, I was wondering if anyone knew a good way to support a 38 gallon (Length: 36.25 in Width: 12.625 in)preferably 3 feet off the ground? I've looked all over the internet and not really found anything that's a reasonable price and I like the features of. I'm open to DIY however considering I haven't built anything out of wood other than a few small structures made of popsicle sticks I'd prefer not to especially considering this would be holding 38 gallons of water. Thanks!

This project has been in the works for months and I'm so excited to share it with everyone! I've done a lot of research on stand building and my husband took a one-on-one class from a master furniture maker in the area. So hopefully between those two things, this stand will turn out looking decent. First things first--the plan. I used SketchUp to render the plan in 3D. This was *immensely* helpful and I highly recommend anyone do this who's thinking of building a stand. You can get a 30 day free trial, which is plenty of time to do what you need. Front view: Back view: (No don't worry it won't be these colors--I'll explain the colors later.) My goal was for this stand to hold a 75 gallon on top and some 10 gallons length-wise on the bottom (with room above them to do maintenance), have a storage cabinet big enough for a 5 gallon bucket, and a middle shelf for storage. I also wanted it to look vaguely like a piece of furniture. Here's a sketch-up with a 55 on top and two 10 gallons and one 5 gallon on the bottom. There will be a door on the cabinet eventually, but that's something I can add later. I followed the basic strategy that the King of DIY outlines in his youtube videos. The weight of the aquariums must be supported directly on the stand's legs. So each of the six legs has two parts--an outer, solid piece that directly supports the weight of the top, and inner pieces that stack around the middle shelf, directly supporting the weight of the top frame. The top and bottom shelf have a frame underneath (edges in pink) with joists (brown) running front-to-back. The different colors represent different sizes of wood. We (read: my husband) used our neighbor's planer to plane 2x4's down in order to get rid of the rounded edge. We're hoping it makes the piece look more legit. Fuchsia is 3.5" by 1.125" Green is 2.75" by 1.5" Brown is a regular 2x4 (3.5" by 1.5") White is flat board--3/4" thick on the shelves, and 1/4" thick on the sides of the cabinet One reason we planed 2x4s instead of buying nicer wood without the curved edges is that we already had a ton of 2x4s lying around. Plus wood is really expensive right now! So using what we had made sense in a lot of ways. Today was a beautiful day so I cut all the pieces I'll need. I've never done all my cuts before starting assembly before, and there's no way I would have done it without the SketchUp plans. But I cut the pieces for the frame and then realized I didn't have the right screws, so I decided to keep cutting while I had energy and everything was set up. My work station: My work buddies: (In the background you can see the project that led to us having a ton of 2x4s: the chicken coop!) Here's all the wood that's going to go into the stand. It's a lot. This thing is going to be soooooo heavy.

Just scored these from work boss said I could have them half the work and cost is done for me now to just add the legs and braces. Anyone build there own stands thinking have it four foot tall so gonna need 8 four foot pieces 2 at 5ft for long cross brace and 8 at like 12 inches for the with cross braces any tips pictures or advice is welcome. As this will be my first stand build

I am looking for recommendations for heavy duty steel racks for 20 gallon aquariums for my fish room. looking for it to hold 4-5 tanks on each rack. Thanks!

Hi, I was researching a new desk and was wondering if the weight of a fully planted 5.5 gallon would be too much for this this one from Ikea or something similar? https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/arkelstorp-desk-black-10354128/ If I could put my tank there would there be any weak areas that I should avoid putting anything heavy on? Thanks!

Good morning and Happy Mothers day Team, I just purchased a 65 gallon 36x18x24 and want to purchase a stand which can hold a 30 gallon breeder under it. Do you think if i split a muscle rack in half 72x36x18 is safe for a 65 and 30 gallon filled with water, fishes, rocks, wood and decor? I have linked a few places selling it below as reference. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Muscle-Rack-Silver-5-Tier-Boltless-Steel-Garage-Storage-Shelving-36-in-W-x-72-in-H-x-18-in-D-UR361872PB5P-SV/300097687 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Muscle-Rack-Black-36-W-x-18-D-x-72-H-Five-Shelf-Steel-Shelving-Unit-150-pound-capacity/35584046 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Muscle-Rack-Silver-Vein-36-W-x-18-D-x-72-H-5-Shelf-Steel-Shelving/54134491 Do you think 65 gallons which holds about 772 lbs with just water in it would be too much for a limit of 800lbs per shelf especially if I split it in half? I would appreciate any guidance and advice. Hopefully, someone has tried this before. 🙂 I am also open to any suggestions as well. Happy Mothers day again everyone!!!!

Just purchased a new acrylic Aquarium that is only 40 gallon. I do not know what type of stand is appropriate. I’ve checked with local pet stores and they said I could use one from Petco that is a metal frame. Wondering if anyone has knowledge of what I should be looking to purchase.Thanks in advance

Hi all. I'm very new to any woodworking, but I consider myself to be fairly handy, so I decided to try and make a DIY aquarium rack/stand as shown by King of DIY in this video: My rack will be designed for 20 gal aquariums. So I was all proud of myself because I went to the hardware store and rented a miter saw to cut my wood up (the guy at the cutting center looked like he was high as a kite- better for him not to be operating dangerous machinery.) I started putting things together last night, really proud of myself because I even used wood glue in addition to the screws. I managed to finish all three platforms. Well I realized today that I put it together wrong. When making the frames for the aquarium to sit on, I should have used a shorter piece (which, yes, I had already cut.) I just got so excited to put things together that I didn't double check the tutorial. Normally I would just unscrew the piece and then screw it into the correct piece. But isn't that going to be a problem since I used wood glue? Is wood glue water soluble? How much of a pain is it to take it apart, or should I just throw it out and start again with new wood? (I did make a mistake when cutting one of the pieces- not sure how, but it ended up too long.) I do not have easy access to any cutting tool- just a hand saw and miter box. My husband and I tried to cut some of the 2x4s that way and it was not a realistic way to make the cuts. Just too labor intensive. I haven't been able to find anyone I know who happens to have a good power tool to do the job, so I would have to rent the tool again. I'm certain I can't be the first person to make this mistake. Hoping someone out there with some woodworking experience can help me out!

I’ve built a couple aquarium stand for smaller tank and they’re currently on carpet but I’ve ran into this problem and what some insight. This is going to be a long post so saddle up. When constructing an aquarium stand how important is it that both the top and the bottom are level? I’ve heard that it would put and uneven amount of pressure on the tank and it could cause a break in the future. I’ve also heard a long as all four corners are supported it’s fine. I’m OCD when making things and it drove in insane that it was not level Next question, if it is important for it to be leveled how do you do it?! The most I’ve done is put plywood on top. Is there something I need to do when constructing it?

This is one side of my cabinet the other side has my cascade 1000 canister filter.

Hello All! Has anyone built a fish tank stand using Douglas Fir S4S Mixed Grain Board instead of 2x4's. Is it strong enough to hold a 40 gallon breeder (450 lbs w/ water) and 20 gallon (225 lbs w/ water) sump on the bottom? I've built stands with standard 2x4's but not the Douglas Fir Mixed grain boards.

So I'm trying to make a fish tank stand using the concrete block method. I've tried using 2 x 4's on it and I just cut these pieces of plywood out to see if they'll be true. I know that all 4 corners need to be touching so it doesn't twist but no matter what I do I can still fit stuff underneath it. I've watched Co-Op's and Joey's videos on building one and this specific issue is never brought up. Can someone please help me figure this out and in return I will send you my eternal gratitude?

Hi everyone, i made a cart system to be able roll auxiliary tanks in and out from underneath my display tank. Well last night the sump tank started leaking and i think it’s because the 2x4s lengthwise were 1/16 too tall compared to the sides. my question is - can i support the tanks only on the short ends? I noticed that the aquarium coop store is setup that way, but befoew i commit, I’d like to hear more opinions.

Hello Everyone, This might be a silly question... I have a shelving unit that I'm wanting to put two 5.5g aquariums on (side by side, on the same shelf). The shelving unit is metal, with a slotted surface. Is it necessary for me to put something underneath, like wood, so that the surface underneath is not broken up and is instead smooth? Or are the 5.5g tanks light enough to not be a concern? Thank you!

I am going to get my dream aquarium soon, a 50 gallon lowboy, where I can have several pieces of tall Mopani wood, and lots of emergent plant growth. I would like to invest in a stand that I can move around and level. I know it will take me a few tries to find the right location in a room. This would be on a concrete basement floor. I would appreciate any advice!

Hello fellow Nerm's i need advice on what boards to use for a 55G stand made with cinder blocks. 🐟

Well my next project i am slowly working on is slowly making some progress. Ill be updating things here from now on. Im vuilding a 29 gal setup and tonight I got the stand done. (Design courtesy of KGTropicals). Im not sure what kind of scape this one will have yet but I am determined to have some endlers in it (undecided which variant).