DIY Tank Stand -Douglas Fir S4S Mixed Grain Board ? Strong enough for 40 gal breeder

[Ariel S]

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.   

[lefty o]

built properly, it should be no problem. the key here is "mixed grain", you want straight grain in your wood, so pick through the pile for the ones where the grain isnt running all over the place.

[Ariel S]

2 hours ago, lefty o said:

built properly, it should be no problem. the key here is "mixed grain", you want straight grain in your wood, so pick through the pile for the ones where the grain isnt running all over the place.

Mostly, I just want a wooden stand that looks more sleek and cleaner than the average 2X4 from home depot. Any other wood suggestion?

[Larrimore]

I'm no engineer but surely it can't be worse than the stuff they use for aquarium stands sold at the big box stores.  It amazes me those things hold a 125 gallon aquarium but they seem to work.

[gardenman]

Could you build a tank stand out of 2X2's? Yes, but the challenge is in the construction. There's very little mass of wood to work with. Conventional construction techniques like lap joints, mortise and tenon joints, doweled joints, etc. are more difficult and less strong when dealing with smaller pieces of wood. Fasteners have less wood to get a grip on. Adhesives work okay, but once again with less surface area, there's less strength. One of the big concerns would be the stand wracking. If you bump into the end of a stand made entirely of 2X2's there's a very much higher risk of the whole thing collapsing. You could help counter that with a plywood back or cross bracing but that's complicating the construction more and requiring more materials. 

There's a company called Framingtech.com that makes aluminum stands using extruded aluminum. They're absurdly expensive ($547 for a 40 breeder size) but are sleeker and cleaner than a 2X4 stand. Imagitarium makes an all metal stand for 40 breeders that's currently $64 at Petco. When you're looking at 2X2X8's that are listed at $10.72 each and start adding up how many you'd need, that $64 starts to look pretty good.

If you absolutely must build one yourself and you want a sleek and cleaner looking stand that won't collapse and you're not the type to move the tank around, you could use the wall of the house to support the back of the tank by securely (very securely) mounting a 2X2 cleat to the wall of the house (definitely hit at least two studs) then use some 3/4" plywood (or something comparable) attached to the wall cleat extending out with a simple pair of legs under the front of the plywood to hold it up. You'd want the back of the tank as close to the wall cleat as possible and you'd want the legs to be nice and strong, but a wall supported tank could work. There's going to be a lot of shear stress on the fasteners used to secure the stand to the wall, so you'll want to avoid fasteners with low sheer strength (like drywall screws) and use something more like a lag bolt that's built for sheer loads. Joey, the King of DIY on YouTube mounted his 120 gallon tanks in a similar fashion.

[Larrimore]

Also, you may look at building a standard 2x4 stand and covering it with something to "dress it up".  I did that in my daughter's room.  I built a 2x4 stand then covered the 2x4s with faux barn wood.  Cost an extra $30 but it looks nice.  Not really "sleek" but nice.

[Ariel S]

4 hours ago, gardenman said:

Could you build a tank stand out of 2X2's? Yes, but the challenge is in the construction. There's very little mass of wood to work with. Conventional construction techniques like lap joints, mortise and tenon joints, doweled joints, etc. are more difficult and less strong when dealing with smaller pieces of wood. Fasteners have less wood to get a grip on. Adhesives work okay, but once again with less surface area, there's less strength. One of the big concerns would be the stand wracking. If you bump into the end of a stand made entirely of 2X2's there's a very much higher risk of the whole thing collapsing. You could help counter that with a plywood back or cross bracing but that's complicating the construction more and requiring more materials. 

There's a company called Framingtech.com that makes aluminum stands using extruded aluminum. They're absurdly expensive ($547 for a 40 breeder size) but are sleeker and cleaner than a 2X4 stand. Imagitarium makes an all metal stand for 40 breeders that's currently $64 at Petco. When you're looking at 2X2X8's that are listed at $10.72 each and start adding up how many you'd need, that $64 starts to look pretty good.

If you absolutely must build one yourself and you want a sleek and cleaner looking stand that won't collapse and you're not the type to move the tank around, you could use the wall of the house to support the back of the tank by securely (very securely) mounting a 2X2 cleat to the wall of the house (definitely hit at least two studs) then use some 3/4" plywood (or something comparable) attached to the wall cleat extending out with a simple pair of legs under the front of the plywood to hold it up. You'd want the back of the tank as close to the wall cleat as possible and you'd want the legs to be nice and strong, but a wall supported tank could work. There's going to be a lot of shear stress on the fasteners used to secure the stand to the wall, so you'll want to avoid fasteners with low sheer strength (like drywall screws) and use something more like a lag bolt that's built for sheer loads. Joey, the King of DIY on YouTube mounted his 120 gallon tanks in a similar fashion.

Wow! thanks for all of the information!!!! I wanted to stick with wood because all of my other stands are wood, but they are just thrown together hot messes honestly. Not pretty, are definitely sturdy. 

 

Thanks  so much for the input!

[Ariel S]

3 hours ago, Larrimore said:

Also, you may look at building a standard 2x4 stand and covering it with something to "dress it up".  I did that in my daughter's room.  I built a 2x4 stand then covered the 2x4s with faux barn wood.  Cost an extra $30 but it looks nice.  Not really "sleek" but nice.

I've not heard of faux barn wood. Local lumber or hardwood stores carry it?

[Larrimore]

1 hour ago, Ariel S said:

I've not heard of faux barn wood. Local lumber or hardwood stores carry it?

Something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weaber-Weaber-1-2-in-x-4-in-x-4-ft-Weathered-Hardwood-Board-8-Piece-27862/20707814.

You are just using it to "dress up the stand"...nothing structural.

[Ariel S]

28 minutes ago, Larrimore said:

Something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Weaber-Weaber-1-2-in-x-4-in-x-4-ft-Weathered-Hardwood-Board-8-Piece-27862/20707814.

You are just using it to "dress up the stand"...nothing structural.

Oh! I like that! Thank you