Oromis Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 (edited) Well as the title says I managed to score a 4 ft tank of my neighbor for $30. It came with a really crappy stand that doesn't run its full length (about 15cm of tank hang off each side, and the stands not quite what I like.. So i've decided that its should be easy as to build a quick easy stand with some studs, screws and a bit of glue. Just a quick picture of that stand I got with it. One weird thing that I've never seen before in a tank is that the bottom is two pieces of glass joined exactly halfway along the length of the tank with silicon, its water tight and seems strong enough, just unsure as to how it would go. I don't know if I should be concerned about it. Here is a picture to illustrate. Should I be concerned about this? I figure I'm going to run a brace right under the join to try and keep it from blowing out because it wasn't supported. My main question for you all is with regards to building my stand. For supporting the tank should I run two lengths of stud glued together along the front and back of the tank? Or is a single stud strong enough to take the weight? By the way the tanks volume is about 280-300L depending on how full it is. I was also thinking of doing the legs with two studs glued together each. Is that overkill? Or completely reasonable? Edited June 13, 2013 by Oromis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrin Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'd play it safe and make sure the length was fully supported, especially once you have 300 litres of water in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 I'd play it safe and make sure the length was fully supported, especially once you have 300 litres of water in there. For the seam in the middle, or for the front and back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrin Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 The seam at least. But it couldn't hurt to do the front and the back as well. I'd prefer peace of mind over a flooded living room. For the sake of price, MDF when treated correctly is great for stands and a lot cheaper, as long as you keep it pretty low to the ground. It's also more readily available in longer measures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Do you mean mdf sheeting?n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyandlissa Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 (edited) I've seen the whole seam thing several times in the past. Usually it is due to a previous cracked bottom. Chop off the broken half and just replace with a smaller piece of glass rather than a full sheet type deal to cut cost. If you are going to place a brace over the seam I would suggest putting it on the inside of the tank (not quite clear on if you meant under the tank or not) and making sure you line the top of the stand with a piece of MDF or such for the foam and tank (essential in this case I would say just to distribute the weight better and more evenly). Stand-wise I like the basic top and bottom rectangles with corner and middle legs all made from 2x4s best. Place the middle legs where the seam is to add support where it is needed most. Structurally sound, distributes the weight evenly and easy to knock together. Throw some sheeting around the outside and on the bottom rectangle (and on the top rectangle in the case of this tank especially), a couple of doors on the front, give it a coat of paint/stain/varnish or just leave it a simple stand. It's easy enough to whack on longer legs to gain height for a sump/canister filter/equipment, fit powerboards into, etc, etc as desired. Edited June 14, 2013 by anthonyandlissa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidwife Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 i'd reckon dismantle tank, throw base and replace with new 10mm glass, a 4x2x2 is not a huge tank but if it seperates due to old silicone also. a 4x2x2 volume of water over your floor is not much fun also. a rebuild then you have piece of mind that theres nothing to worry about.. then you dont have to worry about doing this by taking short cuts :beer:mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 hehe sell it on dumbtree for $100 then come back here and buy a better tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Yeah I was looking at doing a rebuild but due to being somewhat broke at the moment I was going to leave it for later and just build a good solid stand for it. Especially seeing as for the foreseeable future the tank will be running in the shed as a grow out tank for my partners betta breading efforts. So if the bottom does bugger out there won't be much if any water damage. In future we want use it as a good display tank but then I would absolutely be rebuilding it! Also wheres a good place to get good prices of glass for tanks? Preferably on the north side. For the stand I was looking at just standard structural pine studs (7cm x 3.5cm) with two bits for each leg, two bits for along the front and back, single bits for each end and another single right under the seam. With a piece of ply or mdf cut to size on top to give a nice flat base for the tank. As per anthonyandlissa 's idea I'm now thinking of around the base of the stand putting a single length of stud all the way around the bottom to keep the legs straight and more rigid. My idea was to build the bare strong frame and then again later when we decided to use it for a display tank I would make some doors and panels to make it look nicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 hehe sell it on dumbtree for $100 then come back here and buy a better tank +Not a bad idea at all, If I can clean it up well I'll definitely think about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidwife Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 (edited) +Not a bad idea at all, If I can clean it up well I'll definitely think about it! is a good idea, but just remember if you sell it and it leaks........................... a nightmare for you.... mike Edited June 17, 2013 by cichlidwife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrin Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Yeah, I was talking about MDF sheeting. It's sturdy as long as you consider the structural integrity. And painting it with a sealing paint. It will hold as long as you treat it correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Yeah, I'm not too keen on selling it and having everything to bad for them. So I'm not going to sell it. I haven't looked at mdf yet but I was given 3 3m lengths of 90x45mm structural pine on the week end so I figure if I use that to build the top I've got a really solid base for the tank and then I just need to look at doing the legs. I've never worked with mdf so I wouldn't know how to use it properly to get decent strength out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted June 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 Just in case people are interested I have finished the stand. Thank you everybody who commented and helped me design it. Overall the stand cost me $21 to make as I had enough wood to build the top already and I managed to pickup a very large plywood pallet for free for the top and bottom. So all I needed to buy was timber to do the legs and base. 4 x 3m lengths of structural 70x35 from Bunnings at 5.25 ea, not too bad in the end. Here a few pictures of the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidwife Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 looks pretty god dam solid to me mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vasalissa Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 I like it. Good job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Recently I found Sketch Up and Decided I would try it out and try to design a nice finish for the stand. Heres what I came up with. I went to masters to get a basic price to think about it with. Then did a rough calculation assuming the length of timber i would need without saw loss, and assuming they would all perfectly fit to each length etc to give a minimum price (unachievable but an idea). Its only $208 bucks..... And I haven't even done a rim for the tank! Soooooooo, I think I'm going to want to find a cheaper way to do this.. At least half the cost as a maximum ahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasman Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Do you need the drawers? I reckon you could reduce the cost a bit fi you just had 2 swinging doors. Nice job on the stand too, very tidy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 It would only save about $25 or so. But I guess any saving is a saving. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 My other thought is to cheap on on the back and just do a sheet of ply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted August 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 I haven't really looked but is it possible to buy thin flat strips of pine? Maybe if they are much cheaper it would be more cost effective to use a sheet of ply and for the nice looks use thin (3-4mm strips) to look like dressed pine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
