What I'm building

[Samper]

Ok, this is rough because I am just getting started this weekend.

I am building an aquarium stand first for a 75 g. The height is yet to be determined but the length will be 56" and the width will be 22"

For the legs I am using 4 4X4s which might be a little overkill since I want to minimize weight.

The bottom compartment for the sump:
I am going to make the floor out of 3/4" plywood braced with 2X4s.
The sides will be standard 1/4" plywood on hinges so I can open it up any way I want. I figure the height of this compartment from the ground to the floor will be around 4 inches. The height of the compartment itself will be 36".

The display compartment"
Floor will be the same 3/4 inch plywood braced like crazy underneath and around all borders with 2x4s. There will be no walls on this compartment. The reason I went with the extra width and length is because sometimes I like to put stuff beside my display as little reminders for myself of things I need to do.
The height of this compartment will be 31" to allow for Halides hung above.

Refug compartment. I am going to put a 20g fuge above this entire setup. I don't know how I am going to do this because when I move to halides I want to be able to raise and lower them. Maybe if I made the compartment much smaller than the length and width of the entire stand to allow for some pullys on either side this would work. The two ends of the fug will be coated in something that will block heat that way if I need to run the halides half way up the 20g I can. This smaller compartment will also allow for my kalk drip system to hang.

The 75 I am picking up this weekend is drilled with one overflow. Before I set it all up I might add another one. For the sump I am going to go with a 30g or a 55g. Return pump will be a mag 7 or 9 running all the way up to the fug. The fuge will be gravity fed through a 1" bulkhead back to the main. The skimmer is only 24" high so I should have plenty of room under there to work.


I know there are plenty of things that I haven't thought of so please rip this apart in any way you feel is necessary. I'm gonna borrow a digital camera from someone and post my trials and tribulations.

[Meric]

2X4's will be plenty strong. My entire 125 sits on (6) 2X4's without a problem.
4X4's are so heavy and hard to work with, when I was thinking about building my tank stand with them I went up to the hardware store to try picking a couple of them up. Each 4X4X8 weighed about 40lbs and my tank stand would have needed I think 8 of them. Which would have been 320Lbs for just the stand, without the plywood finish and the doors and all the extras. No way was I going to be able to move that thing around. As it is my stand with 2X4's weighs about 100lbs and is very solid, I think the statement "your could park a bus on it" has been used several times

With the Width and length being so much extra, your tank will end up resting on the cross braces instead of the actual stand sides. This means that if you are securing your braces with 2 screws, then those screws are what is actually holding the entire weight of your tank. Generally speaking the tank should rest directly on the stand sides and not the braces.

Given the fact that your Fuge will be above your tank, and your stand will be at least 36", lights will be between 10 and 12 inches off the tank, 20 Gallon Fuge is another 12" high, add a few inches of working room and adjustability room your are at 7.5 feet or so from your return pump to the return outlet.

Mag 5 @ 7 Feet head is 120GPH
Mag 7 @ 7 Feet head is 350GPH

This doesn't take into account for horizontal travel which will reduce it a little more. A Mag 7 may or may not be enough for you. I don't think a Mag 5 will be enough.

I do not know if it is possible with your current setup, but could you put the fuge above and to the side of the tank so you can still get to the lights on the tank?

[Samper]

Ok thanks for the info, you inspired a few more questions on my part.

You don't think I should add the extra length on the sides correct?
Also, is your sump sitting basically on the floor? I was a little concerned with the 4 inch height off the ground but I was gonna use it to hide any cords that I needed to tuck under there.

For your legs did you double up any of the 2x4s?

Did you use any plywood at all under the display? And if you did how did you space your braces? And did you make cross shaped braces or simple 2x4s going across?

If you have an idea how I would incorporate a fuge sort of off to the side but above the main I'm open to suggestions. I wouldnt want to put it on the outside of any of the legs due to the added stress it would put on that side of the stand.

As for the pumps where did you find your info? For the wattage and gph that I've seen on the mag 7 and 9 the 7 seems like more bang for the buck. Travelling up 4 or more feet however I might have to go with the 9.

[Sueet]

Just a little note...... First of all, your return pump should not be returning directly to the fuge... or at least not all of it, you want the flow thru the fuge to be slow, otherwise it will just wash all the beneficial creatures right into your tank like a huge tidal wave, and then you'll just have an algae garden up there... So you will want to at least split that return, with a small line going to the fuge, or better yet, a small pump to take the water directly from the tank or the overflow up to the fuge, since you WANT the fish waste etc. to get to the fuge, that's what the lil things eat! So you don't want to send pristine skimmed water up there if you can help it.
My only suggestion on the placement of the fuge is to put a shelf on the wall off to the side of the tank? Or is this not an option? I don't see any other way to offset it without adding extra weight to only one side of the stand.

On the subject of space on the side for reminder items, how 'bout just put a small shelf on the side to hold your bits and pieces? Most items you use for the tank are very small/weightless, so I don't see that being a problem for the balance.

On the subject of your stand in general ..... Are you sure you want to build something that big and bulky? 4x4's are DEFINITELY too big! 2x4's are wayyyyyy strong, believe me! But I don't even mean that, I mean... that tall, and ultimately, that difficult to move without taking it apart... That seems like alot of work to me! And on top of that once you put it together/take it apart a few times, it's going to start getting rickety, unless you use new holes each time... either way, it will be weaker each time because of the extra holes.

Good Luck!

[Samper]

so no plywood and all 2x4s or should I still use the plywood as a base for the tank?

For a small pump system from the main to the fuge what would you recommend?

[Meric]

I used plywood inside my tank stand so the sump wouldn't sit directly on the floor see this link: http://www.reefland.com/gallery/data...0Standback.jpgand this one: http://www.reefland.com/gallery/data...dFinished1.jpg

I didn't double up on any 2X4's but I used (2) legs in each corner. Like I said my stand is way strong. I used cross members on the top and bottom of the stand. The ones on the bottom are directly below the ones from the top.

I'm not saying you can't put your stand on the cross members, but just make sure they are secured. I would use plywood on the top for sure if you rest the tank on the cross memebers.

I have attached a picture of someone else's design for a Stand and a Fuge above the tank. Take a look at it and you'll see what I mean by putting the fuge to the side, but above the tank. This is a stand build for a 225 tank, but you can see what the thought process is. Look at the tower to the right, the opening at the very top is designed to hold the fuge.

[Samper]

I like that design a lot. I could use the section underneath the fuge as a cabinet or something to hide wires, hoses, storage of supplies etc. Thanks a lot for all your help guys.

[Samper]

I started my stand and cabinet today. My girlfriends grandpa and uncle helped meand it's about half way finished. I"m beat so I'll be heading to bed but tomorrow evening will post some pics and dimensions for ya. Overall cost of the build was $120.00. We put 900 lbs of concrete bags on it plus 2 people. It's sturdy.

[Samper]

This is so far what I have built. It's far from finished but I'm taking my time and doing it right. Have spent $120.00 for everything but the molding which I have yet to find some that I really like. Anyway there it is.

[Samper]

If someone can tell me how to actually put a pic in the post I'd be glad to know.

[Poseidon]

If someone can tell me how to actually put a pic in the post I'd be glad to know.

Yup it is easy...

just put [img] then your link (no space's) then [/img]

That's it...

Nice looking stand too!!!

Mine is only 4 4x4's for vertical and a 4x4 frame that sits on top of them, then the tank sits on the frame... No cross braces, no center braces either. So I have a 6 foot span across the back... 4x4's sure are STRONG!!!!

[Sueet]

Very nice work so far Samper, I can't wait to see it finished

[Samper]

Awesome here are a few more.




I built the refug/cabinet and the display as two seperate pieces for the convenience of moving them if and when it comes time, when it all gets set up they will be bolted together with 4 8" bolts.

as you can see i tried the img thing and it didn't work..........hmmm any thoughts?

[Sueet]

Awesome here are a few more.
[img]http://www.reefland.com/gallery/show...cat=500&page=1[/img]

[img]http://www.reefland.com/gallery/show...cat=500&page=1[/img]

I built the refug/cabinet and the display as two seperate pieces for the convenience of moving them if and when it comes time, when it all gets set up they will be bolted together with 4 8" bolts.

lol, that won't be moving (without assistance) anytime soon! We used 8" lag bolts when we built our kids' swingset 15 years ago... When we moved out of the house 4 years ago, it was still standing...

Very nice work, Bravo!

[Samper]

I'm excited, all in all it will take me about half a year to get everything I need. As soon as I get moved I'll get my rocks ordered as well as my euro reef skimmer. I'll cure it all and during that time worry about getting my lights and calcium reactor.
My mag 9.5 was ordered today and a buddy is selling me his RO/DI for cheap.
I already got a 30 gallon for a sump but I might throw a larger rubbermaid under there for more water.

[Samper]

Thanks guys for the nice comments.
As it progresses I'll get some more pics up, also one of myself if anyone is curious.

[Sueet]

Thanks guys for the nice comments.
As it progresses I'll get some more pics up, also one of myself if anyone is curious.

I am

[Samper]

Awww I knew you would be Barb!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sueet]

Awww I knew you would be Barb!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Poseidon]

Hmm....

Looks awesome, I wonder why it was not working for you, to put the pics in the post though...