DIY Aquarium stand for 75 gallon.

[Reefer27]

I am in the process of planning an aquarium stand to hold my 75 gallon marine setup. I want to keep it pretty simple, safe and sturdy. The problem I see is having enough room for a sump underneath. The footprint of the tank is the standard 75 gallon at 48 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 21 3/8. The main question is do I use 2x4's or 4x4's?

The problem I am finding is that I need room under the tank for a sump. There will not be ample room to slide the sump in through the sides unless it is undersized and I want at least a 29 gallon sump.

If I were to build without cross braces I could easily put the sump in through the front. Is it safe to build a stand without cross braces? I could put one on the back but for full access up front I would like to avoid one. Above all though, I need the stand to be secure and safe and the cross brace seems fairly critical to me but I am no engineer. I have attached a few plans and pictures for stands similar to what I am thinking.


DIY aquarium stand lots of photos - first ever woodworking project - DIY Aquarium Projects - Aquatic Plant Central

Reef Central Online Community - DIY Stands Template and Calculator

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Lucid]

Hey, I used (6) 2x4s for my 75g stand. One under each end corner and one in the center of each lengths. Then used 3/4" ply to "skin" it. You could opt to not permanently fix in the bottom shelf or bottom cross brace, then slip in a custom sized sump through the bottom (before putting the tank on the stand). Then screw in the bottom bracing and shelf.

[Reefer27]

thanks Lucid. I think I am going to try the stand design I saw at Reef Central. No centre brace needed. Very solid stand if I can do it correctly.

[Lucid]

Np, that isn't a bad design to start with. It might be a bit too beefy, but better to be safe than sorry! My first design was like that minus the green 2x4s and the front face and rear 2x4s were 2x2s.