DIY Stand for big 250G aquarium
July 17, 2010 - 10:18pm
I built my own stand for a normal 75 gallon aquarium long ago.
Decided to do the same for my 250 gallon upgrade.
Loads are a lot higher, so a bit trickier.
This thread should follow the process.
Tank will be 88L x 28W x 24H
Stand is a bit larger, since it supports insulation and such.
Stand is 90" L x 29" W x 29" H
That does end up with the aquarium being a bit lower than I would like, but I am constrained by the alcove it
goes in, and the shelving above that we want to keep.
Such is life. I was lucky to get approval from the boss (wife) at all.
Stand will be entirely wood. I am good at that, no idea how to weld.
Inner structure will be 3/4" ply top, 4 long stringers, and lots of legs.
One fun thing: I had a fair bit leftover from the 4x8 ply from the top.
I cut that up, glued it together for 1.5" thick center stringers.
Very strong and dimensionally stable.
Target was 3000 pounds, and less that 1/32 sag at any point.
Yes, I even looked up the flex of fir/redwood/etc to make sure.
Way over built, but that is me.
Here is the initial drawing.
From Aquarium_Release
July 17, 2010 - 10:29pm
#2
Here is the stand inner section basically complete.
You can see it has quite a few legs.
Centipedes rule!
From Aquarium_Release
July 17, 2010 - 10:32pm
#3
Here it is mostly painted, lying on the side.
It is brown in front, so that the white will not show around the doors.
Not really needed, but a bit of a perfectionist.
Well, not enough of a perfectionist to paint the whole thing brown though. 
Again, all of this is invisible, so strength, not aesthetics, are what matter.
Paint is really thick as well. Don't want any rot if there are leaks/humidity.
From Aquarium_Release
July 17, 2010 - 10:35pm
#4
Ok, now for the more fun VISIBLE stuff.
Stained red oak, bit of routing here and there, but nothing fancy.
I thought about fancy molding and such, but like it plain, and don't want to distract from the tank.
Here is the front face that will go on.
It does have the screws/brackets on it, but will not be fully installed until after the tank is in and plumbed.
A lot easier to access things.
From Aquarium_Release
July 17, 2010 - 10:37pm
#5
Here is one of the 6 doors.
These were a bit of a pain to make, but came out nice.
All oak, but a redder stain in the center, lighter on the outside to match the frame.
The picture came out weird though, that obvious line is not normally visible. Something to do with the
flash and the grain.
From Aquarium_Release
July 17, 2010 - 10:41pm
#6
Ok, now an admission : I did not do all of that today. 
Been fiddling with things for quite a few weeks now. Months even.
Between work, family, and summer vacations, never enough time for projects.
Current status:
It is almost done.
I need to paint the top of the base more, drill some big holes for the overflow drains, get it in
the house, and then epoxy-level it.
Hope to be done this week. Which probably means next month. 
July 17, 2010 - 10:44pm
#7
crazy work there..... it is better than the the professional stand i have,LOL
big props cant wait to see the finish product
July 17, 2010 - 10:48pm
#8
sweet!
Can't wait for the water!
July 17, 2010 - 10:51pm
#9
crazy work there..... it is better than the the professional stand i have,LOL
big props cant wait to see the finish product
Thanks.
My goal was to be better than all the mass produced stands out there, but
no delusions that it will beat a serious craftsman.
On the other hand, it is STRONG, something that I really worry about, being only a couple of
miles from the Hayward fault.
July 18, 2010 - 12:38am
#10
That's a "beefy" stand !
Here is the top structure.
Upside down on the workbench.
You can see the various supports.
The wood from Lowes was JUNK, but better than Home Depot.
Actually, it looked OK until I put a big straight edge against it. Off by 1/8". Too much.
The solution: I actually trimmed all of the main supports.
Clamped that straight edge to the board, and ran the saw along it, cutting off about 1/4".
Worked great. Accurate to 1/64" Very happy with that.
Well, one slight oops, but a bit of filler... nobody will know.
It has a couple of the legs on as well.
Fun note: That funky purple light is the LEDs from my Turf Scrubber.
-Mark
Who says duct tape cannot be used as a frag mount?