# aquarium stand plans



## robwood (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi I'm building a stand for a 50 litre aquarium so will weigh a little more than 50 kgs. not too heavy it's only a small aquarium.
I'm building the frame out of 38mm by 63mm stud timber, everything is going to bet glued and screwed together. can you guys look at my google sketchup plans I want to show you how i'm attaching my verticals to my frames. also the red verticals are smaller pieces of wood. do you think it will be strong enough?

the first pic is just to show you the basic frame, doesn't show joins


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## redman88 (Jan 16, 2013)

like colors are the same length.the upper reds and yellows and be wider depending on the length they are spanning. i did not come up with this system














































all with the same basic frame.


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## robwood (Jan 8, 2013)

yea that was my first plan but the see pic but the problem is that when i double up on the verticals like that it <1> looks way too over built, i should have gotten wood half it's size and <2 > takes too much room up into the cabinet. I know it would be alot easier doing it the other way but I think it will look better this way. just need to know if it would be strong enough


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Vertical members can be over estimated, as wood is not compressible in it's length (for an application like this). What is important is to create corners that don't move laterally. IOW, to keep the cabinet from racking side to side. The whole cabinet can be done with ¾" plywood, and be structurally robust as one with 2x4's.

Here is a basic plywood aquarium cabinet...
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## robwood (Jan 8, 2013)

hi, thanks for the advice. i've already gone and bought the timber now so can't use plywood, just trying to find a design that will work with the wood i've got. I won't actually be skimming the
cabinet with ply like you would usually see. If you look at the pic of the stand I'm actually going to be putting in cladding in between each gap of the verticals (apart from the front where a door will be placed)


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

robwood said:


> hi, thanks for the advice. i've already gone and bought the timber now so can't use plywood, just trying to find a design that will work with the wood i've got. I won't actually be skimming the
> cabinet with ply like you would usually see. If you look at the pic of the stand I'm actually going to be putting in cladding in between each gap of the verticals (apart from the front where a door will be placed)


The only problem I see is that dimensional construction lumber like 2x4's aren't that stable, and can crack and warp. I'm not saying that will happen, but you should be aware of potential problems. What would benefit your design would be to help prevent joint movement and racking by adding corner gussets *like this*, on the inside at the intersection of the the pieces.









 







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## redman88 (Jan 16, 2013)

using a pocket hole jig you could cut out the green boards total thier by not taking up any space inside the cabinet.


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## Fuddmaster (Jan 25, 2012)

Your plan looks fine to support that much weight for a small tank. I've built a few stands for tanks from 5.5 gallon to 120 gallons. I've used 2x4s to make the frame, coming from a carpentry background. That makes it easier I think. As long as the frame can hold the weight you should be able to design what it looks like around it. I've done oak plywood with trim. Cedar strips with doors. Kinda depend what you want after the frame is built.


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