Noob – DIY aquarium stand
As a beginning, amateur woodworker and aquarist, I am interested in building stands for my aquariums (different sizes). Given the potential for disaster and the shear mass (10lbs/gallon), I have been reluctant to even attempt it. I’ve found two alternatives – internet DIY plans or pet stores stands. The DIY plans are so bulky and unsightly, they are more fit for garage shelving and are extremely heavy (see here); the pet store option uses melamine/MDF (very scary given necessary joint/shear strength and compressive loads). <!—-><!—-><!—->
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I was looking for insight (or a reference) for the strength of different types of materials (solid hard and softwoods, plywood, MDF) for differing thicknesses? I think that the height of the aquarium stand would affect the strength as well, correct? Also, what would be the best joinery to use? Ideally, I was hoping for a computer program/website/general principles where I could input my estimated dimensions and would spit back the required materials/joinery. My preferred materials are veneer plywood and hardwood & biscuit joints.<!—-> <!—->
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I realize that this is a number of questions simultaneously, but I would like a relatively easy project, straightforward joinery that can withstand the pressures associated with an aquarium (a 75 gallon aquarium weighs 750 pounds or more and is 48 x 18 x 20 – see here). If this requires further correspondence, I would be open to further elaboration.
Thanks much.
Replies
I just finished building an aquarium stand/cabinet. We are beginners, so opted for a 29 gallon freshwater set up. We have just added the fish (black tetras; zebra danios, and swordtails). to break thngs in.
As for the stand, I used 8/4 maple with mortise and tenon joints for legs and stretchers - also for the top - baltic birch ply recesses in rabbets and screwed into place for the back and bottom maple with cherry panels for the doors. Beteen the M&Ts and the plywood, not to mention some glue blocks here and there, you could park a tank on this thing.
Any hard woods will do fine, but oak - maple - and teak are some of the stronger choices.
I'll take some pics if I can this weekend and post within a few days I hop for what they may be worth.
At a time when Mel et al. (Al et Mel?) are crowing over winning the verbosity stakes with a mere 400 posts on a single subject, it seems appropriate for someone to trump them with an ID of what used to be the longest word in the English language. Still is the longest real word. Congratulations!
I learned to spell it at age eight with eyes closed as an alternative to tasting Miss Ballantyne's leather strap. Eyes were closed in case you had the foresight to write it on your wrist before testing -- or anywhere else long enough to take all those letters. I knew it would come in handy one day, just didn't think it would take 60 years. My only regret is that this new-fangled reply button doesn't allow me to display my prowess now.
Cheers, Jim
Jim you hittin' the Rum again?At a time when Mel et al. (Al et Mel?) are crowing over winning the verbosity stakes with a mere 400 posts on a single subject, it seems appropriate for someone to trump them with an ID of what used to be the longest word in the English language. Still is the longest real word. Congratulations!I learned to spell it at age eight with eyes closed as an alternative to tasting Miss Ballantyne's leather strap. Eyes were closed in case you had the foresight to write it on your wrist before testing -- or anywhere else long enough to take all those letters. I knew it would come in handy one day, just didn't think it would take 60 years. My only regret is that this new-fangled reply button doesn't allow me to display my prowess now. Cheers, JimWe talkin' about fish tanks in here! LOL.. Good belly laugh today!
Edited 10/21/2007 10:48 am by WillGeorge
"with an ID of what used to be the longest word in the English language. Still is the longest real word." Half of that is Latin, though.Go to this site- What constitutes being a 'real word'?What about 'pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis'?
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
If you take all of the Latin elements out of the English language there isn't much left. None of these elements in "antidisestablishmentarianism" has been considered foreign to English for centuries, and they're used in a conventional and well-accepted way. English is a mongrel language at best in any case. It started as an invasive Anglo-saxon variation of germanic, added native British elements as required to fill deficiencies, was partly usurped by Norman French, then French. The Irish scribes responsible for maintaining the written word in the A-S period were priests well versed in Latin, and the centuries-long Roman occupation of Britain had itself left Latin traces in placenames. There's no such thing as pure English.
It's hard to believe now, but antidisestablishmentarianism was a hot topic in 19th century England, when the Church of England was in the throes of great change. The word would not have been on everyone's lips, but you would have heard it in gentlemen's clubs, and you can bet the archbishop got his cassock in a twist over it in Lambeth palace. It's a "real" word in the sense that it was used seriously in conversation, and described something new for which a term had to be coined. It would have been difficult to describe the concept in a shorter word.
To me, the newer longer words have the stink of the Guinness Book of World Records about them. Let's see if we can create a really long word just for the hell of it. And let it be on a scientific subject so that no-one can understand it enough to question it. For the purposes of explaining what you mean -- which is what language is for -- you would do better to replace the word with a phrase or sentence.
I'd better shut up. Can you tell I used to teach History of the English Language? Students used to call it HEL.
Jim
"If you take all of the Latin elements out of the English language there isn't much left."Well, there's some Greek, Germanic, Old Norse, Celtic and others, but who's counting?"There's no such thing as pure English."For that matter, there are very few pure languages, anywhere. I did some genealogical research and found that one ancestor fought against King Canute, during Danelaw. After I found that, I looked further and read some of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which was very similar to the readings in Monty Python's 'Holy Grail' and Jabberwocky', where the sentences are incredibly long and bizarre sounding, to modern ears.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Yeah, one of the Monty Python crew --?Graham Chapman? -- is a medievalist who regularly raids old texts for material. That classic scene where the guy's legs are cut off at the knees and he keeps fighting is straight from "Morte d'Arthur" and one of the Icelandic sagas. I was going to say no joke like an old joke, but I think the originals were probably quite serious. The writings are so po-faced you can't really tell what the writer thought, though.
Jim
Loved your post! I majored in English (you could not tell that from my posts in here) or my spelling.English is a mongrel language at best in any case.. As I remember it was a 'Traders' language.. Sort of like the posts in Knots. For the purposes of explaining what you mean -- which is what language is for -- you would do better to replace the word with a phrase or sentence.. We do that a lot in here!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_word_in_EnglishA good read if you are into this sort of thing.
It's about time everyone realised that Scots is the international language. Nobody ever has trouble understanding it. Especially when it's accompanied by forceful gestures.
You'd think that English would be THE trading language, given the amount of trade carried on, but there's a theory that Portuguese was the mother of all creole languages, and a form of it was used by slave traders. Not that any country had a monopoly of that filthy trade. And there was a trader's language based on Provencale used in the Mediterranean for centuries until about a hundred years ago.
Like, ah, enough already, and stuff.
Jim
I'm sure you can do better,, However I once had a 150? gallon salt water tank I made a stand for.
It was big and heavy looking but you can do things to hide that 'look'..
The legs can be a bit thinner than a 4X4 but the BASE is the most important thing.. (As in a long term twist in the tank will lead to the glass seal leaking) AS IN if the base remains level even if it stands on three legs! Torsion box type top and whatever that will hold the weight below.
If I had it to do over again (I do not have he patience for fish upkeep anymore) I would look at using a Slate or Granite top with a big base.. Stone looks good on a big base!
Pics as promised FWIW:
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561128505frgCzs
Great looking stand!!! What are the specs (aquarium and stand) - wood type, joinery, etc. That's fairly close to what I'd like to build.
Here are some details of the joinery and construction, for what they may be worth. I'm happy to answer any other questions. Have fun!
A simple chair could be made using only 1/8th hickory dowels- the important consideration is the racking- which is why diagonal bracing is important on any job where the load approaches 750 lbs and up for a 75 gallon tank.
Use straight clear timber and brace appropriately, or wrap a steel frame with wood.Expert since 10 am.
the important consideration is the racking- which is why diagonal bracing is important
I agree both that racking is important and diagonal braces are key to prevent it in heavier applications.
FYI to the OP: On my 29 gallon tank stand, which of course is much lighter than a 75 gallon one, I too took racking into account. While I didn't use diagonal braces, I essentailly accomplished the same sorts of bracing in two ways: (1) the plywood and (2) glue blocks. The 3/4" thick plywood bottom screwed (from below) to the maple stretchers as well as the 3/8th ply screwed to the stretchers and legs from the back locks the members in place as well as any diagonal. I also glued (and screwed) blocks to reinforce the corners from the inside. The top itself prevents some racking as does the middle member separating the doors. In short, my stand won't rack even if I push it across the floor with the full aquarium on it.
FWIW, here's a crappy flash shot of some of the buttons attaching the top - also note the two glue blocks in the corners:
Thanks for the thread. I may reconsider my design and do something more like what you did. Of course it's up to the son, I am only the contractor and laborer.
You're entering a brave new world when you get into aquariums, reef tanks, etc. The strength and stability of the stand is critical, and you can easily get into floor loading issues. The tank, stand, water, and all of the equipment can create a point load situation that the floor may not be designed to carry.
A couple of years ago, I did a kitchen for a guy who had a 500 gallon reef tank. IIRC, he said that it cost him ~$30,000 and that about 1/3 of that was spent to reinforce his floor.
A few months after that, I was asked to evaluate an aquarium stand/cabinet being built by a company going into the aquarium business. Their woodworking skills were marginal and their understanding of structural issues was essentially nonexistent. I don't know if they took my advice, but I recommended hiring a licensed structural engineer to design 2-3 stands made from steel which would cover the range of aquariums/reef tanks they planned to sell. Let the steel stand handle the loads and use wood to make a pretty "shell". I also advised them to add contract language informing the customer that floor loading issues were the customers responsibility.
Good points. From your reply, my question then becomes at what point (weight) does wood become obsolete from a structural standpoint?? Right now, I'm thinking anywhere from 16gal to 75-100gal tanks. I certainly agree/understand the idea of utilizing steel structure and making it "bootiful" with wood.
Somewhere in my dreams, I had thought of having a 1000+gal aquarium in my home, but that was going to reside on a raised concrete slab in the basement!! At that point, no more DIY for me ;)
Thanks for your responses.
"...what point (weight) does wood become obsolete from a structural standpoint??" Lots of wooden bridges out there.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
.....at what point (weight) does wood become obsolete from a structural standpoint??
The shortest and most accurate answer is..............."It depends". - lol
A few factors are:
What species of wood?
What kind of joinery?
What are the dynamic loads?
What are the static loads?
Personally, I would get fairly cautious at any tank over 100 gal. Water weighs ~8.3 lbs/gal so you're dealing with 830 lbs - just for the water. Add in the empty weight of the tank itself, and some sand, rocks, coral, etc. If they're in the same cabinet, don't forget the weight of a pump, filter, filter media, piping, and valves. Suddenly you're closing in on ~1000 lbs total dead weight.
As a referent, how many people would you let sit on a basic pedestal-style office desk? Five people at 180 lbs each is 900 lbs. Office desks are pretty sturdy, but I wouldn't trust one to hold five people in perpetuity. - lol
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