• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

Panicking about aquarium stands any help? any builders?

S

SaltyNotSalty

Hello you can call me NotSalty, I am actually not a saltwater keeper, I am a freshwater keeper trying to find information on makeshift stands for tanks over 200gallons.... I've tried and all I find are stands 1,000$+ or the 500$ stands that look shoddy. I can't built stuff myself because of poor dexterity so I was wondering what my alternatives were?

I am having a small panic attack being overwhelmed by all of this. The tank is actually for my pet turtle that I've long yearned to upgrade and finally pressed the issue, and I tried asking in other venues only to get ignored each time I asked. I called every pet store I could think of in sussex, morris county and nearby counties- as well as went to pennsylvania.... I am up in sussex new jersey. I can't build for squat. I just want a basic stand like that joey guy made from King of DIY. I don't know where to look for something reasonably affordable. I already spent so much on everything else in the meantime.

Anywhere I can go to get a tank stand built for 500 or so? Or anything I can use that I could get for that much? I thought of using a workbench but wasnt sure if they will bend in the center or break. Please any suggestions?
 
The Gooch

The Gooch

NJRC Member
The aluminum T-slot stands are awesome but going to be more than $500 for a 200g tank. They would last you a lifetime. I have a few stands from FramingTech and they’re awesome. I know guys make their own aluminum stands cheaper from bulk T-slot material but that’s above my pay grade. Worth looking into. Search on R2R.
 
S

SaltyNotSalty

The Gooch said:
The aluminum T-slot stands are awesome but going to be more than $500 for a 200g tank. They would last you a lifetime. I have a few stands from FramingTech and they’re awesome. I know guys make their own aluminum stands cheaper from bulk T-slot material but that’s above my pay grade. Worth looking into. Search on R2R.
Click to expand...
the tslots are the ones that are 1k?
 
redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
You say you're not handy, so maybe have someone help....easy cuts. The least expensive stand would be the design of RocketEngineer.....made with dimensional lumber. I would suggest a top frame of 2x6's with the rest 2x4's. Also suggest topping it with 3/4 plywood. Here's the general plan.

1746279410640.png

Here is the frame only for my five foot tank

1746279475350.png

And here it is finished, with 3/8 plywood skin and an equipment cabinet to the left and topped with a canopy.

1746280123793.png
 
S

SaltyNotSalty

redfishbluefish said:
You say you're not handy, so maybe have someone help....easy cuts. The least expensive stand would be the design of RocketEngineer.....made with dimensional lumber. I would suggest a top frame of 2x6's with the rest 2x4's. Also suggest topping it with 3/4 plywood. Here's the general plan.

View attachment 58067

Here is the frame only for my five foot tank

View attachment 58068

And here it is finished, with 3/8 plywood skin and an equipment cabinet to the left and topped with a canopy.

View attachment 58069
Click to expand...
Dont you need support beems every 2 feet?
 
Nihil

Nihil

redfishbluefish said:
You say you're not handy, so maybe have someone help....easy cuts. The least expensive stand would be the design of RocketEngineer.....made with dimensional lumber. I would suggest a top frame of 2x6's with the rest 2x4's. Also suggest topping it with 3/4 plywood. Here's the general plan.
Click to expand...
Gonna chime on and say thanks. I've been having the same problem. Been looking around for some plans. Every stand I've seen for sale for smaller tanks seem sketchy.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
redfishbluefish said:
You say you're not handy, so maybe have someone help....easy cuts. The least expensive stand would be the design of RocketEngineer.....made with dimensional lumber. I would suggest a top frame of 2x6's with the rest 2x4's. Also suggest topping it with 3/4 plywood. Here's the general plan.

View attachment 58067

Here is the frame only for my five foot tank

View attachment 58068

And here it is finished, with 3/8 plywood skin and an equipment cabinet to the left and topped with a canopy.

View attachment 58069
Click to expand...
Model I used to build my stand.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
S

SaltyNotSalty

MadReefer said:
I have seen large tanks on steel frames. You're new on the site but a guy named Sunny had a 600g on a steel stand.
Click to expand...
Hey yes, I am new. Is there a way to make sure this will hold out? once the tank is set I dont want to move it. Im actually unable to do heavy lifting of any kind so Im having a company bring the tank from the store to my home and set it in place.

I have questions. I heard people talk about a self leveling mat to put under the tank to make sure its 100% even just in case. What is the best of the best I can use for that? how thick do i need? material? what brand? where do i look?

Is there anything that will prevent the stand/tank from falling forward? i know some stands are top heavy and sway a bit.... Is there an additional safety feature i can add just for ease of mind to prevent the stand collapsing under pressure? afraid me going under to pick up filter and now im splattered from that
 
diana a

diana a

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Only use a self leveling mat if your tank does not have a plastic frame around the bottom edgy. Leveling mat is not to help level a stand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top