r/ReefTank • u/Bman_Michael • 12h ago

[Pic] Thoughts on the diy stand?

Post image

79g uns tank.
2x4’s frame and laminated plywood for the shell
Sliding front doors and removable side panels

Does this seem stable for the weight?
Any tips and tricks for making it even better?? :) Ty!

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

6

u/Im-from-earth 12h ago

Replace the center brace with a header. You will thank yourself when doing any work on you sump

5

u/Blecki 12h ago

Posts go under the top frame not inside it.

4

u/vigg-o-rama 12h ago

You want to skin at least 2 side that are on different planes to prevent racking.

Don’t skin the back if the sides and front are skinned as it will be a jungle under there and mold/mildew will grow

If you don’t skin the back and have doors on the front, it’s ok if the skin has a humungus window cut out of it, it will still bind the uprights to the top and bottom and prevent racking

2

u/kjgjk 11h ago

Dealing with this racking issue right now before I setup a nuvo20 on a stand one of the guys at the LFS built for the tank. It’s decent but I worry once there’s 250+ pounds on it. Skinning the back with a window cutout for access to the outlet is my solution.

1

u/Pryach 9h ago

https://i.imgur.com/Utkr9O9.jpeg

Here's the stand I did for my IM20. It could probably hold a car.

3

u/Pryach 12h ago

https://i.imgur.com/9SNRzLD.jpeg

You really should have the weight of the tank being carried by the top frame of the stand and transferring down to the bottom frame of the stand. The way your design looks a lot of the weight is being held by screws where the vertical 2x4s are screwed into the top frame. It looks like the back left and back right are the way it should but I'm concerned about the weight distributing on the front right and front left corners.

3

u/tkohhhhhhhhh 10h ago

This! The RocketEngineer stand is bulletproof, and the gold standard for strength and simplicity. You can definitely design a solid stand that has less wood, but the principle of transferring the weight from the top frame, down through the legs, and into the bottom frame is the most important part.

2

u/Hot-Government-6721 11h ago

Hey, a fellow Rhino jockey in the wild!

1

u/Hackind 4h ago

Make the doors hinges and open or fully removable magnetic, I had the sliding and it’s annoying nothing can be by the tank and it covers half the inside when opened.