# piranha aquarium stand



## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

i just bought some 2x4's and i am about to start building my stand.

just thought i would let u guys know. i will post some pics of the frame









(im not sure if this belongs under this topic, but as it refers to my piranha tank i thought id put it here)

sorry if it is the wrong forum


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## Outie (Feb 19, 2003)

Sounds good, hope it looks nice once your done.


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

good luck!

jesus was a carpenter


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

you will be moved to equiptment soon.
anyway once built you will have to get some pics up i am planning on building a new stand and hood for my new tank soon and have plans but also want ideas.
dixon


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

DiXoN said:


> you will be moved to equiptment soon.


:nod:

Good luck with the stand and let us know how it goes. Get some pics up when you can. People are always wanting to know good plans for DIY stands.

~Dj


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

here are the pics as promised...

this fist pic is just of the boards after i cut them down to the sizes.

going from top to bottom

*1* are (8) 17inch boards used to connect all the edges

*2* are (6) 28inch boards used as the vertical boards holding up the stand

*3* are (4) 75inch boards used for the horizontal boards running across the stand


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

this is a pic of just the top part of the frame


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

and heres the bottom of the frame


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

and now the finshed frame with the top and bottom connected with the 28 inch "legs"


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

side view


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## Mr.P (Jul 14, 2003)

How big of a tank is that going to hold?


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

150g


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## Mr.P (Jul 14, 2003)

Cool beans.


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

you should have used sheer pressure instead. the weight has to travel through the screws now. USE BIG BOLTS. and is that wood dry yet?


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

it was never wet.....


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## ralphinnj (Mar 2, 2003)

I agree with EMJAY. The tank will basically have its weight on the outer rail, wich is only held by the nails/screews. If it gives, even a little, the vertical studs remaining will start to apply pressure locally onto the bottom of your tank. Eventually, it will crack the bottom of the tank. You could throw some 2x4's vertically between the lower and upper long vertical studs to add some compression strength. I would say 3 on the front and 3 on the back. Make sure they are a nice tight fit. They will bear the weight. Compressions strength is huge, you won't have any problems if you add the 6 members.

RL


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

ralphinnj said:


> I agree with EMJAY. The tank will basically have its weight on the outer rail, wich is only held by the nails/screews. If it gives, even a little, the vertical studs remaining will start to apply pressure locally onto the bottom of your tank. Eventually, it will crack the bottom of the tank. You could throw some 2x4's vertically between the lower and upper long vertical studs to add some compression strength. I would say 3 on the front and 3 on the back. Make sure they are a nice tight fit. They will bear the weight. Compressions strength is huge, you won't have any problems if you add the 6 members.
> 
> RL


 after reading emjays post i went and looked at the frame to see what i could add to it.

i decided against trying to add thick bolts in boards and i decided that i could just add some more 2x4's between the top and bottom.

i have even already measured it to see if i had enough wood for this task and i do. i am going to do that tomorrow









that way the only way my stand would collapse is if the weight was *SOOOOO* much that it could crush a 21inch 2x4 vertically. which is not going to happen.

good thinking ralphinnj....great minds think alike, but i thought of it first







lol


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

good thing i didn't catch you too late.

and yes wood is wet. if you dont know what dry wood is think about that dry crispy stuff in the fire. now think if you threw some scrap 2x4's in...
i dont know how to really explain it, but i do know that when wood is dry it has warped and given as much as it can, where when it's wet it can still twist or warp bend or break. i would prefer using dry wood as i know its the more practicul way. but not everyone can wait or find dry wood or has a kiln they can throw it in for a few years.

dry wood is usually a lot older.


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

oh. post pics of your improvement, and if your not certain then dont glue and screw any of it yet and let us peak at it.

oh btw, you are using glue and screws? or at LEAST screws, right?

**and make sure you throw a piece of MDF or plywood over the top, treat it like an acrilic stand. it will help keep everything flush or not exagerated.


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## LaZy (Jun 17, 2003)

Nice...


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

good luck with the stand

cant wait to see the finished project


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

i did not use any glue, but only screws.

i am going to build this stand basically just like i built the other stand & put some plywood over the top of it for sure.

i got the wood at lowes today, but i dont think that the wood will warp or bend because it is tightly screwed into place with no room for bending.


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

Death in # said:


> good luck with the stand
> 
> cant wait to see the finished project


 thanks









building your own stand is definetly the way to go in my opinion. it can be a little bit of work, but u save a sh*t load of money.

i had to buy (8) 2x4's and it cost me exactly $18.32. not a bad price for a stand for a 150g aquarium.


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

> i had to buy (8) 2x4's and it cost me exactly $18.32. not a bad price for a stand for a 150g aquarium.


not at all


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## thomisdead (Mar 31, 2003)

What kind of veneere(sp?) are you gonna put on it? You're not just gonna leave it as 2x4's are you?


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

thomisdead said:


> What kind of veneere(sp?) are you gonna put on it? You're not just gonna leave it as 2x4's are you?


 no way!!!









i still havent decided if i want to stain it and then polyurethane it (like my fist stand) or do something else to it.

i kind of like the black stands, but i am not sure how to achieve that. i will have to do some reasearch on the matter and see if it is a possible scenario.

oh ya...and i had to buy some screws for $4.87 so that's a total of $23.19.

im still making out like a bandit though









and thomisdead, here is my first stand that i built...


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## thoroughbred (Mar 14, 2003)

EMJAY said:


> you should have used sheer pressure instead. the weight has to travel through the screws now. USE BIG BOLTS. and is that wood dry yet?


 ok i was never good at shop in highschool i dont get it it looks pretty good to me please help guys


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## thoroughbred (Mar 14, 2003)

hold up i think i get it because the way he built it the tank is on the edges putting weight straight on the screws instead of on a 2x4 directly under it which would put weight pressure on the 2x4 goin staright to the floor right?


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

thoroughbred said:


> hold up i think i get it because the way he built it the tank is on the edges putting weight straight on the screws instead of on a 2x4 directly under it which would put weight pressure on the 2x4 goin staright to the floor right?


 yeah..u got it.









i will do a little modification though and it will be good to go. i will post pics of the addition.


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

oh yeah...one of my buddies turn 21 tonight at midnight so i wont be doing the modification to my stand today....









im going to go start drinking right now..


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

well i added the 2x4's to the legs for more support...check it out.


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

...


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

much much better...


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

good job, now you have a nice sturdy stand. are you going to throw plywood on top?


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

EMJAY said:


> good job, now you have a nice sturdy stand. are you going to throw plywood on top?


 yes i am putting plywood on the top of it...as well as on all the sides.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

Should be able to park a school bus on that baby!


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

well i got busy today and did the rest of my stand...

here is a pic of the piece of wood for the front of the stand with the markings for where i was cutting the doors, but i later made them bigger...


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

closer view...


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

and everything all together...


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

side angle view..


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

and here is the back of the stand...

i decided not to put a back on this one (like i did my other one) just for convenience when it comes to plugging things in and running water hoses for wet/dry.


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## accr (Nov 27, 2002)

Nice stand you got there
















I dont know much about building tank stands.

But may I suggest maybe some crossbeams on the back? eg. 45 degree from bottom left to middle/top, then same for the other side?

And maybe the same for the horizontal plane below the plywood?

I bet it could help with some of the sheer pressures.

Just my $0.02.


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

there are 6 2x4's at each of the 6 legs that connect the bottom and top frame. they are very tight. i think that those 6 boards made the stand *very* strong. this tank wont weigh enough to crush those 6 boards & not to mention the other ones that were already there.

i posted the new mods i did ealier in the thread. thanks for you opinion though









plus...i am filling the tank right now


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

tank half full....


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

OMG!!!!

i hate when i do that


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

the only lights on is the lights in thw aquarium..they are bnright as hell!!!


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

aqua clear 200 series...


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

thats a nice stand and now that you have added the boards on the sides and front any worries about its strength should dissapear as that will make it really strong.
i will be doing something similar in a month or 2
dixon


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## Hehehe I just (Jul 13, 2003)

i guess its kinda late, but did you use carraige bolts? For that weight that would have been a good idea.


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## EMJAY (Feb 27, 2003)

you did a good job. 




























//out of//





































he doesn't need to use cross beams that go on a 45* angle here, becasue he used plywood on the sides. it wont allow and shiftment.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

total ownage


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## l2ob (May 22, 2004)

nice..

im thinking of building my own stand for my 75 im getting


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

l2ob said:


> nice..
> 
> im thinking of building my own stand for my 75 im getting


 if you do i did build my own stand as i advised in this thread you can find the article i wrote in the info section above.
dixon


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## DirtyJersey (Apr 28, 2004)

nice, what is going in there..?


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## phil me in (Jun 6, 2004)

tell us how it workes ouyt


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

Nice job dude


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

nice job dude


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## divine (Jan 3, 2005)

Great job. Your stand looks very stable.


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

that stand looks cool


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

This thread is from 2003! Talk about resurection!


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## richiecarw (Apr 6, 2005)

lol the guy probs doesnt even have it anymore









he did do a niec job tho!


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## Adam (Dec 23, 2004)

The plywood top did alot to disperse his pressure I highly doubt he could crack his tank. But more importantly it adds support in that the whole stand will now settle as one unit. Before the talk of the "wet" 2X4's each one will settle a little different or warp a little different but that plywood piece should help it stay as level as possible.

Also I recomend that you don't screw the center brace (vertical) to the sides of your cross beams but rather insert it inbetween that way it lends supoort all the way instead of creating a stress point based on however many screws. (Ie that top brace may "roll away" from the side where the brace is attached.

I'll "edit" and throw a pic up of what I mean.

The beam's on your outside could be replaced by a single beam in the actual middle of the tank that way the cross brace on the top skeleton is totally supported and dispercing weight along its entire length and not just at its screw points on the ends.

Just a cost saving tip, overbuilding is still better then underbuilding.







Jesus would be proud of the carpentry either way.


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## viZual (Jan 16, 2005)

i think i've seen the original stand you made and the pics you got from garf.org if i'm not mistaken. i wonder why garf.org posted that tutorial if it can cause stress points.. arent they supposed to be scientists over there?????

http://garf.org/tank/buildstand.asp

but i really like how you added the extra 2x4's to make it sturdier. good job. out of curiousity did you just screw the screws in to the 2x4's or drill a hole first and then screw? let me know. thanks.


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

nice dude thanks for the info


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