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DIY Double Stand - Design recommendation

Marz

Administrator
Staff member
Which one of these designs would you recommend for a double 20 G stand made from 2x4s? The first one at the top is definitely stronger but it's kinda an overkill for two 20 G. What do you think?

Stand_1.JPG

Stand_2.JPG
 
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jonclark96

Past CCA President
The older commercial stands were constructed with 2 boxes (like the light blue for the bottom tank on the 2nd drawing) with verticals attached on the sides with a single 3/8" bolt connecting the box to the vertical. I have one in my fish room that I purchased somewhere around 1990 that still works just fine. I have several DIY stands that I made for 10G tanks that are connected with 4 screws instead of the bolt, and I have not had any issue. Remember, for a failure to occur at that joint, the screw/bolt would have to shear (unless they weren't screwed into one of the wood members and pulled out).

I don't have the time to search the forum, but when Chriscoli moved a couple of years ago, she sold some of her old DIY stands. I bought one that holds three 4 foot tanks. on this stand, the verticals were notched to receive the horizontals that the tank sits on length wise. The joint takes the shear out, as the wood is resting on wood. There probably is a thread where she sold them that has pictures. It is more work putting them together, as you need to make a cut out the size of a 2x4 in the "edge" of another 2x4, but it reduces lumber and cost. Maybe chriscoli chriscoli has easy access to the pictures or where she came up with the design.

Long story short, I think both of the above designs are overkill, especially for a 20 long.

One other thing to consider is the location of the verticals. On the bottom sketch, the tank needs to be slid in from the side. I build one of my stands for my 10s like this, as originally I was viewing the tank from the short end. Now that I've moved things around and have the tank oriented to view from the front, the verticals in front of the tank are a pain. You can't see in the tank, you can't remove the tank without moving the stand, and access to the tank is reduced. I would always put the verticals on the short side of the tank if you are going to view from the long side.
 

Marz

Administrator
Staff member
Jon, thank you! This makes so much sense. You know I was thinking buying an Edsal shelf but your comment convinced me to build my own :)

ical. I have one in my fish room that I purchased somewhere around 1990 that still works just fine.
Is it possible for you to take a photo from this stand when you get a chance? :)

You can't see in the tank, you can't remove the tank without moving the stand, and access to the tank is reduced.
I didn't think about this downside, I am building two of these and I was planning on placing them side by side, so will definitely be an issue in the future.
 

Marz

Administrator
Staff member
Hmm, this is very interesting. Thank you! :)
 
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chriscoli

Administrator
Here are some that I've made. I do my tanks either 2 or 3 high depending on what tanks are being used.

the first two is of a rack for 9, end-on 15s with before and after photos.

The third one shows another section of the fishroom where I was adding a rack that has top to bottom, 20L, 20L, 29. The rack that's full against the wall behind it has three 33L on the left and three 20L on the right.


IMG_3645.jpg IMG_3761.jpg IMG_3646.jpg
 

Marz

Administrator
Staff member
Very cool setup, inspiring too. I will definitely give this build a try. Thank you for the photos and the thorough details :)
 
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