Habitat - Indoor :: Homemade tank stands... In Progress - Status Updated 2/16/09

[MoreBloodWine]

If any of you reading this have made stands for your tanks vs buying one please post pics. Pics taken during setup / building are a plus if you have any of those, Thx.

I'm trying to work out a few things so when I have the money I need for Nikos bigger tank in about 6 months I'll be ready to go. I'm still contemplating wether or not I should build my own stand because I have a really nice idea I'm just curious to see if anyone else has built stands for thair tanks and what they look like. Please dont be afraid to make replies pic heavy

[Jimothy]

I bought my stand from the same place I bought my tank, felt like I was being ripped off at the time, though in hindsight I feel that time spent trying to build one would be more efficiently spent making money to buy one...

BTW, I bought from glasscages.com, and they deliver unfinished wood. Sanding, staining, and finishing has occupied so much of my time that I would have paid for that as well.

[MoreBloodWine]

Oh buyings not an issue I just have a great idea I wana try but that aside you can usually build a stand at half cost of what it takes to buy one.

[Jimothy]

Yes, and I have enjoyed building my water-dragon a cage because no good commercial application exists.

I just feel that if I can make more per hour than I am saving by doing it myself, then I am wasting labor and money.

How big a tank are you getting? I am near ready to set my 3 RES up in a 180g.
Best of luck, hope to see pics.

[MoreBloodWine]

When I get the money I'm looking at getting a 72x24x24 or 30 so thats somewhere between a 180 - 240g I believe.

[BullDog]

I've built two modified versions of this one:
http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/75g_stand/index.shtml

For 75 gal:





For 90 gal:

[MoreBloodWine]

Looks decent for an unfinished "bare bones" stand and what are those 2x2's and 2x4's ?

[BullDog]

All 6 legs are 4x4s, with 2x4s as a frame. What's good about it is if I ever am feeling ambitious, I can finish it with a skiff of nice looking wood and doors

[MoreBloodWine]

Wana build me one and I'll finish it *grins*

[MoreBloodWine]

I took another look at the pics and the way you did the legs was kinda like how I was planning on doin mine. Thing is the "side" leg cuts will be the easy part. Heck the whole stand should be easy. The only problem I forsee with me trying to make a stand is cutting the corner legs so you got only that 1x1 piece for the inside. Besides the corner leg issue the only other problem I'd have would be cutting the notches / holdes in the board that will become the floor panel to fit around the legs.

Aside from using 2x4's and 4x4's for the overall frame the rest (the body) I'd be making out of Oak.

Also, reallllly dumb question but what does a person mean when they say somethings made out of Oak stock. The keyword behind my question being stock.

[MoreBloodWine]

Welp, I'm done with my plans for the most part on my homemade 72x24x30 stand for the tank I wont be able to buy for about 6 months but hey planing early is a good thing, right

Anyway, I did some rough calculations on the frame work alone and it looks liek I can build the frame for about $25 with a good amount of scrap boards left over for part of another stand should I ever chose to make more. Probably take about $75 - $100 or so worth of oak to "finish" it off with sides and stuff so best I can tell. So as it looks I can probably make the whole thing for about $100 or so and that sure as hell beats the $400 price tag for a stand which includes shipping off of eBay... a stand I might add that has NO frame work and relies soley (sp?) on nothing but 3/4" solid oak. Now I'm not saying the guys stands are bad but even I wont / cant trust a stand with an expensive [---] tank if it has no "real" framework. Even if what I build turns out to be a POS I'd trust it alot more then soemthing bought online. Long story short retail or online I'm looking at saving $300+ by building my own stand for the 72x24 tank I wana buy Niko when I have the money.

The tank alone is gonna b e so friggin hude Niko wont know what to do with it all lol. My luck he will get scared with such a dramatic change that I'll have to keep a close eye on him/her til that "normal" routine comes back.

[megcornell]

I (well, my boyfriend) built the stand for my 55 gallon. It was based off the plans bulldog showed. I've only had it a few months, but I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's sturdy and much better quality than the premade stands I'd seen at petstores.
If you were going the purchase route, I'd go to a furniture maker and have him or her do it. My family has done that for a few big pieces like dressers, and the difference in quality from store-bought is amazing. Plus, if you can, it's always nice to give small businesses and craftsmen the business.

[MoreBloodWine]

Nah, I'm definately gonan make mine so I can try to customised it with more than just cabinet doors. I wana try to add a drawer or two on one side then have a cabinet type dooe thing in the middle with a shelf or two then the right side would be for the FX5, but since I'm tlakin about a 72x24 stand I'll have more room to customize it a bit more than what I've already said.

[untsmurf]

I'd like to see pics of the process, so keep us posted if you can.

[robind]

I built a stand for my 100 gallon. I used pressure treated 4x4s for the legs, 2x6 for the frame, and 3/4 plywood for the top. I also used 3/8 carriage bolts to bolt the frame to the legs and 5/16 lag screws for the frame. Here are some pictures:
http://beckiefd.members.sonic.net/turtles%20001.jpg
http://beckiefd.members.sonic.net/turtles%20002.jpg
http://beckiefd.members.sonic.net/turtles%20003.jpg
http://beckiefd.members.sonic.net/turtles%20004.jpg
http://beckiefd.members.sonic.net/turtles%20005.jpg