Stand building any carpenters out there?

[Travis8896]

Ok I'm looking a 250gallon tank it is 5' long and 3'wide can anyone give me a estimate to build a stand for this? It doesn't have to be fancy just has to look decent and my mom can paint it.

[CoralBeauties]

do a search for diy fish tank stands.  The basic frame work is just made of 2/4 or maybe 2/6 in your case being such a big tank.  You then can cover it with 1/4 or 3/8 inch plywood and dress up the corners and upper and lower edges with trim you can get at lowes for trimming out doors and windows.  Then order some cabinet doors off the internet and install them in the front panel and you are set.
Jeff

[Travis8896]

Ok the only issue is my mom doesn't trust my building skills lol.

[CoralBeauties]

 when I built a stand a year or so back I used coated decking screws to build the frame with.  You dont want any salt issues causing the screws to rust and break.  You can get as fancy as you want with the trim.  That is what really dresses things up.
Jeff

[Ohioreefjr]

A tank that big would weigh in excess of one ton, or 2000 pounds. Therefore you would need an extremely sturdy stand. Therefore you will need to use 4x4's because 2x4 and 2x6 couldn't support the weight. They would be ok to put on too of the 4x4 to help distribute the weight, but your main wright bearing supports MUST be 4x4s. Other than that, outside boards are decoration more than anything else. I would suggest about 4 to 6 three foot 4x4s in the front and back, an a few on the sides. Also make sure your placement in the house will be able to bear the weight

[Travis8896]

Most likely the floor will be braced

[Viggen]

2x4 properly setup is all that's needed.  A friend in Columbus I am sure can make one for you but not a clue what he would charge.  Complete guess is $500-1000 area... Probably a few hundred in wood and numerous hours of work.

If you do not mind having a center brace on front and back then 2x4 would be fine.  If you do not want a center brace 2x6 is probably what should be done.  4x4 isn't needed.... However when he makes his stands (installs/services tanks and makes stands and filters for a living) he screws two 2x4 together at each corner and support legs so its pretty much a 4x4 but easier to cut properly vs notching out a 4x4 to fit the top and bottom stand frame.

If $500-1000 doesn't scare you away I can ask him......

[Travis8896]

500-1000 is little out of my price range lol

[ohioreef]

A tank that big would weigh in excess of one ton, or 2000 pounds. Therefore you would need an extremely sturdy stand. Therefore you will need to use 4x4's because 2x4 and 2x6 couldn't support the weight. They would be ok to put on too of the 4x4 to help distribute the weight, but your main wright bearing supports MUST be 4x4s. Other than that, outside boards are decoration more than anything else. I would suggest about 4 to 6 three foot 4x4s in the front and back, an a few on the sides. Also make sure your placement in the house will be able to bear the weight

I still think that's overkill, Jr!

[CoralBeauties]

I have to agree with viggen.  I just looked at my factory built stand for my 180 gallon tank and it is built with 1x4s.  I always had to wonder about that but I would assume the manufacture knows what they are doing when they built my stand.
Jeff

[Neogenesis]

Therefore you will need to use 4x4's because 2x4 and 2x6 couldn't support the weight. They would be ok to put on too of the 4x4 to help distribute the weight, but your main wright bearing supports MUST be 4x4s.

Actually I would disagree as 4x4's are not the preferred size here.  Yes they are big and can take a lot of load, however when buying them, they are rarely fully dry.  That process can and will warp and crack any wood of that size, even if it was built into a structure when it was straight. Not to mention they make your stand heavy as hell.  "Yes I've made that mistake"  A stand of 2x4's is more than sufficient if built correctly, and if you want overkill, replace certain 2x4's with 2x6's and it will be rock solid with no worries of failure.

[Viggen]

500-1000 is little out of my price range lol

If interested I can see if he has any pics of stand he has made in the past.  That way you can do it yourself....... And get a idea of what's involved.  Hardest thing is keeping the stand square....

Might have $200 plus in wood..... A dozen or so 2x4's and two sheets of plywood plus screws and glue.  If the sides are enclosed as well then probably another $100-200 in materials.  Then maybe 5-10 hours of work.....

[Neogenesis]

Here is a great example of how to properly build a stand.  Notice how the corners are built using 2x4's.

http://blog.aquanerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Frag-Tank-Stand-3.jpg

[Viggen]

Exactly.... The option is you can use a piece of plywood on the bottom and screw that in to the stand for support down there vs the 2x4 cross members.  Gives more room for sump and all that stuff..... Same can be done on the top of the stand depending on if its glass or acrylic

Also looks like they used 2x6 on the top/bottom and 2x4 everywhere else..... Probably not really needed due to the stand not being very long

You can see that two 2x4 at each corner sits between the top and bottom so pretty much 100% of the tanks weight is carried that way with a third 2x4 thats screwed to each corner connecting those 3 2x4's together. 

[Travis8896]

The sump will go in the basement and thanx everyone for the inputs been very helpful on ideas