Diy Stand Idea

[Big_eyes]

I need to make up a stand to hold a 6x1.5x2ft tank.

I've just thrown together a quick design in paint and thought I'd ask for opinions on wether you think it will be tough enough to hold the weight -

I know it looks all crumby and early learning centre'ish I thought the coulouring would help show the design correctly though.

There may be a few diagonal braces through the middle (front face to back)which I haven't decided if it will need yet. The whole thing though will be covered with sheets of some form of timber to create a solid block look.

Was thinking 3x2 for the frame

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

[OldMan47]

If that is 3 by 2 inches, it will be quite stout with a plywood skin on it. If it is 2 x 3cm, it will likely still be strong enough as long as all members are placed under compressive forces and you do not rely on fasteners to strengthen anything. You might want to look through my stand thread for some hints on how to optimize the strength of the materials you are using. There is a link to it in my signature area.

 

[bae1994]

can i ask why the diagonals it would be stronger if you had a few up rights rather than diagonals

as the would would be under compression where as the diagonal would have tendencies to bow/ and or split

 

[OldMan47]

You need diagonal bracing to keep the thing from collapsing by moving sideways. No matter how strong a bunch of straight line pieces are, there needs to be a triangle in each of the main directions. The way I like to get that is by using a sheet of material like plywood or particle board because the measurements needed to get a nice strong brace are not needed. As long as you have fasteners along the edges, the triangles are everywhere without using a stick at an angle for a brace. Even a wide board with a screw at each corner makes some thin triangles that may be strong enough if you are careful about how they are used. That is the way I braced my own tank stands.

 

[bae1994]

oh sorry i presumed they were using some sort of sheeting material for the the twisting strength id add some uprights in the gap were the diagonal is to add more compression strength

 

[Big_eyes]

oh sorry i presumed they were using some sort of sheeting material for the the twisting strength id add some uprights in the gap were the diagonal is to add more compression strength

I was planning on using both sheeting over the frame and diagonal braces.......I'm quite paranoid about things collapsing with having small children about.

Doesn't matter though now as the whole plan has been blown away and now won't be occuring.

Thanks for the info though, will probably still be helpful sometime in the future I hope...