Diy Tank Stand...wheels?

[Steve H.]

I am almost finished building a tank stand for my 46g bowfront. The stand will also hold my current 10g, but is meant to hold up to a 37g tank sometime in the future.

I am thinking I would like to put wheels on it. That way if I have to ever move it I can relatively easily.

Now the issue arises with the amount of weight that will be on this stand. About 800 pounds fully loaded.
The wheels I have seen rated to support this weight are huge, and pretty bulky. Also, I were to put them on they would raise the top of the stand to 40"...a little high, but not terrible.

I guess my question is has anyone put wheels on their stand?
Or
Does anyone know how the load is distributed?
Because there are more appropriate sized wheels, but they are rated for 300 pounds. My thinking is that with a wheel in all 4 corners each wheel is not bearing the full 800 pound load, but distributed over all 4??

 

[magical trevor]

Personally i think wheels wouldnt be a good idea.

If you imagine standing on one foot. Seems easy coz the weights well distubuted but it you where to stand on one of your toes. it wouldnt distubute the weight well. the bigger the footprint the better it will distubute the weight.

It wouldnt really distubute between the four wheels on eather corner it would probally bow in the middle and sink there for giving you an uneven surface on top causing the tank to split of crack.
To get it to work you need loads of wheels equally placed over the whole bottom of the stand to ideally spread the weight evenly between them all. Which I think might look rather silly. Maybe just find a good spot and leave it there you could always drain it if you really wanted to move it.


Nice Stand BTW

 

[Steve H.]

Thanks!
I agree...just wanted a way to access the back easily, or move it if I had too. And could not get the wheel idea out of my head.

It's going to be carrying so much weight I don't want to make it unstable...especially with 2 little kids running around.

If I ever need to move it I will throw some sliders under it.

Thanks for the insights.

If I ever

 

[Steve H.]

Coming along slowly. Trimmed and skinned

After skinning the frame it left the middle shelf only large enough to hold a 20gl long, but should still be fun.
Bright side of that is it reduced the weight load by 135lbs or so.

Thinking of maybe fabricating a steel carriage/dolly in a rectangle shape of the footprint, and attaching proper load bearing wheels to that. Than attach the carriage to the stand...
Just a thought.

 

[OldMan47]

Personally, I would leave off the wheels. If you are going to move the tank every week, wheels might make sense, but why subject your design to the need to support the stand on wheels when you might possibly derive a benefit from them every few years? A better use of your design time would be to minimize the materials needed while maintaining more than adequate strength in that stand. I have started to build all of my stands with nothing more substantial than a 1x6 board. It has resulted from my study of the true needs of a stand. It must support x weight and resist y sideways thrust. My conclusion is that a nice stiff stand can be easily created that meets all requirements with much smaller lumber than most people are comfortable using. I recently did a demonstration at my local fish club and sold my stand as a club donation after the presentation. People present were amazed at just how strong a stand can be using rather thin sections of wood. They literally were trying to break my stand by leaning on it while it was standing at an angle to the floor. It did not yield one bit. I would bet that it would hold up a small pickup truck when sitting on the floor in the position which was intended.

 

[Steve H.]

Sounds nice. I agree you can build a very sturdy stand with minimal lumber, and as I prodded my way through this project I gained a lot of ideas for future stands. In this build it was pretty important to me to actually make it look like a nice piece of furniture. This was to help appease the wife who does not really understand my obsession, and I can put it in any room of the house without having any difficulty with her. Plus, I'm a little ocd when it comes to visible dangling wires and equipment. It worked because she wants me to build another to use as a pantry.

I didn't realise until today that I won't have to access the back at all. Currently, every week my maintenance and w/c require me to move the chest of drawers that my tank is on from the wall to get at the surge protector to unplug the filter and such. But, I won't need to do that anymore.

 

[dannyboi91]

what wood have you used and any tips

 

[Steve H.]

what wood have you used and any tips

Framed it all with 2x2 pine, and then shelves and side and back panels 1/2" oak veneered plywood.
I felt it needed the side and back panels to keep the frame from shifting forward, back, or side to side.

I'm not a good enough carpenter to give you any practical easy tips....
But, I can tell you I just knew that wanted a higher stand that would hold 2 tanks and knew what I wanted it to look like. I then just searched the web....tons of info out there...and took an idea from this and that and there. Then just melded them together as I went along.

I didn't save much money. Spent about $10 less than if I had bought a stand for a 46gl bowfront, but it will hold 2 tanks, and its one of a kind

 

[OldMan47]

Danny, I do have a thread that you can reach from a link in my signature area. The link is called My Stand Build, if I remember right. It gives my thoughts on the whys for what I was doing so that the concepts can be used for any stand that you design.

 

[dannyboi91]

thanks have looked at it and with all the research i have done online aswell i think i have a rough idea lol

 

[Steve H.]

I figured I would post the nearly finished product just because I'm surpised and proud of how it's turning out.

Wheel-less....

Fill the nail holes and a couple of coats of poly, and maybe the wife will let me move my operation into the house.

 

[OldMan47]

That is a real beauty in my opinion. I never worry over much about final appearance so mine never look that good. Well done.

 

[dannyboi91]

looks really good. there a lot of diy tank stands i have seen but are usually very basic and not made to look good but u have made a cracker there mate. well done i wish i had the talent to do this lol

 

[Aquamaniac]

wow. Thats professional job mate. I've seen a lot of DIY stands,some basic some really good.
Your's really looks good. If you did not tell me it's a DIY i would think it was bought from some store.
Really well done. I wish i had the skills to something like that it would save lots of money everytime i get a new tank.

 

[ian_m]

I made/modified a solid wood kiddies changing unit (years ago, youngest is now 10), and to enable that to be moved on a carpetted floor I got hold of some self adhesive telfon sheet. Cut into strips and stuck in underside surface.

Worked wonderful to enable the unit to be slid away from the wall.