How To Build A Rack To Hold 2 4x2x2 Tanks

[australia]

hey all.

im just wondering where i can get plans to build a rack to hold 2 4x2x2 tanks?

 

[Behold]

How are you mounting them? side my side?

If so look up how to make a puzzle joint for strengh and then build it using 4x4 working it on a 6 point stucture per tank with an MDF top (This will compress over any imperfections to give a flat base) then line with polystyrene.

O-----O------OO-----O------O
|........|.........||........|........|
|........|.........||........|........|
O-----O------OO-----O------O

..... are just fillers to make this look right.

The O = 4x4 uprights that should one peice.

The --- and | are the 4x4 cross members and should be puzzlejoined flush at the top and at lease mid to low down to stop flex. the top should be 2 peices of MDF the size of the tank.

If the lower struts are low enough you can MDF on top of them cutting out the corners for the upright struts. This should give a Very sturdy base with a lower shelf. then cover the outside with doors and panels to suit taste.

Finally make a easily removable lip around the top to cover the lower inch of tank to cover the polystyrene and the lower glass join. Done.

Hope that makes sense......

Antony

 

[australia]

okay thanks but i want to place the tanks on top of each other!

 

[andywg]

I think the problem wil be with getting some decent support on the top one. I would make the legs out of 4x4 and the bottom frame out of 2x4 with 6 legs supporting it as described above. For the top, as you will only have 4 lesg and a 4 foot span I woudl consider something like 6x2 or even 8x2 to make the cross supports.

Check out the GARF website for more details on DIY stand plans. I'm not knocking what Behold has said, but most people get away just fine with a simple 2x4 frame and 2x4 legs for up to 6x2x2 size with nothing more complicated than some 3.5" screws for the joints when making one tanks, however the sortof strength Behold mentions will almost certainly be necessary whn constructing the top part of teh stand.

Also, consider putting a sheet of plywood across the back and sides to improve stability.

 

[australia]

I think the problem wil be with getting some decent support on the top one. I would make the legs out of 4x4 and the bottom frame out of 2x4 with 6 legs supporting it as described above. For the top, as you will only have 4 lesg and a 4 foot span I woudl consider something like 6x2 or even 8x2 to make the cross supports.

Check out the GARF website for more details on DIY stand plans. I'm not knocking what Behold has said, but most people get away just fine with a simple 2x4 frame and 2x4 legs for up to 6x2x2 size with nothing more complicated than some 3.5" screws for the joints when making one tanks, however the sortof strength Behold mentions will almost certainly be necessary whn constructing the top part of teh stand.

Also, consider putting a sheet of plywood across the back and sides to improve stability.

ok can someone post some pics of there stands please?

 

[Behold]

As said 2x4 will be fine for one tank. if your running 2 tanks one above the other then you are going to build 2 stands that stand on top of each other.

First lower tank built on 4x4 on the lower but only 2x2 of each corner used to support the lower tank with the back middle only 2x and the full 4x4 on the front like so.

OO------OO------OO
OU........UU........UO
|............|...........|
|............|...........|
|..........OO..........|
OU.......OO........UO
OO----------------OO

I know this looks crud but give an idea.

Then using 2x2 on the 3 back and 2 front with 4x4 cross supports to give enough wood to puzzle join. this would be set like this.

Upper legs

O-------OO--------O
O.......................O
|.........................|
|.........................|
|.........................|
O........................O
O-------------------O

Top Upper cross supports

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OO.......................OO
OO.......................OO
OO.......................OO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I know this is not fully technical and you would need to work the joins as best as possible yourself as these pics are just to give the idea. strong side and back panels will be needed to stop wobble. better still adding a wall spacer that you can bolt too will stablise it.

 

[Tolak]

Some of this depends on your personal body size, and if you are willing to use a stepladder to do tank maintenance. Just for reference I'm 6', and 220#. I've found that you want 50% of the bottom tank's depth above the lower tank, you can cheat & shorten it by an inch. So for a 2' deep tank, 11" would be suitable.

The closest I have running is a 55 gallon, 48"x13"x22", below a pair of 20 gallons. Ignore the nosy dog;

Those are 2x4 construction, since there is a gap between the pair of 20's there is about 3/16" deflection on he top, due to there being no center leg. If I were to design it for a pair of 55's I would go with 2x6 construction. I also designed it so milk crates would fit under it for storage. Any time you have tanks that are too low, you have maintenance issues, it's tough to get a good siphon, that bottom tank is a good height compromise. The bottom tank also loads from the side, that covers a small part of the tank, but adds stability to a breeding rack that I practically climb on at times.

All you are doing is building a pair of frames out of 2x6's that is 3/4" larger than the base of the tank, this will center the edges on the 2x6's. Make sure these are square & level, I would add a cross member the 2' direction to increase stability & eliminate any twisting.

So, you want the base of the bottom tank about 14" minimum above the floor. 24" of tank, 11" of space, plus the 2x6, which is actually 5 1/2". Doing the math, this makes your legs 54.5", and the top of the top tank 78.5". Keep an eye on ceiling height, you do want that 11" gap above the top tank, so as long as you have 7'6" from floor to ceiling you are good to go. You could cheat a couple of inches off of the bottom, putting the bottom tank at 12", with 52.5" legs.

First build your two frames on a flat level surface, I like to use a pair of 3" deck screws on each. Think of where your legs will screw in, screwing a screw into another screw doesn't work. I do drill pilot holes for this.

I build them upside down, putting the top frame face down, and attaching the legs. Make sure the legs are square. I use three 3" deck screws for legs. Measure the distance for the bottom rack, I then use a couple of C clamps to clamp it in position, checking distance & squareness a few times. Once you are sure that the whole thing is square, and the two levels are parallel to each other attach the bottom level, once again, 3 screws per leg.

If you want a little more safety, lag bolt it to the wall, into a support member of the house. I would use a scrap of 2x6 to shim it away from the wall, take into consideration the gap needed for any hardware you will be running.

 

[flash22]

i built a stand for a 3ft using this site................

http/www.londonaquariasociety.com/bbs/to...asp?TOPIC_ID=83

mainly use 3x2 as it was a lot cheaper than 4x2. 4 legs made up of 2 3x2 so 3x4 legs 3x2 cross braces and stringers that took a rio 180 and a 125 underneath no problems

i have now cut it down so it takes my spare tanks down the shed (30" and a 24")