# DIY 10 Gallon Stand $18.46 (With Pictures)



## AlphaMax (Jun 22, 2013)

Nice design, I'm doing the same model but with three 2x4s since I want it 40 in high


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

A little paint would make this look classy


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

I definitely plan on staining it so that it looks a bit more classy, Hopefully in the future i'll be able to ad some siding to it.


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

It's a matter of preference, and it is your stand, but unless you plan to use a dark stain or cover those 2x4's with some nicer wood, painting might be a better choice.


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## Psycofc1 (Feb 28, 2013)

Higher grade wood is always a good thing when doing a "raw wood" look too and they dont cost but a buck or 2 more.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That stand design should work well for a 10 gallon tank, but it isn't likely to work well for a 40 gallon tank. The tank/water weight is carried largely by the nails, in shear. When nails are loaded in shear, they tend to crush the wood fibers, loosening the joint and letting the part being loaded sag. That would then make 4 points on the front and back bottom trim of the tank support the whole tank. (on the tops of the legs.) Also, there is inadequate resistance to racking loads, side to side, unless a back is put on the stand. 

Big tanks need to have vertical support under all 4 corners of the tank, all the way from the tank to the floor.


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## Jitu613 (Apr 25, 2012)

Nice design.

Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Its a simple design and cost effective, but I'm worried about a small footprint and being a little top heavy. You might want to consider adding some straps to the wall like they do with tall furniture to keep it from falling over. It doesn't need to be a lot, just a little added security.


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## Rodneywt1180b (Jun 22, 2013)

I don't like saying anything discouraging and I am always happy to see someone take the time and effort to build something themselves as opposed to just buying something but Hoppy is right.
A 10 gallon tank seems small but there's 100lbs of water and glass on top of a relatively tall skinny stand there. Some sort of back or a cross brace would make the stand much more able to resist racking loads. 
Aquarium stands need to be able to withstand not only the straight down forces applied by the weight of the tank but any racking loads as well like if someone stumbles into the tank accidentally. There's a lot of weight along with glass there and safety is number one. Another thing to consider is earthquakes if you live in an area that's prone to them. A couple straps holding the stand to the framing of the house is cheap piece of mind-especially on larger tanks. 
Rodney


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

Hoppy said:


> That stand design should work well for a 10 gallon tank, but it isn't likely to work well for a 40 gallon tank. The tank/water weight is carried largely by the nails, in shear. When nails are loaded in shear, they tend to crush the wood fibers, loosening the joint and letting the part being loaded sag. That would then make 4 points on the front and back bottom trim of the tank support the whole tank. (on the tops of the legs.) Also, there is inadequate resistance to racking loads, side to side, unless a back is put on the stand.
> 
> Big tanks need to have vertical support under all 4 corners of the tank, all the way from the tank to the floor.


lol you do realize i built this for a 10 gallon tank right? and not a "big tank" or a 40 gallon like you're referring to. If i was going to build a stand for a 40 gallon I wouldn't use this design, I used this design because it's such a small tank. 




Jitu613 said:


> Nice design.
> 
> Sent from my GT-P3100 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


Thanks man




thelub said:


> Its a simple design and cost effective, but I'm worried about a small footprint and being a little top heavy. You might want to consider adding some straps to the wall like they do with tall furniture to keep it from falling over. It doesn't need to be a lot, just a little added security.


What do you mean worried about a small footprint? and it's really not that tall either. Maybe the picture just makes it seem that way


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

Rodneywt1180b said:


> I don't like saying anything discouraging and I am always happy to see someone take the time and effort to build something themselves as opposed to just buying something but Hoppy is right.
> A 10 gallon tank seems small but there's 100lbs of water and glass on top of a relatively tall skinny stand there. Some sort of back or a cross brace would make the stand much more able to resist racking loads.
> Aquarium stands need to be able to withstand not only the straight down forces applied by the weight of the tank but any racking loads as well like if someone stumbles into the tank accidentally. There's a lot of weight along with glass there and safety is number one. Another thing to consider is earthquakes if you live in an area that's prone to them. A couple straps holding the stand to the framing of the house is cheap piece of mind-especially on larger tanks.
> Rodney


Thanks but this was supposed to be a cost effective and simple/cheap design. I'm a student and have limited supplies and money and had to complete it in a matter of 1 day. I have no idea what you're talking about with "racking loads" but either way the tank is sturdy and even when i gently push on it there is no movement what so ever from the base or anywhere. I had a 160lbs of weight on it at one point with dumbbells and it was completely fine.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Yes, I knew it was for a 10 gallon tank, and I agree that it will work fine for that. But, I thought I read that someone wanted to use the design for a 40 gallon tank, which was what my comment was aimed at. Re-reading it, I see that I was wrong - he wanted a 40 inch high stand, not one for a 40 gallon tank. My mistake!


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

TorontoPlantMan said:


> What do you mean worried about a small footprint? and it's really not that tall either. Maybe the picture just makes it seem that way


Your bottom circumference is the same as your top. Add the extra weight of the tank on the top, it will have a high center of gravity making it more susceptible to tipping.


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## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

I'd say he's probably fine with tipping as long as the stand is on a hard surface like the tiles he has there. It looks taller than a standard 10g wooden stand. I wouldn't trust it on carpet.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Jesus Christ, this is a cool stand, I really wish the armchair engineers would shut up about the design.


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## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

xmas_one said:


> Jesus Christ, this is a cool stand, I really wish the armchair engineers would shut up about the design.


But...I'm an actual engineer 

I don't think anyone has a problem with the design. Clearly it works, but I think pointing out that it may be more top heavy than the traditional 10g wood stand is important in case someone tries to replicate this and ends up putting it on carpet or something.


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## morelight (Jun 2, 2013)

looks great. Just what you need. I'd like to build one. I have a 10 gallon tank just sitting here and i don't have a stand. Light, filter, substrate, pump everything but no stand. I would build one but they threw me out of shop class in HS.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Chronados said:


> But...I'm an actual engineer
> 
> I don't think anyone has a problem with the design. Clearly it works, but I think pointing out that it may be more top heavy than the traditional 10g wood stand is important in case someone tries to replicate this and ends up putting it on carpet or something.


Yeah, everyone's an engineer here... LOL.


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

Hoppy said:


> Yes, I knew it was for a 10 gallon tank, and I agree that it will work fine for that. But, I thought I read that someone wanted to use the design for a 40 gallon tank, which was what my comment was aimed at. Re-reading it, I see that I was wrong - he wanted a 40 inch high stand, not one for a 40 gallon tank. My mistake!


That's okay we all make mistaks ! 




thelub said:


> Your bottom circumference is the same as your top. Add the extra weight of the tank on the top, it will have a high center of gravity making it more susceptible to tipping.


Ohh okay now that makes sense. Mmm I wonder if adding additional weight to the bottom of the stand would help? Like mentioned earlier, evenually i'll add some siding and backing which will hopfully help re-inforce everything.




Chronados said:


> I'd say he's probably fine with tipping as long as the stand is on a hard surface like the tiles he has there. It looks taller than a standard 10g wooden stand. I wouldn't trust it on carpet.


Oh okay thanks, And yes it is taller then a standard 10 gallon stand. I'm a bit taller then you're average Canadian male so I made the stand tall on purpose. 




xmas_one said:


> Jesus Christ, this is a cool stand, I really wish the armchair engineers would shut up about the design.


lmao, finally someone with something nice to say. Thank you my friend, not all of us are "armchair engineers" haha!




Chronados said:


> But...I'm an actual engineer
> 
> I don't think anyone has a problem with the design. Clearly it works, but I think pointing out that it may be more top heavy than the traditional 10g wood stand is important in case someone tries to replicate this and ends up putting it on carpet or something.


So in the future if I were to build a new stand for another tank like a 20 gallon or something, How would you have built it?




morelight said:


> looks great. Just what you need. I'd like to build one. I have a 10 gallon tank just sitting here and i don't have a stand. Light, filter, substrate, pump everything but no stand. I would build one but they threw me out of shop class in HS.


Thanks man, It wasn't too hard to build but have power tools is a definite asset. You should set up your 10 gallon and make a sweet stand for it. There's nothing like building something on you own.


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Adding some weight to the bottom would definitely balance things out, but in all reality its probably good as is.


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## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

TorontoPlantMan said:


> So in the future if I were to build a new stand for another tank like a 20 gallon or something, How would you have built it?


If you were to build it taller than the standard 20g stand like with this 10g, I would make the base slightly deeper in proportion. If you were to increase the height by 20%, increasing the base depth by 20% too would be the safe approach. Again, this really only applies if you're going to be putting it on some kind of soft surface.. Adding weight to the bottom works too, but isn't nearly as effective since any force applied at the top of the stand (weight of tank/tipping forces, etc) is leveraged by the height divided by the depth to where the weight is placed at the bottom. You would need a lot of counterweight to achieve the same effect as an inch or two more base depth.


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## amberoze (May 22, 2012)

Chronados said:


> Adding weight to the bottom works too, but isn't nearly as effective since any force applied at the top of the stand (weight of tank/tipping forces, etc) is leveraged by the height divided by the depth to where the weight is placed at the bottom. You would need a lot of counterweight to achieve the same effect as an inch or two more base depth.


Can you explain this further? I'm prepping to build a stand for a 40 breeder and want to know as much as possible.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Just go a few inches bigger on the circumference on the bottom. 

Or add an earthquake strap to the wall and you'll be good too.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Building a top and bottom frame and using wood lengths between the two frames is stronger. RC has a very long thread about this type of frame - designed by an engineer yet. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

OTOH I built a stand just like this 10 gallon one for a 150 gallon tank and cut it down for the 100 gallon tank but using lag bolts and for the 12 years it was in use it never budged. I sure was concerned after learning that that wasn't a good design.

What about tying the stand to the wall? Have to agree, a 100 pound tank could easily be moved accidently.


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## Rodneywt1180b (Jun 22, 2013)

Sorry I offended you, that's why I hate saying anything even remotely negative on a forum. If I see something that looks potentially unsafe I do think I should point it out though. If I'm wrong, great, at least no one gets hurt.
Maybe I like to overbuild things too much, but better safe than sorry. 
Racking loads would be the forces the stand is subjected to if you push on the stand or tank only at the top and not the bottom. Your stand isn't going anywhere front to back, and being smaller may even be just fine for many years side to side but other than the screws you used to put it together your stand design doesn't resist side to side loading.
If it works for you then that's all you need. I just don't want anyone getting hurt by having a tank come down on them.

One of the reasons I think bracing is so important is because of the Nisqually earthquake in 2001. I was living in Puyallup, WA about 30 miles north of the epicenter that day and had a 100G reef setup at the time with no earthquake straps. I was working in Centralia, WA where I now live about 30 miles south of the epicenter. The parking lot of the apt complex I was working at actually had a wave travel thru it. I got to spend the rest of my day wondering if I was going to find 100g of saltwater mixed with dead fish and coral on my floor when I got home. I was lucky and the tank didn't fall over but there was plenty of water that splashed out of it.
If you live anywhere earthquake prone, or just have your tank in a high traffic area, earthquake straps are cheap peace of mind. 
Rodney


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## Chronados (Jan 28, 2013)

amberoze said:


> Can you explain this further? I'm prepping to build a stand for a 40 breeder and want to know as much as possible.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta


You don't really need to worry about tipping on a 40g breeder. The tipping point of any tank/stand setup will be when the center of gravity (effectively the center of the tank) passes over the front or rear of the stand bottom lip. Now, this tip angle changes with respect to tank size, because while stand height stays relatively constant for most tank sizes (say, 24-30"), the tank depth changes quite a bit percentage-wise (from 10" - 18"). On a 10g, because the stand height is large relative to 1/2 the tank depth (~6:1), the tip angle is much smaller than say, a stand for a 40g breeder (where the ratio is ~3:1). 

A 100lb 10g tank on a 30" tall stand with a footprint identical to the stand will need about a 16.7lb horizontal force applied at the top of the stand to start to tip it forwards or backwards on a hard surface. If you were to make the footprint 2" deeper in front and back (14" depth total), it would take 23.3lb horizontal force. To achieve this same effect, you would need to add a 40lb counterweight at the center of the base of the stand. In both cases, the tip angle is around 11 degrees. These results are more dramatic with larger tank sizes as the counterweight needs to scale up with tank weight.

Edit: Oops, 10g height is 13 inches. The figures are approximated anyways, as I assumed the water isn't shifting as the stand tilts, when in reality the stand will tip over before 11 degrees due to the CG shifting with the water.


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## nofearengineer (Mar 20, 2013)

Don't forget the momentum of the water, as when its CG shifts, it's also going to be in motion. :red_mouth

My main concern with a stand of this type is the racking, as Hoppy mentioned. I don't know how seismically active the Toronto region is, but it wouldn't take much to topple if it got a little wavy.

This might be sacrilege, but would it be possible to take another short piece of 2x4 from the back of each leg to the wall and screw it into a wall stud? That would stop racking completely. The dimensions of your tank are probably pretty close to standard stud spacing, and it wouldn't harm the drywall in a way that isn't easily fixable when moving out.

Regardless, your design definitely scores points for speed and ease of construction.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

As most people have said already, you can get away with a lot of stuff with a 10gallon that won't work with a larger aquarium.

Interesting and simple design, and it wouldn't take more then a couple minor modifications to make it suitable for larger aquaria, mostly just insuring that the weight is directly supported by wood, and not screws/nails (lag bolts may be fine up to a certain size, just because of the larger surface area/stronger bolt)

And if you put some sort of backing/sheathing on it, that will likely address any issues with racking.

Even if you don't live in a quake prone area, I'd consider connecting both the top of the stand and the tank to the wall, just to prevent it getting knocked over or anything.

Also glad that someone else is giving DIY a try, I've talked to to many people who are afraid to try chopping up and screwing some bits of wood together without professional training.


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

thelub said:


> Adding some weight to the bottom would definitely balance things out, but in all reality its probably good as is.


Okay thanks, I'll see if i can somehow do that. 




Chronados said:


> If you were to build it taller than the standard 20g stand like with this 10g, I would make the base slightly deeper in proportion. If you were to increase the height by 20%, increasing the base depth by 20% too would be the safe approach. Again, this really only applies if you're going to be putting it on some kind of soft surface.. Adding weight to the bottom works too, but isn't nearly as effective since any force applied at the top of the stand (weight of tank/tipping forces, etc) is leveraged by the height divided by the depth to where the weight is placed at the bottom. You would need a lot of counterweight to achieve the same effect as an inch or two more base depth.


Thanks Chronados, I'll keep this in mind for when I build a stand for a 40 breeder I would like to eventually purchase. This was my first project, and I didn't do too much research into it which I probably should have. I was just in a serious rush for a stand and money is a serious issue. 




lochaber said:


> As most people have said already, you can get away with a lot of stuff with a 10gallon that won't work with a larger aquarium.
> 
> Interesting and simple design, and it wouldn't take more then a couple minor modifications to make it suitable for larger aquaria, mostly just insuring that the weight is directly supported by wood, and not screws/nails (lag bolts may be fine up to a certain size, just because of the larger surface area/stronger bolt)
> 
> ...


Unfortunately attaching it to the wall is not an option as the wall it's behind has no studs. I live in an older style apartment and the wall it is against is solid concrete and drywall or something. I'll be moving in less than 4 months so it serves no point. Thank you for your input though I appreciate it. Also this was my first DIY building project, The project wouldn't have been possible to pull off in 2 hours without the help of my dad. I'll have to put some more research into "Racking" and such for when I build a larger stand.


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## TorontoPlantMan (May 9, 2013)

nofearengineer said:


> Don't forget the momentum of the water, as when its CG shifts, it's also going to be in motion. :red_mouth
> 
> My main concern with a stand of this type is the racking, as Hoppy mentioned. I don't know how seismically active the Toronto region is, but it wouldn't take much to topple if it got a little wavy.
> 
> ...


The Toronto region rarely experiences earthquakes and even when it does they are aftermath effects and extremely minimal. Not to say it could never happen, but the chances are fairly slim. 

I cannot screw into the wall as there is no studs, just concrete and drywall (older apartment). I'm thinking maybe if I add siding on each side with cut 2x4's then hopefully that could solve the problem? I'm not too sure how to fix the bottom weight problem though.

Thanks for you kind words though, Greatly appreciated.


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## RWaters (Nov 12, 2003)

Once the engineering of this stand is figured out, I still think you should paint it. :smile:


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## yando (Jun 10, 2013)

Maybe its because I'm new to all this stuff, but I have to say, there are some extremely informative things being said in this thread.


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