DIY Aquarium Stand, Do-It-Yourself Aquarium Stand

Frag Tank and Stand

As mentioned in an earlier post, I had quite the weekend. I built an aquarium stand for my new frag tank and tried to document a few steps along the way, so as to help others in their designs.

Tank Dimensions:

48″L x 24″D x 16″T, approximately 80 gallons

Design:

I spent at least two weeks planning this setup in my head and on paper. I went through several design changes, and ended up mimicking a few simple designs I saw on the internet. I was going for super simple design, but built to hold a good amount of weight. The tank will sit on reinforced vertical supports, with a piece of foam insulation between it and the stand to make the tank sit as level as possible.

Frag Tank Stand

Materials and Equipment:

2×6 (Qty of 3)
2×4 (Qty of 5)
4×8 Sheet of Pine Plywood (Qty 1) – For top and floor of stand
4×8 Sheet of Oak Plywood (Qty 1) – Exterior skin for stand
Box of 3″ wood screws
Box of 2″ wood screws
Countersink drill bit
Finishing nails
Kilz paint (inside of aquarium stand)
Dark brown paint (for outside of aquarium stand)
18V Cordless Drill
Table Saw
Jig Saw

Frag Tank Stand

Assembly:

I started the build by cutting all of the pieces of wood to the right dimensions. Then I began to piece things together and lay everything out to get a good idea of how I wanted things. Everything was screwed into place and the tank was test fitted onto the stand. After doing that, I added 1/2″ plywood to the top of the stand and floor of the inside of the stand. Once those two pieces were in place, I attached 1/2″ Oak pieces to the front and sides of the stand. These will serve as the stand’s “skin”. After skinning, I measured and cut the holes for the doors. I then painted the inside of the stand with the white Kilz paint. The outside was also painted, but with a dark brown paint (staining didn’t work out too well). I let the pain dry overnight, then I brought the stand into the room, put the foam and tank on it, and began filling the aquarium with water. Can you believe this is the first time I’ve built my own stand? I think it turned out pretty good, though there are some blemishes and flaws.