# DIY 40 breeder double stand?



## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

So I'm newer to this hobby ( about 6 months) and I have bought a 40 b for my first tank and then a 29 right behind it. I love the footprint of the 40 breeder but buying another one is out of the question at the moment. So. I right now have both tanks on a desk but I'm needing the space back so I've gotta either buy some form of stand or build one. Im thinkin a double 40 so i could fit the 29 there now and add the 40 later when i can afford too.I have surfed the past week looking for plans or ideas to get this started but no luck. King krabb on here has one buts its not ment for another 40 on the bottem. Anyways has anyone come acrossed and such plans or could point me in the right direction? Right now my 40 is an all male peacock and hap tank and my 29 is for mbuna breeding. I will be gettin a bigger tank for the haps and peacocks within a year cuz they will be gettin big fast. I'm think 55 but I'm not sure. So I want this double 40 stand to hold two breeding colonies. I wanna start this weekend so I can get ready for the big move. Any help or critizism would be awesome. Thank fellow fish geeks!


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

40br tanks are on sale for $40 at many petCo's right now...

-Rick (the armchair aquarist, who hasn't built his stand yet)


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Rick_Lindsey said:


> 40br tanks are on sale for $40 at many petCo's right now...
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist, who hasn't built his stand yet)


I think that sale ended, but I'm not sure.

Glad you saw the post  I made some modifications for you, step by step:

Start off with some legs, I did 36" tall but you can decide whatever fits you!









Pop in some filler legs, this will hold up the upper 40G, 32" in mine but make them 4" shorter than the main legs.


















Add the top frame, vertical 2x4s nailed into the main legs but the weight will be on the filler legs. 36.5" long and 14.5".









Now the bottom frame, almost the dimensions as the top frame but the length-wise braces are 4" shorter - still nailed into the main legs.









Now you've got you're frame built, almost! You'll need this topper of 1/2" plywood since the top 40G tank will be about 1/16" off the supports, this will distribute the weight onto them and make sure the top one doesn't fall onto the bottom one. I'd suggest 1/2"+ on thickness.









Now your stand will hold them both, yay! But me personally I'd go a little above and beyond and make the stand look good. If you did this I'd buy a classier looking plywood that can be stained to look much better, any thickness above 1/4" will work to make it look this good!

Not stained,









Stained and ready to go! Personally I like the look of alternating stains/ colors.









*Note 1*
This stand was designed for 40G breeders, if your tanks are another size of 40G this won't work for them. Also remember that my dimensions may be off by a little bit on the braces, I know a 40G breeder is ~36x18 so I just added 1/2" to each one.

*Note 2*
A lot of people will coat their stands with polyurethane to make sure that if they get wet it won't damage the wood. I've never done this with my stands since they've never gotten wet enough to get damaged but if you're worried about it all that it does (that you can see) is make the wood a little shinier and smoother to the touch.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

The King Crabb said:


> Rick_Lindsey said:
> 
> 
> > 40br tanks are on sale for $40 at many petCo's right now...
> ...


At my local PetCo it goes on until the 15th, I believe. Still debating whether to pick up a 40br myself . Probably won't since I have no money to buy fish or equipment for it, and I've got a whole 55 setup for the asking.



> <insert spiff CAD type drawings here


Wish I could do that! I had envisioned something similar, but was unable to reduce it to words or capture a diagram in an electronic format! Mad skillz you have, there.

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Rick_Lindsey said:


> Mad skillz you have, there.
> 
> -Rick (the armchair aquarist)


Thanks! You can blame the skills on the hours of time I've spent trying to depict my stand plans onto paper, failing, and turning to computers :lol:


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Something didn't sit right with this design for me, so I made a few changes. Sorry, not trying to be difficult here :lol: The top is what really got me. I've never had the best of luck with plywood (trying to change that the 125G stand I'm about to build) so I don't trust it as much as other people. Just putting the plywood on top might work, but it might not. So I added an additional 2x4 frame (flat ways) on top of the existing one to give it a little more support and I'm quite sure this way won't fail!









A little zoomed out view:









I don't think it looks as nice and clean, but I'd definitely do this top instead of the first one I mentioned simply for the peace of mind.


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## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

Omg this is perfect! Thank you king crabb. I saw that u used google sketbchup for ur your plywood tank so I tried to use it and man it was a little more confusing then I thought. I've even taken cad classes in high school. And now i dont have to draw it up! Ill for sure do the second top u planned out. I will want it as safe as i can get it. I'm gonna head to lowes tonight and pick up the lumber. Again thanks. Just barely noticed ur from around here. Hahaha.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

You're welcome :thumb: I love drawing up stands so we both win :lol:

And to make it look cleaner.... I happened to have an epiphany :lol: If you use 2x6s instead of 2x4s for the modifications I made, they should come flush to the edges and still be able to support the tank! 2x6s will be a little more expensive and the stand won't have any structural advantages than if you used 2x4s for the top, but if you want it to look a little more like the original design then I'd think about the 2x6s!

I hadn't noticed how close we were either, if you've ever got any fry you might need off your needs I'll see what I can do :wink:

Good luck and happy building!


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## KraKstar (Aug 15, 2011)

Just a little update I did call a few petcos and found one on 7200 south and redwood that had 40 breeders still for 40 bucks! I'm so excited to finish this stand!


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

They have them? I called them a couple weeks ago and they said they sold them all... Darn sales associates :lol:


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## jaydengsack (Sep 2, 2011)

that i genus


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## mobafrontlover (May 1, 2011)

The king crabb

how do you make your designs


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I use Google Sketchup to show them, and my brain to design them :thumb:


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## mobafrontlover (May 1, 2011)

Thanks crabb


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

King Crabb, please don't take offence, but by my count you have built one or possibly two stands in your life. I really do appreciate your enthusiasm for the hobby and excellent drawing skills, but you designs are better suited for bomb shelters than tank stands. There are several people kicking around this forum with a lifetime of woodworking and carpentry experience. maybe you could let them help.

twin 40 gallon stand is plenty strong enough with one 2x2 in each corner and a 1/2 inch plywood skin.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

pistolpete said:


> King Crabb, please don't take offence, but by my count you have built one or possibly two stands in your life. I really do appreciate your enthusiasm for the hobby and excellent drawing skills, but you designs are better suited for bomb shelters than tank stands. There are several people kicking around this forum with a lifetime of woodworking and carpentry experience. maybe you could let them help.
> 
> twin 40 gallon stand is plenty strong enough with one 2x2 in each corner and a 1/2 inch plywood skin.


No offence taken, you are mostly correct. I've built a stand for every fish tank I've ever owned in my life and have one on every fish tank in my house, 4 stands because I have the one double decker. I realize mine are incredibly over built, but they're also very easy and all you need is a saw and a hammer. Many people also like to have what's called "peace of mind", meaning they want to be absolutely sure it will hold; and my stands will fit the bill to anybody looking at it who has absolutely zero experience. I realize many people out there are better suited to help, but do you see a line of people trying to design stands for others? No. I have the time and sufficient experience to help them build a nice cheap stand that works and I take pride in that.


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

By all means design away, I am definitely not saying you should not. I am just trying to steer you in a more sensible direction. Here are a few facts you should throw into your design equations:

One 2x4 in compression will support over 400 lbs until it reaches it's slenderness ratio (around 30 inches) at which point it will start to buckle if not laterally stabilized by plywood or braces. Some woods like Fir or oak will support considerably more. So the design you came up with in this thread would support about 4800 pounds without the plywood skin, and almost twice as much with it. That's about what an average pickup truck weighs.

Glass tanks with plastic trim do not need any support in the middle. A glass tank acts like a box beam and only needs supports at each corner. this makes any vertical center brace on tank stands superfluous.

The main enemy of all stand projects is crooked or poorly dried wood. Great car should be taken when selecting lumber. Ideally all project wood should be stored inside for several months before use.

3/4 inch plywood is plenty strong enough for a tank stand and does not need any dimensional lumber to reinforce it. for any tank up to 150 gallons, just make a plywood box with doors and you're done. 2x2 lumber can be used in the corners to ease assembly, but is not necessary. The only catch is that the top panel must sit on top of the upright panels, not inside.

Some way to prevent racking should be built into every stand. That is to prevent the stand from folding sideways if someone crashes into it. This is best achieved by a plywood skin across the back.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Thanks for all the tips, some of those I did not know! :thumb:

I knew my stand would hold at least a ton, but not the 4,800 pounds! Kind of made me chuckle... :lol:

I know that glass tanks only are supported by them rims, but if someone ever decided to take the tank off, or have several on it side by side, they would be covered in the "good looks" department.

Forgot to mention that about the lumber!

I know that plywood can be incredibly strong when positioned like that, but unless the plywood is cut at angles so you don't see the ugly "guts" it doesn't look too good; you'll never see furniture that hasn't had the edges cut to angles. That's why I generally don't finish my stands with plywood (other than the back panel) because it's hard to make it look good. Plus if you want shelves you need some skill saw skills!

I'm aware of the backing to prevent folding, did I not mention that earlier in this thread? I usually do it but quick question, would a cross made of 1x4s with a screw or two going into the actual crossing do the trick as well?


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

An x is fine, but not necessary and not easy to execute. Actually just screwing and gluing a 1x4 to the back will do the trick for a smaller tank. No need to go diagonal . The trick is that it needs to contact both the legs and the top so that it stiffens the whole stand. Even a relatively small (like 6") triangle of plywood on both the top rear joints are sufficient.


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## halffrozen (Sep 24, 2011)

I had made a stand for my 40gB though, I did not have TWO of them.. lol

I used 4x4's for the legs, and just a simple box design for the top and bottom out of 2x4's, and this thing is a BEAST!

I am actually very inclined in making another, but with extra shelving and tank shelves in mind!(like I had originally planned, but did not follow through)

Here it is, still waiting on my final decision for either a glass or wooden door, as well as plastic or wooden base.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Looks good :thumb:


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