Building Aquarium Stands

Building Aquarium Stands

While small aquariums can sit safely on a strong table, tanks that hold 20 gallons or more will probably need a stand. Aquarium stands purchased "off the shelf" can be expensive. This doesn't have to be. Aquarium stands can be built inexpensively or with custom features. However, some people are unsure of how to go about building a stand, particularly because a mistake could mean a big mess in your living room.

One of the other advantages of building your own stand is that you can design it to fit in with the décor of the room where the tank will be displayed. You'll spend a lot of time designing your tank and choosing your fish to make an attractive display, why not spend as much time creating the stand on which you'll put your display?

In designing your aquarium stand, consider what the tank is made of. Glass tanks weigh more than acrylic tanks, but a glass tank only needs a stand that supports the bottom edge of the tank, while an acrylic tank needs support along the entire tank bottom.

You will also need to know how much weight your stand will need to support. Use 8 pounds per gallon for a rough estimate. For example, a 20-gallon tank will weigh 160 pounds plus the weight of the tank.

The basic design is a base with four vertical legs (tanks larger than 55 gallons will require more legs). However, aquarium stands can be designed as a cabinet (with storage space beneath), a table or for the fancier builders, a component of a console.

The simplest design I've seen is three 2x4s laid across stacked cinder blocks with a plywood board laid on top of the 2x4s. From this simple design, you can build a cabinet frame around it or maybe just a fabric skirt. The links below will take you to a couple of design plans available on the Internet.

Resources

• Plans for an aquarium stand
• A second set of aqaurium stand plans
• A third set of aquarium stand plans