20 Gallon Long Stand/Cabinet Plans?

[Cbriana]

Does anyone have any good link/tips s on where I could find a decent stand plan for 20 gallon long?

 

[John58ford]

I just did a 29 (same as a 20 long) over a 25 for a neighbor. A different design; my rack can be built as individual sections also and it's a bit slimmer looking.

I could clean up my drawings so you could follow them but it would take at minimum:10" or larger table saw, 10" miter saw, drill, chisel and hammer. All my designs feature 2x4 ripped twice to get a square edged 1.5x3.

Are you comfortable/equipped/interested to do that type of design fab?

Here's the easy one I did for my neighbor last weekend:



And here's my big display rack, you could build any one of the vertical sections individually:













Pros of the neighbors rack, simple cuts
Cons, different size upper and lower tanks, bulky/over built.

Pros of mine, slimmer design, same tank footprints upper and lower, has hood/top to conceal lights.
Cons: dado construction isn't the easiest, total height is pretty large, still a bit overbuilt

Cons to my designs in general: 1:2 ratio lumber is easy to design with and square cuts give good appearance, however not all people can/will rip 2x4 linear to get the edges and design thickness. Additionally it's waste of time if you are going to wrap it anyhow.

If you want to wrap a more traditional looking stand there are far better builders here than me but if you want them I would share my drawings.

 

[Cbriana]

I just did a 29 (same as a 20 long) over a 25 for a neighbor. A different design; my rack can be built as individual sections also and it's a bit slimmer looking.

I could clean up my drawings so you could follow them but it would take at minimum:10" or larger table saw, 10" miter saw, drill, chisel and hammer. All my designs feature 2x4 ripped twice to get a square edged 1.5x3.

Are you comfortable/equipped/interested to do that type of design fab?

Here's the easy one I did for my neighbor last weekend:



And here's my big display rack, you could build any one of the vertical sections individually:













Pros of the neighbors rack, simple cuts
Cons, different size upper and lower tanks, bulky/over built.

Pros of mine, slimmer design, same tank footprints upper and lower, has hood/top to conceal lights.
Cons: dado construction isn't the easiest, total height is pretty large, still a bit overbuilt

Cons to my designs in general: 1:2 ratio lumber is easy to design with and square cuts give good appearance, however not all people can/will rip 2x4 linear to get the edges and design thickness. Additionally it's waste of time if you are going to wrap it anyhow.

If you want to wrap a more traditional looking stand there are far better builders here than me but if you want them I would share my drawings.

You create really nice work and I would absolutely love it if you could share your drawings. I've given myself a headache trying to find the best plan I could be capable of executing, essentially making this whole ordeal a lot harder than it really is. You're amazing, thank you.

You create really nice work and I would absolutely love it if you could share your drawings. I've given myself a headache trying to find the best plan I could be capable of executing, essentially making this whole ordeal a lot harder than it really is. You're amazing, thank you.

And if I'm being honest, I haven't the slightest clue what you mean when you say "All my designs feature 2x4 ripped twice to get a square edged 1.5x3"

hehehe, What is this ripping that you speak of? I've got the tools, just working on the skills. Just barely began dipping my toes into wood working and diy projects. I love it, I just haven't gotten very far in learning what's what.

 

[John58ford]

Ripping is when you make a cut on a piece of lumber the long way. In this case, 2x4 typically measure ~1.5" x 3.5". I set the saw to cut to 3.25" off the 3.5, then roll the board over, set the saw for 3" and push it through again leaving square edges. To get my builds to look clean, the final board needs to be 1.5x3" +/- 1/16 inch. Preferably perfect.

I'll clean up my display rack design if you want to make a learning thing of it. And I'll help you find a tutorial on cutting a "poor man's dado" without the expensive special blade stack. Give me a day, then remind me if I forgot.

 

[TheWalkman]

The king of DYI has several videos on how to build a stand and his are all scalable to the size of the tank and easy to make.

 

[Cbriana]

The king of DYI has several videos on how to build a stand and his are all scalable to the size of the tank and easy to make.

Should I just be googling "King of DIY"? thank you for that

Ripping is when you make a cut on a piece of lumber the long way. In this case, 2x4 typically measure ~1.5" x 3.5". I set the saw to cut to 3.25" off the 3.5, then roll the board over, set the saw for 3" and push it through again leaving square edges. To get my builds to look clean, the final board needs to be 1.5x3" +/- 1/16 inch. Preferably perfect.

I'll clean up my display rack design if you want to make a learning thing of it. And I'll help you find a tutorial on cutting a "poor man's dado" without the expensive special blade stack. Give me a day, then remind me if I forgot.

I'd really appreciate it if you could.

 

[John58ford]

Sorry, was busy today. I will put plans up for you tomorrow. You should watch the king of diy tank stand videos (youtube) to get an idea of the methods. His methods for stand are not unique, original, or attractive unless you wrap them after building, but the basics are the same. Jack and king stud construction has been around since dimensional lumber. The difference is he calls it guide and baton.

The ugly is because with standard dimensional lumber, it takes 3 boards put together to make the jacks and king. There is a 1/2" ugly af stagger and it looks awful in tanks less than 4'. That's why my designs have ripped lumber, and/or dado, to make the legs flush, and finished looking. My family would not like unfinished edges of dimensional lumber making our living room look like a lumber yard.

Also, I will give away the plans, not make you buy a book. I'll get them up for you tomorrow.

 

[JettsPapa]

I have a 20 long on a 2-drawer file cabinet sitting at the end of my desk. The file cabinet it just about the perfect width side-to-side, but not quite long enough, so I cut a piece of plywood the width of the cabinet and long enough for the tank. I built a rectangular frame with 2x4's the same height of the cabinet to support the back end of the plywood. It's hidden by the desk from one side, and the other side is only about 8" away from the wall, so no one ever sees it. I can post a photo or two later if you're interested.

 

[John58ford]

I didn't want to bomb your thread, and since you said you are learning these tools I wanted to be detailed. Here's a thread I made for any and all to follow, featuring a plan for a 20 long over a 29. If you want to adjust the design to 20 over 20 or anything, I will gladly address the adjustment here in reference to the diy thread:
John's network rack (tanks part 5) 29 Gallon Tank - | DIY - Do It Yourself Forum | 486613

 

[SouthAmericanCichlids]

King of diy has one for 30g tanks and smaller. He doesn't show the dimensions but it's just the height/width of the stand add a little on the sides and add a lot more on top if you are making a rack, if it's just a stand you don't have to worry about height on top, just the bottom.

 

[John58ford]

King of diy has one for 30g tanks and smaller. He doesn't show the dimensions but it's just the height/width of the stand add a little on the sides and add a lot more on top if you are making a rack, if it's just a stand you don't have to worry about height on top, just the bottom.

You can't get your hands between those tanks to work on them lol. His videos are good though. I've been bummed by his last year or two worth of videos, less cool diy for the average fish keepers and allot more about the $$$. Again though, his designs look better in a garage or lumber yard than a living room unless you wrap them. He did do some good videos about wrapping them.

 

[SouthAmericanCichlids]

You can't get your hands between those tanks to work on them lol. His videos are good though. I've been bummed by his last year or two worth of videos, less cool diy for the average fish keepers and allot more about the $$$. Again though, his designs look better in a garage or lumber yard than a living room unless you wrap them. He did do some good videos about wrapping them.

Well you could always just add more room between the layers, and yeah I like his older videos better.