Help building custom aquarium stand!

I recently bought a 40 gallon tank and I am building a stand either tomorrow or wednesday. assuming that water weighs 10 pounds per gallon (plus an extra ~50-75 Pounds for substrate and everything) that means that I will need to support nearly 500 pounds... How much bracing will I need to do? I bought a sheet of birch that I plan on making the top, sides, doors, and possibly the back out of. I also have three 8 foot links of 4x4's that I plan on using for support bracing. I was thinking that I could put the the 4x4s on the corners, and brace another section about 1/3rd of the way in, and again at 2/3rds. this would mean that there would be eight "support braces". This means that each 4x4 brace would be supporting ~62.5 pounds. Would this be sturdy enough to hold for a few (and by a few I mean like 40 lol) years?

I'll attempt to post pictures of the design I am going for.

 

Absolute overkill. Don't take that to mean I don't like it though! I've seen guys use a length of 4x4 as a rigged jack stand for working on a car, it will easily hold as long as the car doesn't move.

I've got this rack in my fishroom with six 4x4 legs. it's 3'x10', holds five 40's & three 20's, 260 gallons total of tanks on it. Perimeter is 2x6's, with 2x4 stringers every 18". The back 3 legs extend up, tied into the ceiling joists. It's got some height to it as well, need room to work the two 150 gallon tubs below it.

Yes, your design will hold a 40 gallon tank. It will easily hold five 40 gallon tanks. It may be capable of holding a Sherman tank. I'd have no fear of it holding up the entire front end of my 30 year old pickup truck, the closest thing to a Sherman tank I own. Please post pics of the design, I may need to bolster up a large bridge or a small mountain some day.

 

Dear god lololol. Possibly the greatest reply I have ever received. Here is the design I was considering, but I may take back 2 out of the 3 4x4s and use some spare 2x4s if I have any! Also, here is what the grain of the birch is like, I plan on staining it darker though. It's also 3/4 inch, so it should be sturdy as well.

 

I've got the top mounting piece built, and should have the legs on later today. Would making a bottom brace like this be absolutely necessary? Or could I get by with doing the perimeter?

 

I think this one is easier to build Ima be making one just like this one once I get my 75.

 

I actually ended up going with a design similar to that as well. It isn't too hard to make lol

 

You should have done a perimeter for both the top and bottom, as the braces are only needed if you have an acrylic tank. Glass tanks weight is distributed along the edges and using 2x4's you can easily support a 75 gallon tank.

 

I believe my 40 gallon is just an acrylic, so I went ahead and braced both the tops and bottoms, as well as doing the perimeters.

I'm nowhere near being done. I can't decide if I want to build doors on the front, or leave it open and put more birch to cover the 4x4s. I am for sure going to build two shelves on the inside, buy trim pieces for the edges, and stain it a darker color. It surprisingly turned out to be super sturdy. My only previous experience with woodwork is building sub boxes for cars, which is completely different from this lol



The seams are pretty flush, the camera angle is just weird lol. Also, I'm going to try to pick up a darker stain tomorrow, the two I tried weren't dark enough.



I lied, my tank is all glass. Oh well, the extra bracing will still be helpful

 

I hope your stand works out. The top part should be on top of your weight bearing columns. Not the sides.

 

The top kind of sits on both. I have it screwed into the columns and sides. This is the (mostly) finished product. I installed an led light inside of the stand to light up whatever I decide to put under there. I had originally planned on putting my minI fridge on one side (which is why the right "cubby hole" is slightly bigger than the left) but I'm not sure if I want to now lol.