# Stand for 110G SW



## Mech Eng

I started this on Saturday, only to lose it in the great crash...

So here it is again...

I picked up a 110g Salt Water setup from Craigslist about a month ago and until last weekend didn't have the opportunity to deal with it.








It came with a stand that I didn't like and many more parts

I started on Saturday by cutting most of the lumber and building the Top and Bottom

















On Sunday I finished the painting and assembly.


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## target

Looks good.


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## Victor

nice stand, are you going to put doors on it?


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## Mech Eng

*Update*

On Monday I was able to get the stand in place.
Future Home









In Place









Last night I purchased everything for the drain line, tonight I cut, fit and glued the plumbing together.









Tomorrow I'll glue the plumbing in place and start on the pump line. I also need to brace the stand some more as I can shake the stand if I try.


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## Mech Eng

Doors and sides will follow once the tank is running.

Don't want to have to deal with them while plumbing


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## pisces

great job,


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## bonsai dave

looking great. can't wait to see the finish product.


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## pt1190

IMO, i would put some diagonal supports on the back and sides, so it doesnt rock. That's alot of weight up there. Other wise looking good.


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## target

I was waiting for some updates. looks good


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## Mech Eng

pt1190 said:


> IMO, i would put some diagonal supports on the back and sides, so it doesnt rock. That's alot of weight up there. Other wise looking good.


Cut the material for the supports and painted them last night, install tonight along with the drain plumbing.


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## 2wheelsx2

Mech Eng said:


> Doors and sides will follow once the tank is running.
> 
> Don't want to have to deal with them while plumbing


Is that our reefers normally do it? Plumb in every before putting on doors? I just hate crawling around in my stand since I'm 6'2" (I know height is no excuse, but I just don't seem to be able to fit anywhere inside properly without knocking everything over).


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## beN

very nice project !


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## pt1190

Mech Eng said:


> Cut the material for the supports and painted them last night, install tonight along with the drain plumbing.


Good, i never trust a stand without them. Can't wait to see the end result.


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## Mech Eng

Bracing was added today.


















I added another valve onto the drain line thinking it that at some point in time I may want to shut the drain off








I also put together the pump hard line.









I have my daughter this weekend so not much else will happen until Sunday night.

Still thinking about how to close the stand in... Doors or no doors. I saw pics of a stand where the front cover came off completely. I like the extra access this would allow. However I have also plumbed in a hose connection to the drain line and I don't want to take the entire front off to complete a WC. I figure I have until Monday night to figure that part out.


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## Mech Eng

2wheelsx2 said:


> Is that our reefers normally do it? Plumb in every before putting on doors? I just hate crawling around in my stand since I'm 6'2" (I know height is no excuse, but I just don't seem to be able to fit anywhere inside properly without knocking everything over).


Don't know if its normal, just seemed to be easier. I don't like trying to crawl under and around things to put plumbing together. Its not my favorite part of building this as it is.


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## Aquaman

I was curious why you put the legs on the way you did. With the metal pocket things? I got thinking about it and i cant figure out any advantage. In fact I was surprised as its not a very stable mounting system. 
Please don't take this the wrong way  .
If I were you I would remove the rear braces and used one solid piece of plywood from the floor to the top edge of the Styrofoam. This would give you much more stability as well as support and free up inside space. you could do the same on the sides but cut an opening (which could become your door with a molding around it.) before putting it on . A one piece window frame opening out of 3/4 plywood would give you way more stability and support / strength. The braces might seem like a good idea now but will become a pita in the future when you need a flat area to mount stuff and or store.
Not to criticize at all just a lot of weight there and I tend to..... ummm ....over think that kinda stuff . 
bill


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## tony1928

Ah....all that PVC and ball valves....feels just like my project. Good job Mech Eng!

With my own build, I would never put on the doors before everything was done. I'm already hitting my head on everything in there as it is and I'm only 5'8"! I couldn't imagine using hinged doors either. My clip on doors so far have been working well for me. Wish I was more of a carpenter to make better looking stuff, but I'll post pics on mine in my build thread....hopefully the old bca data comes back!


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## Mech Eng

Aquaman said:


> I was curious why you put the legs on the way you did. With the metal pocket things? I got thinking about it and i cant figure out any advantage. In fact I was surprised as its not a very stable mounting system.
> Please don't take this the wrong way  .


I agree with the stability of the metal pockets, thought it would be a good idea. Found out that it wasn't stable enough for me which is why I added the brackets. Now more that stable enough (2 of us couldn't get the stand to shake at all, only move it) 

I didn't use plywood on the back as I wanted the back open to the wall, I also wanted a stand that was strong enough without solid plywood walls for when it comes time to modify it. Already looking at a 2nd stand beside it to house the FW top up, age SW for water changes and have a acclimation / quarantine tank for new fish on a semi automated system.

BTW not taken the wrong way, critique and questions are good. Its the best way to learn and improve.


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## Mech Eng

tony1928 said:


> Ah....all that PVC and ball valves....feels just like my project. Good job Mech Eng!
> 
> With my own build, I would never put on the doors before everything was done. I'm already hitting my head on everything in there as it is and I'm only 5'8"! I couldn't imagine using hinged doors either. My clip on doors so far have been working well for me. Wish I was more of a carpenter to make better looking stuff, but I'll post pics on mine in my build thread....hopefully the old bca data comes back!


Thanks, I would love to see pictures of the clip on doors. I'm thinking that this will be the way I'll go 

Not much of a finish carpenter myself, still learning about all this wood stuff. Much more used to large steel.


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## Clownloachlover

okay this may sound a little off the wall, but why not use velcro to hold your outside panels in place? You can get some very tough and strong velcro these days and usually get it in rolls and cut whatever sizes you need. it is easy to attach using glues. I use a CA glue with the velcro adhesive and trust me, this stuff does NOT come off of wood.
Just a thought, its cheap, easy and very versatile!


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## target

Yup I have seen that used before as well. Worked pretty good.


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## tony1928

Mech Eng said:


> Thanks, I would love to see pictures of the clip on doors. I'm thinking that this will be the way I'll go
> 
> Not much of a finish carpenter myself, still learning about all this wood stuff. Much more used to large steel.


I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow. They are just plastic.


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## `GhostDogg´

On my stand I made the legs in the corners form an L-shape this way the legs support the weight all the way around.
I went overkill on mine just because I'm paranoid.


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## Clownloachlover

Just noted, you have a layer of what looks to be styrofoam under your tank, is this necessary on stands that support the perimeter framework of the tank? seems to me the styrofoam would just crush under the weight of the tank and cause leveling issues.


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## 2wheelsx2

tony1928 said:


> I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow. They are just plastic.


Resurrect the 400 g build thread Tony, as it looks like the old forum isn't coming back.


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## Mech Eng

Clownloachlover said:


> Just noted, you have a layer of what looks to be styrofoam under your tank, is this necessary on stands that support the perimeter framework of the tank? seems to me the styrofoam would just crush under the weight of the tank and cause leveling issues.


I am using the Styrofoam to aid in leveling the loading out and insulation from lighting under the stand, under the Styrofoam there is a sheet of 3/4" plywood. Yes it will crush a bit, that's what will aid in re-distributing the load. Most stands for this size of tank have a center leg, which I didn't want in the front. In order to make sure I didn't stress the tank due to the leg not being in the front, I wanted to make sure the load wasn't just on the outer edges. From calculations this stand is good for an evenly distributed load 5x greater than it will have (with typically safety factors).


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## Mech Eng

`GhostDogg´ said:


> On my stand I made the legs in the corners form an L-shape this way the legs support the weight all the way around.
> I went overkill on mine just because I'm paranoid.


I debated doing the same. If I used 1x4 instead of the 2x4 for the legs I would have done this. As it is the 2x4 in the back run parallel to the length and the 2x4s in the front run perpendicular. I found this to give the best support for the tank. There is also extra bracing directly under the plywood to keep the load evenly distributed (along with the Styrofoam on top of the plywood).


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## Mech Eng

Clownloachlover said:


> okay this may sound a little off the wall, but why not use velcro to hold your outside panels in place? You can get some very tough and strong velcro these days and usually get it in rolls and cut whatever sizes you need. it is easy to attach using glues. I use a CA glue with the velcro adhesive and trust me, this stuff does NOT come off of wood.
> Just a thought, its cheap, easy and very versatile!


Great idea, think this will work well. I could do 2 doors on the front then quite easily. 1 for access to complete the water changes and the other to open the front fully for future modification 

Thanks for the idea.


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## tony1928

2wheelsx2 said:


> Resurrect the 400 g build thread Tony, as it looks like the old forum isn't coming back.


Yeah, I will do it after a little more progress...then I'll do one big post. Hopefully, the site data will be back as the value of the board is the accumulated knowledge. Or we can just mandate everyone do at least 10 posts a day to fill up the database! Lol. Told my IT guy at work about this crash and he was laughing so hard, at the fact that I participate in an aquaria forum. Then he said he finds it hard to believe a total failure could happen given IT practices nowadays. Ah well, that's life I guess.


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