When I bought my first larger tank, I realised I couldn't just put it on a table like my smaller tanks, so I decided to purchase an aquarium stand. I looked around for a stand but could only find cheap, wobbly stands or super-expensive cabinets, so I decided to make my own. My father and I designed and built a very simple wooden stand which cost less than the cheap store-bought stands but was much stronger. I was going to turn it into a cabinet, but I decided I liked the look of the stand as it was, so we simply sanded it smooth and stained it a nice colour. After the success of the first stand, we have built three more of varying sizes, the largest being for a 500 litre (132 gallon) tank.
A couple of people in "El Natural" asked for the plans for the stand, and I thought I would post them here as well, in case other people are interested too.
The stand is easy to build using basic woodwork experience and tools. We use nails and glue but you could use screws if you prefer. You can make the stand and leave it as it is, or you can put planks of wood or board over the top for the tank to sit on, and planks or board underneath to spread the weight more evenly over the floor (useful if you have a rickety old floor like the floor in our aged house!). You could also add two more legs in the middle if the tank is very long. You could also make it into a cabinet with doors and a shelf inside.
By following the instructions below the diagram, it is very easy to work out the length each piece of wood should be cut to, so you can make a stand to fit any tank size very quickly and easily. You can use pieces of wood which are all the same size (e.g. all 2 x 4 inch pieces), or a mixture of sizes (e.g. larger size pieces for the legs).
A: Four pieces of wood cut to desired length of stand.
B: Four pieces of wood cut to desired height of stand, with a section cut out of each end to fit
A pieces.
C: Four pieces of wood cut to desired depth of stand minus width of
B x 2.
D: Four pieces of wood cut to desired depth of stand minus depth of
A x 2.
Make sure to attach pieces
A,
B and
D to each other very securely, and you will end up with a rock solid stand capable of supporting a very heavy tank.
Any comments or suggestions about the design are welcome!
From Alex.
Simple DIY Aquarium Stand Plan 
Linear Mode
