Ok, I am finally getting around to begin construction on my stand for my 285 gallon tank. The inside dimensions of the tank are 119W x 23D x 24T which by my calculations makes this tank 284.4 U.S. Gallons. I am planning to use 2 x 6's all the way around except for 6 cross beams (3 on top and 3 on the bottom) across the center which will be 2 x 4's. The top and bottom ring and all of the uprights will be 2 x 6's. I will have 12 uprights which will be doubled up. 6 in the front and 6 in the back. This will leave 5 openings in the front to put doors to have access underneath. I'm contemplating if I want to put doors on the ends of the stand but with the tank being as long as it is, there won't be much room to open the doors where I'm putting the tank. The end of my living room where I am putting the tank is 12 ft. wide which leaves about a foot on each end. The back 2 corners will be kind of tricky because of where the tank is drilled for fittings to run to the wet/dry filter. The corner uprights in the back will just be offset to the side by 3 inches to leave the corner open for the hoses. As with my last project, I'm not sure exactly what I want to wrap the thing with. It all depends what looks good when I'm at the hardware store. I have a pretty good idea of what I want.

I bought a pump and a few fittings for the wet/dry filter. Found a 700 gph submersible water pump on eBay. Cost me $33 after shipping. Also got a 3/4" T fitting and 2 u-shape outflow jet pipes. They look similar to what you would see on a power head. Hangs on the back of the tank and is adjustable. Now just need to figure out how to plug that hole in the sump because the pump is now going to be inside of the filter. It's all coming together. Hoping to have water in it by next weekend. Stay tuned for pics and updates.

Cool, wouldn't sliding doors be an option?
Good luck and i'm glued to my seat for updates!

My concern with having doors on the ends was to be able to get the wet/dry filter in or out. I have a feeling that after I drop it in the top and put the tank on top of the stand, there isn't going to be any possible way of getting wet/dry filter out again even if there were doors on the ends. I would have to drain and move the tank in order to get the filter out. I am roughly guesstimating that the openings in the front will be 17 inches wide. Looks like the filter will be permanently in the stand unless I were to drain the tank and move it. Wow, thanks for reminding me that I have to leave enough of an opening to slide the filter through the top.

and make sure you got any powerchords you need, and fit them into place before putting the stand and tank in it's final place!
I forgot every single time and had to move the tanks twice! :angry: :angry:
I do not have any support beams on the front of my metal stand, just so i can get the sump out if nescecary.

Are you sure its wise to have a filter you cant remove from the stand, what happens if it goes wrong and you need a new one. Surely you could change the design such that you can take the filter out.

Well, the sky opened up bout an hour before I got off work and wasn't able to get anything done. On top of that, got home and the air conditioner was frozen up. Had to go to the gf's house. So, not sure when I'm going to get a chance to get to this. Probably going to be a week from Sunday before I have a day off from both jobs.

Yea, I'm definitely going to have to rethink the plan to design this so the filter can come out if need be. Maybe if I use 2 x 8's instead of 2 x 6's, I can have 4 uprights in the front instead of 6. Hmmmmmm.

Sounds too scary for me to give advice on. I got my 100x18x18 made for me (badly) and im planning on settin up a sump with a whole 3 inches of access soon... gonna use bags on all media

wow, that sounds like quite the project. the degree of difficulty sounds high, but the reward sounds great also.

I look forward to seeing the progress.


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And barbeque, cool name... did it come to you after some 4th of July festivities. .

Good luck brichter mate.

So, I'm considering having 5 uprights across the front. 2 in the corners and 3 across the front. I'm trying to figure out if I can make that center upright removable and fix it with some kind of metal bracket so I can take it out if necessary. This would leave roughly 23 inches of open area in between the uprights. That's if I use 2 x 6's. I'm just wondering if the weight of the tank would bow the upper ring so I couldn't put it back in. If I use 2 x 8's and have 4 uprights instead of 5, that would leave me roughly 30 inches between uprights which still leaves me short. I measured the sump and it is 36" x 16". It's roughly 35 gallons. My brain hurts thinking about this. HAHA. I am taking my time though making sure it's done right the first time. What I really need to do is check the weight limitations for the wood I'm planning to use. Hoping to get it done next Sunday. That's going to be the first chance I have where I'll be off from both jobs.

Ugh... Plans and ideas change every day. I am thinking that I really don't want 1 long 10ft by 2ft piece of wood that I may have to move eventually. I am now considering 3/4" MDF. I am looking at making 4 separate 24" x 30" sections. I will leave openings in the front, back and inside walls to run piping and whatnot. I will screw the 4 sections together before putting the tank on it and filling with water. This will make the 3 inside walls an inch and a half thick. Also, I am considering doubling up the wood on the top and bottom roughly about 4 inches. So, the very top and bottom will be an inch and a half all the way around. This will help when I go to put the top and bottom shelf in. Of course, I will have to use tons of wood glue and screws in order for it to hold the 2400+ pounds of water and tank. Any thoughts or ideas?

i think seperate section are an excellent option as long as you conect them properly .
Man, i wish i was over there to help you out.
Wouldt be good excersize for me...
Good luck and i do wish that you get it right in one go!
And i trust you will!