Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I am looking at building a stand to hold 3 tanks, would like to do 3 levels and to hold 48" tank on each level... Anyone have any good plans for doing something like this? I mean we are talkinga bout prob 1500lbs or more for this to hold... I have searched online and found very little on multi-level stands... Any help would be apprecaited.

Do you have your mind set on using wood only, or will u try anything else too?

I would be open to suggestions... wood, metal, etc...

You could frame it in with metal beams and use wood to cover your frame or whatever. It's just all about how much money you're willing to spend ya know. Find a good carpenter and ask him. Good luck!

Are you wanting this to be a piece of furniture or are looks important ?

I would think that 2X4's would be ok. A lot of people use them for 180's and as long as they are used on end it should hold the weight. I saw a web page where the person had a frame built using 2 inch angle iron welded together and then built a facia that could be removed. I'll see if I can find it again.

My 240G stand is made up of 2x4's and 2x6's, they're plenty strong if the design is right.

I would use cedar 4x4 for the main supports and then take a cedar 4x4 and rip it in half for the cross supports. That will give you penty of room to notch out the 4x4 for the cross braces to sit in. I would also bolt my cross braces in. Then all you will have to do is put a clear coat on it and it will look good. Pine 2x4 are not very attractive looking. They have cedar 4x4 at home depot.

Snakeman is right. Cedar is the way to go. Strong, hard and won't rot. Use a marine varnish. It's made to withstand saltwater.