2x4 or 4x4 for 110 stand?

make it a weekend trip to visit the brew city...We could build the stand in the link in about 2 hrs max. The design is an excellent one and very sturdy. I always use hardwood to sheet the frame. Tung and groove flooring works well also. I have some leftover braziliian cherry I am making some work benches out of. You can also get a 10" chop saw for pretty cheap and that, a hammer, and nails is all you really need. Accurate square cuts are the only trick and the chop saw does a great job at it.
 
So, markitekt made me an awesome sketch-up (thank you again!!!) and now curious to thoughts on how to connect the pieces. For the regular frame I was going to use screws and wood glue, but to connect 2x6s to 2x8s, I'd need 8" screws, which are NOT cheap....

My dad recommended wood dowels, which I know are VERY strong, but is this a good application for them? And then to stabilize I'd use elbows as well.
 
Can you put up the sketch-up? I'm having trouble picturing how those are coming together. I would think you will want counter sunk lag bolts though. Just dowels with glue is super strong but I would want something threaded to keep everything in place.

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I can when I get on my lap top. It's charging right now in the bedroom, and the wife is still asleep so the 1 year old won't bother her, lol...
 
Ben, I know that you can build a stand out of 2x4's easily just like Beard had said earlier. I think that you will appreciate all extra space that you will have underneath the tank and on the inside of the stand.
 
The design markitekt made for me has a TON of space. It's very open. Like I said, when I can go into the bedroom when the kid isn't looking (cause then he'll DEMAND to wake the wife up, lol) I'll post it. I told him how high I wanted the tank and how deep, and he delivered in a great way.
 
Mark makes some great designs. He has influenced the design of my stand.
As for your question, you could use pocket screws, but probably easier would be to take some 1/2" plywood about 5 x 8 overlap the joint, then glue and screw together.
 
I used 2x4s on my 100g it's way over kill but eh what ever lol. I have 1 center support front and rear and a 2x4 cross bracee in the rear
 
Ok, Wife woke up, so I have my laptop again. Here's a shot of the design. My sump is the same width as the tank (40 breeder converted) so mark used 2x8s to provide support and extra width. I am also making a canopy that will be integrated with the stand, so that's why there is wood going up on the sides. This is more than capable of holding this wieght and then some, and center braces aren't needed for a tank only 60" wide. This has enough space for my dosing jugs, sump, and ATO reservoir all underneath just in case I don't have a fishroom when we move.

The box frame is 2x6s. Rear legs 2x6 and front legs 2x8. 2x2s are used on the front to cover the nasty trim on the tank, lol.
View attachment 6033
 
looks awesome. I'm lucky i have my 100g stand cause thats where all my FW and SW stuff is lol. My 5g mixing buckets are all in there and constantly mixing SW for me.
 
So, screws/wood glue for the frame, but would dowels work for the legs? 8" wood screws are pretty darn expensive.....
 
How else would I connect them? That's why I thought wood dowels would be appropriate. Two on each end would keep it from swaying at all.
 
Pocket screws and glue. It's the plywood and the back 2x6's that would stop the lateral sway. You could actually use 2x4's in the back and 2x6's in the front for that extra depth in the front. Keep the 2x6 box frame if you are not doing structural plywood cover.
 
I build my stand holding over 4000 pounds completely out of 2x4's, nails, and a few screws...Its all about how you align everything not what it's made out of.
 
The side panels aren't there for structural purposes, just decoration. And wood dowels would go a long way to stop swaying.
 
Be careful with screwing the 8" screws so you don't split the wood. It's tough to find long drill bits in small sizes like that for pre-drilling.

How is your floor? You'll have 4 spots carrying the load. Something to consider is shorten the legs by 3.5" and do a 2x4 box frame on the bottom to spread the load out. If you are on a slab then disregard.
 
lol, I'm not using 8" screws, I'm going to use wood dowels instead. And I am going to make a frame on the bottom.
 
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