OnceI got all my boxes unpacked from my move (AZ to NY),, the first thing on the list was the construction of the stands that would hold two tanks. I planned on using an All Glass 90 gallon tank, with the corner overflow. Next to it I wanted to be able to place a 30 gallon DIY refugium made from acrylic, higher then the main tank for circulation purposes. The taller, secondary stand would double as a storage cabinet for all of my aquarium goodies, such as dry food, test kits, salt, spare hoses etc.

The primary consideration when building your aquarium stand is the weight of the aquarium. Overall water weight I calculated at 10 lbs per gallon, with an aquarium weight of 150 lbs, sand bed at 150 lbs, and 125 lbs of rock. It is critical that your stand be capable of supporting the weight in a stable manner.

I contacted AGA and asked the dimensions for their 90 gallon tank. The lady told me exactly 48" by 18" so I built the stand accordingly. I stained the wood, and assembed everything but the outside, taking care to level the entire frame as closely as possible.

I called AGA a second time, to verify the hole location for their corner overflow, and that's when I learned that they had given me the "inside" dimensions by accident. The length I had build was exactly 1/2" to short! I ended up using a 2x4 block on the end of the stand to gain the extra space I needed. This was the beginning of the "Beverly Hillbilly Saltwater Aquarium".

Dan Rappley was a friend I worked with at my new job in New York (yes I had to get a day job ;-( and he located someone to fabricate 2 "L" brackets 7 feet tall from 1" steel tubing. These were attached to the back of the stand and are what I use to hang my lighting canopy.

The stand was finally setup and ready for the tank to arrive in late September 2000, and I went ahead and purchased a 20 gallon aquarium (shown on right standing on end) for use as a sump.