How much weight can a 2x4 hold

[Reefbound]

Im starting to doubt that my stand I built for the new 90 gal is strong enough to hold the weight. The frame is 4' x 2' single 2x4s with three 2x4s sandwiched for each leg and sheeted top only with 1/2'ply.I'll post a pic in a minute or three.

 

[trido]

Sounds to me like its more than strong enough. I just finished a 175 bow front stand out of 3/4" plywood with zero 2x4's. I also have my 65G on a stand with only four 2x4s skinned with 1/4" plywood.

 

[Chichas01]

sounds good to me. I definitely 'overbuilt' my stand and only used a single 2X4's on each upright. Also, once you skin it with plywood, it's amazing how sturdy it becomes.

 

[dogfrog]

There is a great post on RC about building a stand by RocketEngineer. A 2x4 under compression can hold over 10,000 lbs unless it buckles sideways

 

[Chichas01]

ooh! I remember that article. That was pretty informative. Good call!

 

[Reefbound]

Nice... I went ahead with everything and my move is complete 75 to a 90 gallon. Sorry forgot to post pic as I got busy with the move. but so far its holding the weight.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yep no problem! Dead weight is not the issue. Its the stability (side to side) strength you want to be sure to cover. That means proper joints, gussets, or skinning the frame to carry the shear loads. The other thing to consider is your 'footprint'. You want to be sure your flooring is strong enough by spreading out the load on the floor. "A woman in high heeled shoes will cause more damage than a 400lb man on a floor!".

 

[Reefbound]

First time I ever heard that analogy...hehehe, The stand is sitting atop 6 inches of concrete so no worries there. I was just worried the 4 foot by 2 foot frame was going to hold that much weight.

 

[mcoomer]

Does your 2X4 construction look anything like the template below. You can thank...oh what's his name...oh yeah, RocketEngineer.

 

[mcoomer]

Wow...do you know long it's been since I last double posted?

 

[Reefbound]

Almost exact, except mine is all 2x4 were his looks like 2x4 and 2x6.

 

[mcoomer]

I'm pretty certain that the drawing is meant to depict 2X4 construction. I know that some folks use 2X6 construction for the upper and lower platforms but that's generally on longer tanks. Build it per that template with 2X4's and you'll be in good shape.

Mike