UNS 120U stand

[TheWetScape]

I wasn’t sure if this or the equipment forum was the best place to post this.i have an120U coming from my LFS and will be building the stand for it along with some built in cabinets for my living room.
I was hoping someone with a UNS 120U could post some photos of the interior of the stand? Or a 150U would also work.

I just want to get an idea for the support and bracing on the inside of the cabinet. I’ve built a stand before but nothing holding that much water lol

 

[JayP]

Paging @Koan so he can page @Naturescapes_Rocco on the courtesy phone.

 

[TheWetScape]

Photos of the walnut ply 60U stand I built because the UNS one cost double what the tank does lol

 

[BranchScape]

Photos of the walnut ply 60U stand I built because the UNS one cost double what the tank does lol

You do excellent work that's better than the UNS stands, granted I am partial to walnut. half my house is R&B walnut furniture. Is it veneer or walnut ply?

 

[TheWetScape]

You do excellent work that's better than the UNS stands, granted I am partial to walnut. half my house is R&B walnut furniture. Is it veneer or walnut ply?

Thank you! 3/4 walnut plywood

 

[TRyan]

You did a nice job!

 

[TheWetScape]

thanks everyone! I just finished setting this tank up last week, and while im excited for the big tank, its also slightly intimidating haha

 

[Minorhero]

I don't have a 120U, but I do have a 120P. I also don't have a UNS made stand, but I did make my own. So maybe this will be helpful.

Here is the finished product:

And here are some SketchUp drawings I did in the planning stages of the build:

The basic rules of aquarium stand design hold for big rimless tanks made from hardwood as those made from 2x4s. You want your vertical supports to go to a rectangle that the stand sits on. That creates compression force on the vertical legs which they are easily able to take. For wood construction you want that rectangle ontop because wood expands and contracts at different rates vertically vs width. So this evens that out.

I believe modern UNS stands have an internal frame made of aluminium and they are made in such a way as to negate the need for some of this design. Here is a video showing the construction of a UNS stand:



Hopefully that's helpful.

 

[Capraquaria]

UNS 150U stand (tank 150 x 60 x 60 footprint). The stand is black so a little difficult to photograph. You may be disappointed. No cross bracing under the tank itself. They even skipped most of the paint on the underside

Outside Front (3 door):



Doors Open. Two vertical pieces between doors principally as door stops.



Note there is no wall between door sections. The interior is completely open from left to right. The 'door stops' are oriented front to back to provide some front bracing support, though.




There is a small open rectangle (maybe about 6"x8") in the back panel toward the floor on the right hand side (I am using it for ATO cords and tubing). There is a much larger rectangular opening on the back panel on the left side about 2/3's of cabinet height. There is no additional vertical bracing on the back panel. It is flat (sorry, the filter and UPS are bit in the way). That opening is about the height of the Biomaster 600 on the left.



This is the underside of the cabinet. Possibly MDF top? Stand seems too light overall to be all MDF, though. MDF is pretty heavy. Maybe a mix of ply and MDF, not sure. I don't see any obvious grain, but it's difficult with the black laquer version to tell. NO interior under-tank horizontal bracing, other than the front brace above the doors, and minimal interior underside paint apparently Wish I had noticed that before, I would have fixed that before I installed it. I will say I was quite surprised when it arrived at just how light this cabinet is for an approximately 400lb 15mm thick glass tank! So far it's holding up, but it's not how I would have built a stand if I did it myself. Sleek, though, but you could probably mod an Ikea cabinet with interior stud bracing and have something just as sleek looking. I will say I do appreciate not having vertical walls to drill holes through between each door section. Hooking up hoses and tubing is beautifully easy. Lots of elbow room! Functionally I do like it, but it's a pretty basic box for the price.