Building tank stand vs buying?

Is it cheaper to build your own tank stand than buy one? I saw one that I liked for my 55gal at Petco that was metal for $60. Someone I know has had it for a while and it has held up very well for them. Would it be a lot cheaper to build one.. or just buy that one?

 

Depends, We've built the stands for our 90g and 120g and it came out way less then buying one. And To me they feel more sturdier and custom then a stand you can buy.

 

It's probably cheaper to buy one, if you get one of those mass produced monstrosities. But those are so cheaply made I wouldnt trust them to hold the tank for a long time or stand up to saltwater.

If you get one from a local fish store they probably have a carpenter they pay to make them, and it would be cheaper to build one.

 

You can build one fairly easily out of 2x4s that looks decent. I did that when I was a starving student. I just built two 2x4 "boxes" then bolted four legs to it. Use stainless steel large bolts (3/8" would be overkill) and you don't need to worry about having the legs inline with the "boxes" - at least not for a 55g.

See diagram:

 

I build my own - always

 

im building one for my 120 and its costing me around 50 bucks to make it...when a normal stand from a factory would be more than 100

 

I built one for my 75 and spent around $50.