New tank (stand?)

[socalfish]

First off, hello. been cruzin' the forums here for a bit now and thought I'd post a question. I've tried the search function but doesn't seem to pull up much on any of my searches.

this will be my second reef tank. the first was a simple 60G with out a sump, just the basics. I've been out of the hobby for a few years now and I'm ready to have at it once again.

my new tank will be ordered to size so not to sure of how many gallons. 85''long x 24'' deep x 30'' tall.

this is where I intend to put it.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p208/raptorDlux/IMG_0340.jpg
My father n law insists the cabinets will be strong enough, but I'm calling on your experience and advise. the top is granite with a sheet of 1/2'' plywood underneath. it is three separate cabinets set together(so there are two vertical dividers inside)
here is a shot from the under side of my stairs. you can see the back side of the cabinets.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p208/raptorDlux/IMG_0355.jpg

I plan on having the tank flush against the back of the wall since there are stairs on the other side. I will run the overflow drains out the bottom of each back corner. they will then run under the tank and through the right( as you look at it in the pic) recess wall.
for flow I want to have two bulkheads on the same right side running in a CL to the top.
all of the plumbing will go to a sump( and what ever else I can get in there)in a small caddy corner room under the stairs.

oh yea, I'm on a raised foundation too. ready to beef it up if needed.

thanks
Billy

[tcollins]

With a 260 gallon tank, I'd definitely look to beef up the stand also. Add the live rock and the marble top, your looking at a pretty heavy system.

[socalfish]

yea thats what my gut said. I only decided to ask because my father n law swore i would be fine

[mfinn]

I would do some serious bracing underneath those cabnets.
I really couldn't see the pictures clearly.(too big), but the weight of your new tank with tank weight, water, rock equipment could be as high as 2700lbs.
All I saw was some particle board from the backside picture.
Looks like a cool spot for a tank, but I wouldn't do it, not without some 4x4's in there.

[tcollins]

Frame it like you would park your car on it, you'll be fine.

[socalfish]

do you think I need to beef up under the crawl space.(raised foundation?

[Toad42013]

Must have bracing. 260 is alot of weight.

[tcollins]

Will the stand be running parellel with the floor joists or will it be perpendicular? Either way, I agree with Toad42013, you need to underpin it. Best time to do it is now as you can actually put a little uplift on the joists to handle the settling of your supports.

It's a little easier if the tank is perpendicular to the joists, as the weight is spread a little more.

[Imzadi]

OMG... 265 gallons, is 2650 lbs of water... rock and sand and lion fish poop will weigh A LOT more.

I would pull the front off that cabinet, COMPLETELY rebuild a structure in there, then put the front on, as a fasade. That particle board... if it held... would last until it got damp. Any chance of it getting damp? (near a fish tank)...

And the Granite top will just be in the way, imo.


I am envious of the space you have for it... but ya gotta do it right.

[socalfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11815130#post11815130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tcollins
Will the stand be running parellel with the floor joists or will it be perpendicular? Either way, I agree with Toad42013, you need to underpin it. Best time to do it is now as you can actually put a little uplift on the joists to handle the settling of your supports.

It's a little easier if the tank is perpendicular to the joists, as the weight is spread a little more.

Just checked, the joists run parallel. how would you put an uplift on them?

[socalfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11815136#post11815136 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Imzadi
OMG... 265 gallons, is 2650 lbs of water... rock and sand and lion fish poop will weigh A LOT more.

I would pull the front off that cabinet, COMPLETELY rebuild a structure in there, then put the front on, as a fasade. That particle board... if it held... would last until it got damp. Any chance of it getting damp? (near a fish tank)...

And the Granite top will just be in the way, imo.


I am envious of the space you have for it... but ya gotta do it right.
yea my first thought was to get rid of the granite and use the cabinet faces like you said. and looks like its the way I will go after all. thanks

[ricks]

I would tear the cabinet out and rebuild a proper stand. With a tank that size I would also reinforce the floor below the crawl space. That's alot of static load, your talking about. At a minimum I would use 4" x 8" for beams under the floor(3) running with the tank, and (1) 4" x 4" every 1' to 2' as risers on concrete pier blocks. I would make the stand out of steel square tube 2" and powder coat it first. If you use wood stain or seal it, or better yet use pressure treated.

Remember we you are talking about a large amount of water here.... You are around 265 gallons or somewhere around 2,500# with tank.

Also if your going to seal the tank in that small enclosure. You will want to have some way of humidity export. You will evaporate around 4-5 gallons a day. I would tear out the walls and install greenboard. that sheetrock will suck up the moisture..

If you are going to keep SPS plan on a minimum of 1.00 per gallon monthly operating expense. My power bill alone runs about 275.00 a month on my tank alone. last month power for house was 495.00...

Keep us posted..

Happy Reefing

[socalfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11815442#post11815442 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ricks
I would tear the cabinet out and rebuild a proper stand. With a tank that size I would also reinforce the floor below the crawl space. That's alot of static load, your talking about. At a minimum I would use 4" x 8" for beams under the floor(3) running with the tank, and (1) 4" x 4" every 1' to 2' as risers on concrete pier blocks. I would make the stand out of steel square tube 2" and powder coat it first. If you use wood stain or seal it, or better yet use pressure treated.

Remember we you are talking about a large amount of water here.... You are around 265 gallons or somewhere around 2,500# with tank.

Also if your going to seal the tank in that small enclosure. You will want to have some way of humidity export. You will evaporate around 4-5 gallons a day. I would tear out the walls and install greenboard. that sheetrock will suck up the moisture..

If you are going to keep SPS plan on a minimum of 1.00 per gallon monthly operating expense. My power bill alone runs about 275.00 a month on my tank alone. last month power for house was 495.00...

Keep us posted..

Happy Reefing

thanks, that's some excellent advice, and I'll take it. I especially like the green board idea,because its something I didn't even think of.