Few questions on using magnets to attach sides to a stand.

[mklukas]

Hi All,

I've been lurking on RC for quite a while now, and I'm getting close to the point where I'm going to be setting up a reef of my own. I've learned so much from this site and have taken away tons of great ideas that will hopefully make my system more successful.

Anyway to my question, I'm going to be building the stand and canopy for my soon to be ordered tank and am considering using magnets to hold the sides of the stand to the frame. I saw this done in another thread, but on a smaller stand. I really like the idea as it simplifies the construction (no doors or hinges to mess wth) and provides better access to the equipment under the tank.

My question really is how many magnets and of what strength would I need to hold the panels to the side? This is going to be a 3 sided peninsula style tank, so it'll have two ~58 x ~35" or ~68"x ~35" (depending on which tank I order) panels plus one smaller panel on the end. My plan is to counter sink the magents into the frame as well as the sides (which will be made up of probably 1/2" Plywood covered in laminate.)

I've seen in many cases the magnet's strength is listed in Lbs of Pull Force, but I'm not sure exactly how that translates, I was thinking of using something like this:
http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DX003

8 or 10 of them on each side, but I don't know if that's overkill or not enough, I'd hate to put the sides on and need a crowbar to get them off :lol:

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/advice!
-Matt

[scrombussquared]

I'm a cabinetmaker by trade, I build custom kitchens from scratch. We use magnets for a variety of purposes. Construct your stand so that the removable side panels either rest on the floor or on some kind of support built into the stand. Then you will only need enough magnet power to keep the panels stuck to the stand, i.e. the magnets won't be bearing the weight of the panel. Then you'd only need say three per long panel, and a pair on the end panel.

[RussM]

I used (6) 1/2"x1/4" neodymium magnets from K&J per door on my stand (17lbs pull strength); the doors are about 30"Hx22"W. I only embedded the magnets in the doors; the stand frame is steel. The doors are solidly held to the cabinetry, but do come off with only reasonable effort. I suspect that the magnets you specified might be too strong @ almost 60lbs pull, especially if used in pairs on both the doors/panels and stand. What I did was started with 4 per door; it wasn't quite enough. Added 2 more per door, and that was just about right; . You could take a similar approach... start with a few, then add as needed.

BTW... use a Forstner bit to get a perfectly-round flat-bottomed hole to recess the magnets.

& +1 to what scrombussquared suggests for something to rest the doors/panels on... not only does this take the weight of the doors, but also helps to align the panels properly when attaching them.

[~sp0ok~]

mklukas
[welcome]

good luck

[mklukas]

Thank you both for your replies. I realized shortly after I posted that I could have the weight of the panels supported by the floor or a small support ledge at the bottom of the stand and just use the magnets to keep them from falling over so to speak. Thank you scrombussquared for suggesting it also.

RussM I'm thinking about going down to a 20-30lb pull force magnet and like you said starting out with a few and adding some more if needed, does that sound like a good starting point? Also thanks much for the recommendation on the Forstner bit, that's exactly what I was looking for.

[davocean]

Both those guys made good points.
Maybe just baseboard for ledge.
Pics.

[mklukas]

I'll be sure to post some pictures when I eventually have something picture worthy. I'm waiting for quotes on the tank, once I have that finalized construction on the stand will begin.

[billdogg]

I used magnets with about 24lbs pull for the sides on my stand - I used 6 - countersunk into the panels, then used large flat washers countersunk into the 2x4's that make the frame. I could have gone with fewer - you have to give the panels a good pull to get them off!

[mklukas]

What size panels are you holding up with that combination of magnets?