building stand for 180... solid enough?

[SharkBait_Mtl]

Hi all.... I am posting this here as well as in my build thread... hopefully I will get some response before the weekend... (it's friday 1AM... lol)

I designed this stand to support my 180 in wall... the wall will be built off the stand... 150"L x 24"W x 36.5"H. The tank will sit in the middle of the stand. I oversized the length just in case I decide to upgrade the tank in the future... lol (always plan ahead.... thank god my wife can't hear my thoughts :strooper: )

the stand is being built at my dad's machine shop. It will be built in 2 pieces down the middle. the centre vertical pieces will be then screwed in to place once we transport it to my place from the shop. the top will have 3 pieces of 1/2" plywood to reinforce. the whole stand will be stained to help resist humidity.

1 - should I double up in the corners as I did everywhere else??
2 - is this stand solid enough to support a 180g+?
3 - do I need to put cross braces on top even though I will be putting plywood?

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/standcorner.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/standtop.jpg


thanks to any response

[Whacked]

too many uprights and much too close together. with your sketch, you'll never get a sump under there and maintenance will be a pain

it looks like roughly 18" on center?
change it to 24" o.c., 36" o.c is even better and still will work.

when you say the wall will be built off the stand. is that meaning the stand will become part of the wall (and limit yourself to a 18" wide tank max) or flush to the wall?

if stand will be part of the wall its best if the wall is a non load bearing. But if it is, frame the wall with a header so the stand isnt taking the wall load. might be a good idea to do that anyway. Just frame the wall like for a doorway or window.

Anyhow, thats my thoughts

[tang_man_montreal]

Whacked makes some good points about the spacing of the uprights, and in most situations it would be a PITA for fitting a sump under there... however seeing how your sump will be in another room, I don't see a problem with your design in that respect.

I would double up the corners, it's only 4 more pieces of wood.

I would put 3 or 4 cross members along the top as well. But that's just me. I like to overbuild things.

Don't bother staining it, it's gonna be behind a wall. Just slap on some outdoor paint and you're done.

I see that you based it loosely on the pics I sent you of the 60gal cube stand I built, and that thing was Very overbuilt. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/tang_man_montreal/60%20Gallon%20Cube/IMG_1638Small.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v421/tang_man_montreal/60%20Gallon%20Cube/IMG_1640Small.jpg

Put the 1/2" ply as planned, and I also like to use a sheet of blue styrofoam over that. Depending on the thickness you find, it will add another 3/4" to 1" of height.

I forgot what you said you were doing about the 4 holes along the bottom of the tank? Make sure that the framing or uprights of the stand doesn't get in the way of the bulkheads.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

whacked... you got a good eye....

the uprights are 18.75 center to center...

there will be no sump under the tank... there will be a fish room roughly 8'x 10' off the right back of t he tank. you can see the build if you click the red house...

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/basement-1.jpg

I was thinking of doing the uprights at 24" but the inner piece of wood will line right up with the closed loop return bulkheads on the bottom of the tank, and that would be a pain if I ever needed to access those bulkheads....so then I thought of doing it at 36". I was told that at 36" it would not be solid enough if I ever want to upgrade to a larger tank. as for building the wall off the stand this is the in-wall concept that I will be doing...the rockwork will be fake rock 4' x 8' mounted right onto the stand.

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/basement-2.jpg

I guess I could put cross beams on top at 36"... it cant hurt...

also I found 2" x 4" x 8' spruce at under $2... is spruce strong enough for this??

[tang_man_montreal]

as for building the wall off the stand this is the in-wall concept that I will be doing...the rockwork will be fake rock 4' x 8' mounted right onto the stand.

Nope...

You definately want to wall it first with humidity resistant gyprock (the green type used in bathrooms), and then applying your fake brickwork over that.

The same goes for the sump room while you're at it.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

the fish room goes green gyp without saying.... why would I have to put the green gyp on the tank's wall??

[jim.l]

The Green stuff still mildews. Get cement board. It's only a little more / pannel and the cements alkalinity fights milldew. It's also completely waterproof, unlike greenboard.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I will look into getting the cement board... can I find that at any hardware store??

[tang_man_montreal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14702822#post14702822 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SharkBait_Mtl
I will look into getting the cement board... can I find that at any hardware store??


Good call on the cement board...
Yes, you can get it at the local hardware store. I used it beneath my ceramic floor in the kitchen. You'll find it in the flooring section in 1/2" and 3/4" thickness. I believe it's sold in 2' x 4' panels.

[uncleof6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14701566#post14701566 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SharkBait_Mtl
Hi all.... I am posting this here as well as in my build thread... hopefully I will get some response before the weekend... (it's friday 1AM... lol)

I designed this stand to support my 180 in wall... the wall will be built off the stand... 150"L x 24"W x 36.5"H. The tank will sit in the middle of the stand. I oversized the length just in case I decide to upgrade the tank in the future... lol (always plan ahead.... thank god my wife can't hear my thoughts :strooper: )

the stand is being built at my dad's machine shop. It will be built in 2 pieces down the middle. the centre vertical pieces will be then screwed in to place once we transport it to my place from the shop. the top will have 3 pieces of 1/2" plywood to reinforce. the whole stand will be stained to help resist humidity.

1 - should I double up in the corners as I did everywhere else??
2 - is this stand solid enough to support a 180g+?
3 - do I need to put cross braces on top even though I will be putting plywood?

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/standcorner.jpg

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/standtop.jpg


thanks to any response

I would build that sucker out of 1.5" steel tubing (same three sections), not because you need the strength, but it would give you some extra room front to back and at the ends, and more room between the uprights. And getting all that wood straight and level will be a nightmare. $.02.

Jim

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I wsa thinking about going the steel route... but building a stand that size will cost close to 3x $$$. I am sortof on a budget here so I have to keep the cost down.

as for building the stand level... I dont think it'll be such as issue especially with all the uprights. Worst case scenario... if the stand does not level... I can always add a 1'5"-2" steel "L" extrusion across the top so that way the tank will be sitting on a level surface. I'll cross that bridge when I get there...

as for under the stand..... I dont really care about the lost space.... there will be no sump there... the only thing that will be there is gonna be the hammerhead CL pump and the OM 4-way with the plumbing to go with it..... and the rest will be for all the extra plumbing, storage of 5g bottles, buckets, etc...



I was also thinking... each end of the stand will be meeting an existing wall and will be secured to the wall that is already there.... but I can always still double up on it as wood is cheap, just to say that evey leg has been doubled...

[Whacked]

OK I see now.
I would still increase the spacing of the uprights.
18.75" will leave a opening of 15.25", 24" o.c. is 20.5" and 36" o.c. is 32.5"
I would go at least 24" o.c. so you can actually use the space for storage.

[billdogg]

i gotta go with the 24" centers as well. even then it will be overbuilt.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

yeah now that i look at it 24 OC should be fine except I wont be able to double up on 2 of the rear legs due to bulkhead interference...

I could prolly go with stainless steel L brackets.. it it is really needed.... I will build it tomorow and post some pics

[Whacked]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14713926#post14713926 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SharkBait_Mtl
yeah now that i look at it 24 OC should be fine except I wont be able to double up on 2 of the rear legs due to bulkhead interference...

Then I would move those 2 legs so you will have clearance.
As long as you dont span over 36", you will be fine.

Oh yea, you might want to put some bracing on the top frame, similar to what you have for the bottom frame. This will help keep the top stand from flexing out/inwards and provide more stability.
At a minimum, I would place them where the sides of the tank would be and one at mid-tank.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

so I got most of the stand built tonight... didnt finish though...

got the structural done... I just gotta mount the second set of 4 x 75"....and then the plywood

the 4x 75" are marked ready for the pilot hole.... tmrw...

here are a couple of pics... sorry for crap quality... taken with phone
1/2 stand
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/bryan150stand001.jpg

joints
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/bryan150stand002.jpg

structural
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l262/bbernesi/bryan150stand003.jpg

[Your Ad Here]

no need for cement board (durarock, permabase)
get the new purple board, great for mildew apps. or better yet
find some Dens-Glass, much much easier to cut than cement
board with all the benefits.

Chris

[SharkBait_Mtl]

Purple board... never seen that....is that available here in canada???

I will look into it....

Dens-Glass... never heard of it.... googling it after this post....

[therealfatman]

If your good with a trowel, then just lay up some bead board and trowel a layer of mud (mortar) right over the bead board. Cheap and easy with no seams. Add pigment and have color at the same time. There are tens of thousands of interior and exterior wall surfaces covered in this way through out Canada and the U.S. both. You can even go deluxe and use white silica sand and white portland cement and have a pure white surface. The bead board will keep all the lighting excess heat in the fish room so you can vent it to where ever you wish.

[SharkBait_Mtl]

very cool....

If this method is cheaper than purple board or cement board, I may just go that route. I don't really care if I can't get a good finish with a trowel. If I bring people in there... It is to show them my system's filtration and the fish room... Not the finishing of the walls.

Oh no.... My system is gonna crash because my trowel work sucks.... Hahaha

[SharkBait_Mtl]

Oh and BTW... Thx to everyone for their input