My thought is to use angle iron to add support along the bottom and top. The black gap you see in a couple of the pics is at about 3/8" at the widest point. Wednesday, you've worked with iron, any input here would really help.
Pondliner with window Tanks - products used and longevity
- Thread starter wednesday13
- Start date
My 650 uses 2.5" angle iron 1/8" thick....my frame is fully welded though like and oldschool slate bottom metalframe tank so the weight of the bottom of the tank pushing downward actually keeps my front glass pushing inward aswell due to the angle. If the sides of ur front face are strong enough u may be able to bolt on a piece of angle iron to help take the pressure across the front...it wont be too pretty with an odd piece of angle iron sticking out on the front of the tank but it should help. Im not sure whats holding ur glass in, looks like just the plywood? Let me get on my computer and see if i cant see ur structure better on a larger scale.
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Ok...after a bit more inspection of ur pics i really cant seem to find anything holding the 2 sheets of plywood to the front of the tank, im guessing its just glued and screwed? What kind of other 2x4 bracing is holding it on there? If the stand isnt connected to the tank you can drain it, lift it up and place a piece of angle underneath the front, this will make it unlevel ofcourse but will help hold that plywood back. It looks likes theres 12" of plywood before the window starts so the angle may not do much even if you get 4-6" angle. That plywood front is really ur biggest problem in itself. Should be solid 2x4's outside the plywood stacked up or braced like wall studs. The screws alone holding that on is very scary lol...you may need to drain it half way or completly and build an outer frame of supports. Thats a shame 
hope u can figure something out, you know better than i do whats holding that front face on...i hope im wrong lol....atleast the window is still holding thats a milestone to have crossed on its own. Just need to put something in front of it, at this point a front center brace may help or a wratchet strap for now lol...
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hope u can figure something out, you know better than i do whats holding that front face on...i hope im wrong lol....atleast the window is still holding thats a milestone to have crossed on its own. Just need to put something in front of it, at this point a front center brace may help or a wratchet strap for now lol...Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Ok last one for now lol sorry...went back and looked at during the build pics and i can see theres no supports other than screws thats the problem. Good news is i can tell how short the support piece is on the older pics so a piece of angle iron placed under the front face will work in 4-6" angle. Like my tank the downward pressure of the tank will hold the angle in pushing ur glass inward. You really dont even need screws. May not me a bad idea to just make an entire angle iron frame on that bad boy and keep it running for a while.
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Thinking more about how I built this, I should have used a 2x4 to support the glass instead of a 1x2. The plywood face is glued and screwed to the bottom and sides using Kreg Jig system of screwing wood together. I'm thinking to drain the tank and replace the 1x2 with a 4x4. I can route a channel for the glass and liner to rest in and leave at least 2" of the wood in front of the glass so the I can screw the plywood frame to it.
I can use the angle iron and incorporate it into that 4x4 also. Better yet, I might use a 2x6 which would fit from the bottom of the glass to the bottom of the tank and place the angle iron in front of the glass. I'll draw up my idea and post the pic in a little while. Thanks for your input Wednesday.
Okay, so these are my two ideas. The one on the left is a 4" x 4" and the one on the right is a 2" x 6". Either one will go under the window between the face frame plywood and underside of the liner. The 2x6 might work better as it will go down a bit further towards the bottom. What do you think?. Man, this will be a lot of work.
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Sorry this doesn't help you out hawkeye.
I like to overbuild things so I would go with the 4x4. Yeah.... It's gonna be a lot of work.... but in comparison I think it is less work than repairing all the damage that can be done by having a couple hundred gallons of water spill on your floor. Hope I didn't jinx it for ya (knocks on wood)
On second thought....If you use the 4x4 I don't think you would have to use the angle iron, I'm no pro tho so probably want to wait for a second opinion on that.
http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...gine=adwords!6456&keyword=product_ad&type=pla
Sorry this doesn't help you out hawkeye.
I like to overbuild things so I would go with the 4x4. Yeah.... It's gonna be a lot of work.... but in comparison I think it is less work than repairing all the damage that can be done by having a couple hundred gallons of water spill on your floor. Hope I didn't jinx it for ya (knocks on wood)
On second thought....If you use the 4x4 I don't think you would have to use the angle iron, I'm no pro tho so probably want to wait for a second opinion on that.
Nice find corn fed...i need to order soon .... Hawkeye, i dont think you need to tear out the whole window and redo it as long as you can lift or tilt the tank off the stand to get half the angle under it, it may compromise the liner for a reseal. Pick up some 4-6" angle iron and bolt it right on the outside like regular glass tank trim. I'd come weld you a frame in a hour or so if we were in the same area lol....that wood will never bow with the steel angle holding it in place on the outside. I appologize for not noticing the construction in the first place ur build went up super quick lol... In ur new drawings ur thinking too hard and backwards lol...the wood needs to be supported from the outside not the inside. If you put the angle where you have drawn it will still push out just the same. I'll grab a piece of angle and get you some pics of what im trying to explain lol...
.... Hawkeye, i dont think you need to tear out the whole window and redo it as long as you can lift or tilt the tank off the stand to get half the angle under it, it may compromise the liner for a reseal. Pick up some 4-6" angle iron and bolt it right on the outside like regular glass tank trim. I'd come weld you a frame in a hour or so if we were in the same area lol....that wood will never bow with the steel angle holding it in place on the outside. I appologize for not noticing the construction in the first place ur build went up super quick lol... In ur new drawings ur thinking too hard and backwards lol...the wood needs to be supported from the outside not the inside. If you put the angle where you have drawn it will still push out just the same. I'll grab a piece of angle and get you some pics of what im trying to explain lol...
