Is this stand strong enough and design ideas?

[ripit]

I have young children so I need to make sure this tank stand is strong enough to be safe beyond a shadow of a doubt. I would also appreciate any general design recommendations on how to finish it. It is for a 55 gal corner tank. I already plan on putting cross supports (about to start working on it now). The rear will be paneled with hardboard (same stuff as brown pegboard minus the holes). The top will be covered with 1x3 boards (not terribly strong but it should give some additional support. The way its designed, the tank will sit on the 1x3's across the top which will sit directly on the top ends of 8 vertical 2x4's that go all the way to the floor. The weight is basically sitting on the top of 8 vertical 2x4's that are held vertical by the frame. I was kind of thinking a middle shelf and doors made from 1x3 boards. It will be stained and either lacquered or polyurethane.


Here is my biggest concern with safety. My tools and materials are limited. Things were not cut perfectly straight (no table saw) and a few of the boards have some warping. It kind of rocked on the floor when first built. When I added more supports, a lot more screws and tightened everything down the rocking seemed to go away (on carpet anyway which is where it will be setup). I just tried it on a hard floor and there was no rocking. The entire top is twisted a bit compared to the base (possibly as much as an inch or more rotation). I think that one or more of the boards was warped and the whole thing followed that contour. That means that some of the vertical supports are not perfectly straight up and down. Also, the front corners of the top and bottom frame do not have a lot of meat for the screws to go through (see the third pic). I could basically keep building on supports till the thing is almost solid 2" thick walls all around but I have already added enough already where it may interfere with using the internal space as storage or for equipment.


Beyond that I am curious about cosmetic finishing ideas (doors on the front etc?). I am stuck for the most part with materials I already have. I have 2x4's, 2x2's, 1x3's and maybe some 1x2's. I have some cut up pieces of hardboard (one strip looks wide enough to go across the back and is 8 feet long so it can get both back panels). I also have a few hardboard panels that are maybe 12-14" and 8 feet long.

Also, if the back is paneled, how many and how big of holes for cords/hoses to pass through? I would like to build it and be done with it so I would like enough access for changing circumstances.

Any ideas, opinions or comments of any kind would be appreciated.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Leaving aside the warped (untrue) aspect of the stand as that is a tank stress/leak issue, the first thing that came to mind is that it appears you are counting on the sheer strength of the screws to support the weight of the tank. Some additional 2x4's on the verticle legs and under the rim could help that.

Back to the untrue aspect. Based on your description it seems very likely that there will be stress points on the tank due to the stand not being straight and level across the top. Not sure of a simple fix for this. It may be ime to rethink and perhaps try a different stand?

 

[ripit]

The tank wont be sitting on the outer edge. it will be sitting inside the top 2x4 frame directly on top of the legs. If you look at this pic you can see a 1x3 across the top of one of the legs. I was going to have those across the top of the legs across the whole top (inside the top ring of 2x4's), and the tank would sit inside the top frame on those 1x3's. The weight is bearing directly on the top of the legs which goes all the way to the floor.

Thanks for the mention of stressing/flexing the tank. I hadn't really even considered that. I built the stand to be big enough that the tank can sit inside the lip of the 2x4 frame with a little space on each side. I guess the problem would be getting those 1x3's across the top flat so they are not twisting the tank. I'll have to think about that one for a little while.

 

[ripit]

I might have misstated how it is twisted too. the top is relatively level though I'm not sure that matters. Imagine setting that top ring frame on top of the bottom one like it, without the legs. Then turn the top frame so they don't line up. That is how they are twisted (the top ring frame is rotated from position of the bottom). Since it is sitting directly on the legs though, their height is what matters and they are not the same length or level (they are only off by a little from each other but they are off). I was thinking the 1x3 across the top of them would level the surface out but now I'm not so sure they will not just twist when screwed down. I could sand the top smooth but that still isn't going to guarantee a level surface. I was thinking I could use a piece of plywood or something across the top of the legs. I'm looking into what I have for that (probably nothing).

 

[theboomboomcars]

I would recommend instead of laying your 1x3 flat like in your picture cut them down to fit between the vertical 2x4x and use them like floor joists, it is harder to bend 3" of wood than 1" of wood. Use screws and a really strong adhesive, like liquid nails to hold it to the exising 2x4s. Then make sure everything is even and level

 

[ripit]

I would recommend instead of laying your 1x3 flat like in your picture cut them down to fit between the vertical 2x4x and use them like floor joists, it is harder to bend 3" of wood than 1" of wood. Use screws and a really strong adhesive, like liquid nails to hold it to the exising 2x4s. Then make sure everything is even and level

If you mean like in these pictures, I already planned on it but with 2x4's. I didn't post it because I'm in the process of designing and working on it right now. I then was thinking of putting the 1x3 across the top like in the second picture. I have added 2 supports (legs) to the long 2 back sides as seen in the pictures (or I'm cutting the lumber for it, nothing is screwed together yet). I was not going to add additional legs on the 3 smaller front sides but I was going to put joists like that on them. I was also going to add joists like that on the bottom. I was even thinking of joists in the middle, but if I do it will probably be 2x2's at the most in the front to limit obstruction to access inside for storage/equipment.

Getting the top of the legs and the joists level across the whole thing is the major issue. That is my primary purpose of setting boards of any kind flat inside the lip (to try and level out the surface). One thought that crossed my mind was building a top of 1x3's laying flat (not attached to the stand). I would use cross boards to hold it together. Then I could silicone the top of the legs and joists, and set it on top. The idea is that the silicone would fill some of the unlevelness and buffer it a bit. I'm not sure if it would work well or not. Another thought would be a sheet of plywood.

 

[theboomboomcars]

That is what I was thinking.
If it is a glass tank you don't need a top for the stand, since the the outside rim of the tank will make contact. The most important step would be to make sure that all the 2x4s that contact the tank are level with each other, and the stand make solid contact with the ground. I am not sure of the dimensions of one of these tanks, but the taller it is and the smaller the base, the more top heavy it will be, and One thing you are not wanting is the tank toppling over, so it is very important that the stand have solid contact with the ground.

If the top of your vertical 2x4s are directly over the bottom of the 2x4, you don't need to worry about the warping, because the pressure will remains more or less vertical. If the top is not straight above the bottom, you will want to use a different board.

It looks like you have redundancy for the boards in 3 out of 5 corners, you may want to consider putting in a second 2x4 on those 2 remaining corners. Looking at my stands, which are built by the aquarium manufacturer, and if I use the tank and stand together, the manufacturer guarantees both for life, the corners are all butting 1x6s, the tanks are a 120gal(4x2x2) and a 210gal.(6x2x29"). It may not be necessary since you are running horizontal 2x4s between each vertical 2x4 to support the glass.

You have quite a bit of vertical reinforcement on that stand, and the horizontal 2x4s look pretty short, so they will be strong. I would say this stand definitely falls into the overbuilt category.

 

[ripit]

I just realized how bad the twisting problem is seeing it from a particular angle. Only one corner is angled like this (looking at this from the opposite side it looks straight, the other long side looks straight, and 2 out of 3 of the short sides look straight). That corner being off is what is causing the top to twist. I think I might try to find the bad board(s) and replace them. Unfortunately a few of the boards are screwed in crooked due to it so I'm not sure if that will straighten up completely.

As far as overbuilt, that's what I'm shooting for. Beyond the twisting problem, having the top of the 2x4's where the tank contacts level is the other major issue. I got the one long side where it has some contact in 5 spots basically a high point on each leg). Thats why I was thinking of a top. Basically the top sits on the high spots providing a level surface. It is glass by the way. The top isn't intended to provide necessary support across the whole surface, but rather to provide support in making the edges level. Of course if I find and replace some of the problem boards and untwist it some, I wonder what else it will throw off? If it doesn't fix it perhaps I could oppose it (another leg angled the other way so its like and upside down v).

 

[skjl47]

Hello; From reading your comments it seems that you have an understanding of the issue of being uneven. Good luck with whatever method you decide to try.

On another of your questions, tipping over and children. I maintained a tank in a doctor's office for a time and had the same concern. I secured the tank to the wall with eye bolts into a wall stud and a turnbuckle to keep the tank and stand from tipping over.

I am interested as to how you are going to handle/grip the tank as you place it into the recess of the stand. I have not done this, always having a tank bottom even with the top of a stand. I guess it will depend on how heavy and bulky the tank is.

 

[djlamonica]

Imo that will hold your tank as is to be safe you could run 2x4s like floor joyces but with some of the stands I've used before that have held larger tanks that thing will hold for many many years

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