300 gal DIY stand, bracing suggestions please!

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R

rallysman

Polypterus
MFK Member
Aug 7, 2005
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I'm building the stand for my acrylic 300 (8x2). I need to keep one end fairly open to slide a long wet/dry through. Will the bracing I have be sufficent? If not please let me know how I can make it better. ( it will be skinned with 1/2 plywood).
I'm also going to make X braces in the back and on the other end of the stand. Thanks in advance! Chompers.....let me know your honest opinion!

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looks great. skin it with plywood, and no need for any other bracing
 
Looks Great Rally!!! As for the cross bracing, it should be wood to wood. That way it is using more of the tinsel strength of the wood.... catch my drift?

But once you cover it in .5" ply it should be good to go ;) Just use some liquid nails to help support. Also I would put atleast .5" ply and .5" foam on the top in between the tank/stand. But other than that it is looking awesome bro:)

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Looks good so far Levi, I like to see you jumped right into building for that monster tank!
 
toxicfish said:
Looks Great Rally!!! As for the cross bracing, it should be wood to wood. That way it is using more of the tinsel strength of the wood.... catch my drift?
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Nice one ToxicFish :clap ...in other words, taking the load off of the screws will prevent the wood from tearing or compressing around the fasteners (making the holes bigger and allowing eventual play in the bracing). Also, your design is better anytime you can avoid using fasteners (and any component) in a sheer situation. By changing your bracing to fit corner to corner and toe nailing them in (just a term, use screws) you will strengthen your design and avoid the above problems.

In another post, I mentioned that in soft woods you should use coarse thread screws and hardwoods you should pre-drill and use fine thread screws. Fine thread screws do not bite deep enough into the grain of soft woods and can pull out.

If your design must include an open end, that is fine. Brace where you can and do your best to make the rest rigid to take advantage of the bracing. For instance, if you only need 2/3 of your stand for your wet/dry, add X cross bracing on both the end and at the next set of legs. Proper skinning on TOP, BOTTOM, and BACK will create a rock solid box on that end. PROPER skinning will transfer that stability throughout the rest of the stand. Normally I would say that ½ inch plywood would be sufficient, but since you want to transfer forces from one end of the stand to the other (not to mention your water will weigh 2490 lb.) it would be wise to upgrade especially if you picked your wood out of a stack that had sheets that were buckling or had plies separating. Double up on your top deck and the back at the very least. Definitely use exterior wood glue everywhere wood meets wood; and screw every three inches when adding your plywood (construction rule of thumb). If there is room for bracing above the wet/dry, that would be a good option too.
 
Thanks for your input!

I'll step it up to 5/8 plywood, and after I get the wet/dry in if there is enough room i'll do some more bracing above it. I just wanted some kind of bracing on the end that I need to be open, and thats all I could come up with! :ROFL:

Thanks for your help everyone :headbang2
 
How about some fitted removable or exterior bracing for the open end... couldn't hurt. my 2c worth.
 
Dr Joe said:
How about some fitted removable or exterior bracing for the open end... couldn't hurt. my 2c worth.
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you mean like a pressed fit, just to add a little more bracing? I could do that too I suppose:grinyes:
 
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