470 gallon steel stand. Help ease my mind!

[Brandon Beck]

Im in the process of getting a new to me 470 gallon setup. Its 96x42x27 tall. 3/4" glass. Euro braced with 2 18" braces from front to back panels ontop. It is setup with 2 - 1" bulkheads and a 2" bulkhead on the bottom pane against the back wall.

I got the tank/stand/sump from a guy, he bought it off another person, it had to be cut apart to get out of that house and then was rebuilt at his place.

He never got to use it, it was rebuilt 2 months ago and never filled. He says it was setup just as I have it now from the guy he got it from.

The big question i have is the steel stand doesn't have any cross braces on the top, apparently never did and I don't even see how I could fit one anyway with the drains coming down in the middle. The tank is sitting on 3/4" plywood (not just the cheap stuff) and really good foam.

Ive spent the past month building the sump the way I want, getting all the plumbing done, and im about ready to fill it this week. It has just bothered me a bit and before I start filling i figured id get some second opinions of whether or not this stand with no cross brace at the top is going to be okay as far as the bottom pane of glass possibly having extreme deflection? I'd really hate for the bottom pane to Crack as this tank is just beautiful. Please any input is appreciated. Hopefully all my hard work wasn't for nothing now lol.

Pics of stand etc is there to see.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Nice tank.

What's the situation with the plastic trim lining the bottom rim? Is it actually holding the bottom pane up so the tank is just resting on the outside edges of the stand? Or is it more or less laying flat on the plywood? My hunch is the former situation.

The bottom panel is technically just holding up the weight of the water above it, so at 27" or less depth the pressure is actually not that extreme in your tank. The greatest forces are exerted on the middle-bottom of the front and back panels--the hydrostatic force pushing the panels out. I haven't done any of the calculations but I would guess with 3/4" glass on every panel your tank is very well designed at 96x42x27.

Imo to be safe you'll want to avoid pressure points on the bottom pane like large rocks or other decor that are resting on a couple small points in the middle of your tank

 

[Brandon Beck]

Its just flat plastic trim for looks. It's not a frame. I definitely won't have rocks in the tank, possibly sand but that would be it.

 

[skjl47]

The big question i have is the steel stand doesn't have any cross braces on the top, apparently never did and I don't even see how I could fit one anyway with the drains coming down in the middle. The tank is sitting on 3/4" plywood (not just the cheap stuff) and really good foam.

Hello; if I understand your concern, it is a worry that the stand will spread apart in the middle of the long span?

The last picture with the floor jack illustrates one possible solution. Such will require lots of work including welding.

My WAG is to try some stainless cables such as are popular on decks nowadays. Not sure the size of the cable needed. Would involve drilling holes thru the front and back of the top of the stand frame. Could do one cable in the center or more than one.

With wood support joists you can drill holes in the middle third of the width. I forget the exact limit of the hole size but think it cannot be the full 1/3 of the width. In metal I would be guessing. I do weld and work with metal but am a shade tree sort. A set of small diameter cables would allow for smaller holes.
If you went for one large cable a metal tube could be welded in the larger hole to brace the frame from bending in with tension. The sort of thing done when needing to mount things to a vehicles chassis frame. The tube lets you tighten a bolt down hard and not bend the frame rails.

I watch home improvement shows. The rail cable systems have clever attachments nowadays which can hide the tensioning hardware. You could use a turnbuckle underneath as it will not be seen. Check to see if an attractive solution is available.

Good luck and crossed fingers

 

[skjl47]

Hello; if I understand your concern, it is a worry that the stand will spread apart in the middle of the long span?

The last picture with the floor jack illustrates one possible solution. Such will require lots of work including welding.

My WAG is to try some stainless cables such as are popular on decks nowadays. Not sure the size of the cable needed. Would involve drilling holes thru the front and back of the top of the stand frame. Could do one cable in the center or more than one.

With wood support joists you can drill holes in the middle third of the width. I forget the exact limit of the hole size but think it cannot be the full 1/3 of the width. In metal I would be guessing. I do weld and work with metal but am a shade tree sort. A set of small diameter cables would allow for smaller holes.
If you went for one large cable a metal tube could be welded in the larger hole to brace the frame from bending in with tension. The sort of thing done when needing to mount things to a vehicles chassis frame. The tube lets you tighten a bolt down hard and not bend the frame rails.

I watch home improvement shows. The rail cable systems have clever attachments nowadays which can hide the tensioning hardware. You could use a turnbuckle underneath as it will not be seen. Check to see if an attractive solution is available.

Good luck and crossed fingers

Hello; Here is a link. Just for example of fittings.

Cable Railing Fittings & Assemblies | Stainless Cable & Railing LLC

We offer cable railing hardware including swaged hardware, quick mount hardware, and surface mount hardware for DIY cable railing systems.

stainlesscablerailing.com

 

[Brandon Beck]

Hello; if I understand your concern, it is a worry that the stand will spread apart in the middle of the long span?

The last picture with the floor jack illustrates one possible solution. Such will require lots of work including welding.

My WAG is to try some stainless cables such as are popular on decks nowadays. Not sure the size of the cable needed. Would involve drilling holes thru the front and back of the top of the stand frame. Could do one cable in the center or more than one.

With wood support joists you can drill holes in the middle third of the width. I forget the exact limit of the hole size but think it cannot be the full 1/3 of the width. In metal I would be guessing. I do weld and work with metal but am a shade tree sort. A set of small diameter cables would allow for smaller holes.
If you went for one large cable a metal tube could be welded in the larger hole to brace the frame from bending in with tension. The sort of thing done when needing to mount things to a vehicles chassis frame. The tube lets you tighten a bolt down hard and not bend the frame rails.

I watch home improvement shows. The rail cable systems have clever attachments nowadays which can hide the tensioning hardware. You could use a turnbuckle underneath as it will not be seen. Check to see if an attractive solution is available.

Good luck and crossed fingers

Im sure the stand will be fine. Im more concerned about the tank, seeing as the stand doesn't have a center cross bar, I wondered if that 96x42 bottom pane might have extreme deflection, causing a crack or seal to bust

 

[tlindsey]

Im in the process of getting a new to me 470 gallon setup. Its 96x42x27 tall. 3/4" glass. Euro braced with 2 18" braces from front to back panels ontop. It is setup with 2 - 1" bulkheads and a 2" bulkhead on the bottom pane against the back wall.

I got the tank/stand/sump from a guy, he bought it off another person, it had to be cut apart to get out of that house and then was rebuilt at his place.

He never got to use it, it was rebuilt 2 months ago and never filled. He says it was setup just as I have it now from the guy he got it from.

The big question i have is the steel stand doesn't have any cross braces on the top, apparently never did and I don't even see how I could fit one anyway with the drains coming down in the middle. The tank is sitting on 3/4" plywood (not just the cheap stuff) and really good foam.

Ive spent the past month building the sump the way I want, getting all the plumbing done, and im about ready to fill it this week. It has just bothered me a bit and before I start filling i figured id get some second opinions of whether or not this stand with no cross brace at the top is going to be okay as far as the bottom pane of glass possibly having extreme deflection? I'd really hate for the bottom pane to Crack as this tank is just beautiful. Please any input is appreciated. Hopefully all my hard work wasn't for nothing now lol.

Pics of stand etc is there to see.

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Welcome aboard
That aquarium is awesome.

 

[Brandon Beck]

Nice tank.

What's the situation with the plastic trim lining the bottom rim? Is it actually holding the bottom pane up so the tank is just resting on the outside edges of the stand? Or is it more or less laying flat on the plywood? My hunch is the former situation.

The bottom panel is technically just holding up the weight of the water above it, so at 27" or less depth the pressure is actually not that extreme in your tank. The greatest forces are exerted on the middle-bottom of the front and back panels--the hydrostatic force pushing the panels out. I haven't done any of the calculations but I would guess with 3/4" glass on every panel your tank is very well designed at 96x42x27.

Imo to be safe you'll want to avoid pressure points on the bottom pane like large rocks or other decor that are resting on a couple small points in the middle of your tank

I am experienced welding. Would be easy enough to pull the sump back out and weld at least 1 cross brace in on the left side of the plumbing. As long as I could get away doing it with the tank on the stand. Its not easy gathering up a troop of guys to move the tank off the stand lol