PM HULON and ask him what size tubular steel you would need. He's been there and done that and could give you the info you're after.
480g Brainstorms
- Thread starter knobhill
- Start date
2" would work fine. It would still be considered "over built" but 2" is very common and easy to work with.
I just got hooked up with a welder. Really nice guy with a great price. 2" steel with 1/4" walls. Stand will be ready by the end of the week!
I'm waiting for Universal Habitats to get back to me about the marine background.
Egon: Thanks for the quick tutorial on the ocean clear canister--it cleared up the tank in literally 5 minutes! I like the idea of a tapered overflow, but I am unsure about access (might have to cut an opening in the top panel). And go Kings!
I'm waiting for Universal Habitats to get back to me about the marine background.
Egon: Thanks for the quick tutorial on the ocean clear canister--it cleared up the tank in literally 5 minutes! I like the idea of a tapered overflow, but I am unsure about access (might have to cut an opening in the top panel). And go Kings!
That's awesome that he's going to use 1/4" wall steel; that stand is going to be heavy!!!
A few things to consider:
1. Be sure to make it very clear to your welder how important it is that the surface of the stand be planar. You don't want any high spots.
2. From the research I have done, ideally you would want vertical supports spaced no farther than 30" apart. A long span of unsupported steel can and will bow/deflect which can put stress on the seams of your tank. Since you will be putting 2 tons on this thing, make sure it has plenty of supports.
3. Anti-racking bracing (welding triangles in the corners) would probably be a good idea, especially since you appear to live in earthquake country.
My stand is made of 2" steel @ 1/8" thick (Tank is 10'x3'x4'T). You can see the triangular anti-racking bracing I mentioned on the vertical supports, although my stand probably has more than necessary.
Looking forward to seeing pix if this setup. I saw some pix of your other tanks and they look awesome; I love the look of tall tanks. My biggest complaint is the cost of running a pump powerful enough to overcome all that head height.
Holy cow that stand is a beast! He is going to do one set of vertical supports in the middle. My 7 foot tank has a stand built exactly the same way and hasn't shown any bowing (it is 2" steel also). Now i'm rethinking that it should have 2 sets of vertical supports...
I recently purchased a 480g tank and it is currently at the acrylic shop getting polished and the seams reinforced. This is going to take 6 weeks so I have time to collect my thoughts (and yours!) and not rush this tank. There is a pic of the tank being moved on a previous thread in the marketplace. Dimensions are 8ft x 2ft x 4ft (yes, 4 ft tall). The tank will be positioned against the wall and the right, left, and center sides will all be visible. The space is tight so any plumbing needs to run through the inside of the tank.
The inhabitants are upgrading from my 175g tank and consist of many types of plecos, roseline barbs, rainbowfish, geos, musk turtles, cory cats, bgks, clown loaches, and some other oddballs that I'm probably forgetting.
The purpose of this thread is to get ideas to address the following areas:
*Filtration/plumbing and overflow placement
*Custom background and additional decor
*Stand build
Feel free to ask any q's that might aid the process
Let's start: FILTRATION/PLUMBING
My ideal filtration setup for this tank is: 100g sump w/ dart pump, 2 fx-5's, 40w uv sterilizer
It is a blank canvas inside the tank with no overflow. The tank has 7 bulkhead holes on the bottom panel and no overflow; 3 are 1/2" and the other 4 are 3/4". They are drilled in the middle of tank and I hate that location. If I utilize the bulkheads, I will need to redirect them with 90 elbows and run them up the rear wall. I would also redrill them to accommodate 1" bulkheads for the fx-5s
My questions: Does that filtration seem appropriate for this size tank? (this is the largest tank I've ever owned)
Should I get an overflow built in while at the acrylic shop?
if so, where is the best placement? (I'm thinking that a 2" or 2.5" Overflow will do the job)
These questions lead to the next topic: CUSTOM BACKGROUND/ DECOR
I have been looking at the backgrounds they sell online and they are okay. I don't like the seams created by using all the prefab panels since this is such a large tank. Plus it makes sense to customize it due to my possible plumbing situation which needs to be hidden.
I want to do a low profile background with some overhangs (perches for plecos), a couple of caves, plants, and integrating a couple of air stones with the fx-5 inlets and outlets. There will also be a couple of showstopper driftwood pieces
Will/could plecos destroy the foam background?
Should I go with someone like designs by nature for a background or do it myself?
Would it be better to scrap building an acrylic overflow and just use a standpipe which would be integrated into/hidden by the background?
STAND:
I checked into getting a steel stand made and it would cost as much as the tank! So it looks like i am going with wood. Anyone have any bulletproof plans/ideas? 2x4s, 2x6s, or 4x4s? I will put 1" plywood on top and will create matching skins to line up with my 375g tank.
LET THE THREAD BEGIN....LET'S GET MONSTER
For the stand 2by6s and 4by4s would be fine as long as they're untreated.
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
2X4 are cheaper and are just as strong when you double them up. Give me a couple days after I get back from Vegas and I'll show you my build in pictures.
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Here is how I am going to do it these are center braces with the back a long 2"x4"x10' the long one in the pic. 
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my DROIDX using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
