DIY stand height?

[BarroomHero]

I am moving to from an apartment to a house next week. I am going to be setting up a 125gal and building the stand myself. Can I make the stand 34-36" tall? It seems like most stands are 28-30" and I didnt know if there is a specific reason for that or not. I tried searching but I didnt come up with much.

Another issue I have is that there is only one wall downstairs that I can put the tank against (house is layed out kinda weird but the rent is super cheap), and the floor there has a low spot in the middle of the 8' wall. I am going to have 6 4x4's for the legs of the stand, will it be ok to just put some shims under the middle legs? I am unsure if doing it that way will put equal pressure on all 6 legs.

 

[vaine111]

24" if you dont plan on a sump 30" if you plan on one. thats why those are the common heights.

 

[vaine111]

you'd might want to go with a solid base also.

 

[BarroomHero]

24" if you dont plan on a sump 30" if you plan on one. thats why those are the common heights.

So is there a reason I shouldnt build it taller than 30"?

The reason I want to make it like 34" is because its going to be in the dining room, so if the stand is 30" the tank will be partially blocked by the dining table.

 

[vaine111]

no the height sounds fime but the higher you go the more chances of it tipping. you might want to find out the total weight when it is full and see if you can go with the 6 legs. with a solid base you are looking at about 150lbs of pressure per sq. ft.. if you went with 6 legs you are looking at that per sq. in.. which if it is a wood floor no subflooring will hold that.

 

[BarroomHero]

you'd might want to go with a solid base also.

Even then it seems like it would be hard to shim it just right so the weight is distributed evenly. Or will the stand be to "float" over the low spot if it is built strong enough?

 

[BarroomHero]

no the height sounds fime but the higher you go the more chances of it tipping. you might want to find out the total weight when it is full and see if you can go with the 6 legs. with a solid base you are looking at about 150lbs of pressure per sq. ft.. if you went with 6 legs you are looking at that per sq. in.. which if it is a wood floor no subflooring will hold that.

It is a concrete subfloor with ceramic tile. Full weight should be around 1400.

 

[vaine111]

cant you just make the one leg longer. all you want to do is make sure the top of the stand wont warp and have any spaces between it and the bottom of the tank. shim it or make it longer.

 

[BarroomHero]

cant you just make the one leg longer. all you want to do is make sure the top of the stand wont warp and have any spaces between it and the bottom of the tank. shim it or make it longer.

It will probably be something along the lines of this actually-

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136796&highlight=stand


How often do you need to shim it? I mean it would be impossible for 100% of the base to contact the floor since it has a dip in the middle.

 

[BarroomHero]

Oh, and in addition to the floor sloping/dipping in the middle of the 8' wall, the tiles arent 100% even, some of the tiles are 1/8" higher than others. So I am all hears for ideas of how to best support the tank in this situation.