First ply tank- from 130 to 200 gals

[leg89]

hi everyone!

been here since a good while and been watching DIYs a lot.

still, what i plan to do has never been done, or not exactly this way. therefore, i feel a bit insecure. a bit of advice would be welcome.

so, i had a 130 gal for a year now. everything but the tank itself was DIY. the footprint of the tank is 72" x 19".

here are some sketchs and pics of how it's made.





support in the corners


in real

the actual aquarium

i had this monster deal on a monster fish, and now, i need to get a bigger tank, but don't have much space and the house'll come probably in 2 years from now, so no big monster project for now. i see this build as a starter in DIY ply tanks.

here's a pic of the new monster in the now too tight 130 gal




it's a pygocentrus piraya (a monster piranha)



i want to build the tank 84 x 24 x 24 instead of my 72 x 19 x 24. thing is, i want to put it on the same stand. since it'll be larger, i thought fiberglassing was my only exit. what do you think? i know weight is mostly in the corners, and with this project, corners wouldn't be supported by the stand... :S


that's about 6" too long on each sides



2" front and back





have shopped for everything, have the money, have the empty room to work...man...only need to make sure that project should be fine and we're started!


let's finish this starter post with a pic of the tank as it is right now

 

[syndicate]

how much is it gonna cost u all up a 8 foot x 2 x 2 isnt that dear just diy a stand for it

 

[John7429]

how much is it gonna cost u all up a 8 foot x 2 x 2 isnt that dear just diy a stand for it

?

 

[leg89]

how much is it gonna cost u all up a 8 foot x 2 x 2 isnt that dear just diy a stand for it

hmmm well i dunno about 8x2x2, but the plan i showed was 7x2x2 and it would cost me between 400 and 500$ which was the price before tx of my 130 gal.

don't want to go 8 feet and have a foot on each sides. 200 gal will do it for the fishes i have.

still, the original question is: would it be strong enough so it wouldn't bow?

thought about putting double layer fiberglass on the bottom so it's really stiff.

 

[Pharaoh]

You could just build another frame for the stand to sit on top of it. This would allow you to beef it up for the extra length. Otherwise, i would just build a new stand. DIY is relatively cheap to do

 

[basslover34]

Frame out the bottom of the tank itself.. as you mentioned before in your PM.. Simple yet very effective... less overall cost as well.

 

[leg89]

Frame out the bottom of the tank itself.. as you mentioned before in your PM.. Simple yet very effective... less overall cost as well.

yes but i'm not longer, also wider. so what to use to frame it? would 2 x 4s be strong enough if put on the side? i mean, 2" high and 4" wide, so not as strong bu if i put them 4" high and 2" wide, yes it's stronger but it won't touch the base! following me?

i'll sketch it if it's not clear enough

 

[garhog]

in square and rectangle structure the corners carry the load that includes the base of your tank so make sure all corner are supported you could modify your existing stand but in the long run it will be better to build it from scratch specifically for the tank in question

 

[weeble]

nice to see another canadian on here! stand looks great but i woudl also build a new stand aswell as its not worth the risk. for the marginal cost of a stand you have peace of mind that it will hold.

 

[leg89]

it's more a mather of time and space. i'll probably just stock the 130 gal in the closet for the time i sell it. i can't really do the same for the stand...

man... sure if everyone tells me it wouldn't be safe to put a larger tank on this stand, i'll have to go with the family, but that's something i really didn't want to do...

any other opinions?