Hello People I need a little advice on my stand

sponger0 · 07/13/2009, 10:19 AM

Hello everyone,

I am new to saltwater. Ive been looking here for the past week trying to get a good base of information. I recently aquired a 150 gallon glass tank in hopes to try to do a saltwater setup. I have done freshwater for around 10 years so thought id step it up. Ive always been interested in salt but was just to scared....so I thought id try it.

First off.....my tank....it came with the oak canopy.

So my first task at hand is to build a stand for it. Here is the base. You cant see it but it has 3 more boards going for the width of the base

Next I built the frame

And then trimmed it out to dress it up.

Now the problem I ran into was i thought I was just gonna do a HOB. I was told that was my only option since its not drillable. Well since ive been reading on here I was told abow HOB overflows. So now the skimmer I want now wont fit under the stand. So I was wondering would it be safe to just take it apart and make new taller supports or should i begin from a clean slate?

I planned on removing the base and the top from and reusing it. But I wasnt sure if it was a good idea due to weight and stability

Sisterlimonpot · 07/13/2009, 10:48 AM

yeah you can reuse the bottom and top just replace the 2x4 with longer ones. I don't see how the skin is attached to the 2x4 frame but if they're not screwed or nailed in your going to have a problem with racking. (With the weight of the tank full a slight push on the side of the tank will bring the entire tank crashing to the ground). But if you're going to redo it anyway you can factor that in to the build. Or notch the new 2x4's so that the top frame rests inside instead of on top...if that makes any sense.

sponger0 · 07/13/2009, 10:53 AM

not sure what you mean by the skin, but on the top of the frame they are screw in with 3 inch screws on top and side. on the bottom of the supports they are screw in from the underneath and on the bottom at an angle

der_wille_zur_macht · 07/13/2009, 11:17 AM

By "skin" he means the ply you trimmed it out with. I agree with his assesment - the ply should be well attached (glued & screwed) to the final product to make it structural.

Also, depending on the thickness of the ply, I might suggest bumping the top framing up to something more robust - it looks like the front and rear beam are 2x2, or maybe 2x4 ripped down? It should be strong enough, but with rough lumber in such a small size I'd be worried about trueness.

der_wille_zur_macht · 07/13/2009, 11:18 AM

Oh, and that hood looks like it has some water damage - I'd deal with that pronto before it ruined the wood.

sponger0 · 07/13/2009, 11:36 AM

yeah the canopy will be taken care of. well every thing was nail down good. lol. went through alot of nails.

i had me and a bunch of my friends sit on it and no creaking or movement. so im sure its strong now. but i still may just start from scratch

07/13/2009, 10:19 AM	#1
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	Hello People I need a little advice on my stand Hello everyone, I am new to saltwater. Ive been looking here for the past week trying to get a good base of information. I recently aquired a 150 gallon glass tank in hopes to try to do a saltwater setup. I have done freshwater for around 10 years so thought id step it up. Ive always been interested in salt but was just to scared....so I thought id try it. First off.....my tank....it came with the oak canopy. So my first task at hand is to build a stand for it. Here is the base. You cant see it but it has 3 more boards going for the width of the base Next I built the frame And then trimmed it out to dress it up. Now the problem I ran into was i thought I was just gonna do a HOB. I was told that was my only option since its not drillable. Well since ive been reading on here I was told abow HOB overflows. So now the skimmer I want now wont fit under the stand. So I was wondering would it be safe to just take it apart and make new taller supports or should i begin from a clean slate? I planned on removing the base and the top from and reusing it. But I wasnt sure if it was a good idea due to weight and stability

07/13/2009, 10:48 AM	#2
Sisterlimonpot R.C. Fraternity President Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Litchfeild Park AZ Posts: 11,490 Blog Entries: 2	yeah you can reuse the bottom and top just replace the 2x4 with longer ones. I don't see how the skin is attached to the 2x4 frame but if they're not screwed or nailed in your going to have a problem with racking. (With the weight of the tank full a slight push on the side of the tank will bring the entire tank crashing to the ground). But if you're going to redo it anyway you can factor that in to the build. Or notch the new 2x4's so that the top frame rests inside instead of on top...if that makes any sense. __________________ Jimmy MASVC President Dishes are done man! Current Tank Info: 300 in progress

07/13/2009, 11:17 AM	#4
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	By "skin" he means the ply you trimmed it out with. I agree with his assesment - the ply should be well attached (glued & screwed) to the final product to make it structural. Also, depending on the thickness of the ply, I might suggest bumping the top framing up to something more robust - it looks like the front and rear beam are 2x2, or maybe 2x4 ripped down? It should be strong enough, but with rough lumber in such a small size I'd be worried about trueness. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

07/13/2009, 11:18 AM	#5
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Oh, and that hood looks like it has some water damage - I'd deal with that pronto before it ruined the wood. __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

07/13/2009, 10:53 AM	#3
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	not sure what you mean by the skin, but on the top of the frame they are screw in with 3 inch screws on top and side. on the bottom of the supports they are screw in from the underneath and on the bottom at an angle

07/13/2009, 11:36 AM	#6
sponger0 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 6,659	yeah the canopy will be taken care of. well every thing was nail down good. lol. went through alot of nails. i had me and a bunch of my friends sit on it and no creaking or movement. so im sure its strong now. but i still may just start from scratch