200g in-wall project officially started

[brad23]

I heard there is a huge tank in town you could have for 5k.

 

[blooper74]

LMAO ROF

 

[smorrow5773]

Your plan will be more than strong enough for dead weight on a perfectly level/planar basis. Just remember that the floor may not be perfectly level when you build this, and I wouldn't trust shims under 2000lbs + weight. I would put plywood around the base to give it lateral stability as well(unless your sump will be under it, then I would ply 3 sides and angle brace the last. You never know, the New Madrid fault may open up under your living room!!You can find plenty of scrap where new construction houses are going up, leftover from sheeting the roof.

 

[Benny Z]

good deal. thanks!

what thickness would you ply the 3 sides?

also, any tricks for getting it perfectly level on the concrete floor?

i put together one of the long dual 2x8 beams and osb tonight. i'm hoping to have it built by this time next week.

 

[Benny Z]

some progress.

here is how the beams are constructed. dual 2x8s sandwiching 7/16" osb and a 2x4 along the bottom.

you can see why these things will support a ton of weight!

hoping to piece the legs together and have the rough frame finished by this weekend.

 

[smorrow5773]

7/16 or 1/2 ply or osb will be fine, I am free the rest of today and this weekend, I have a lasar we could check your floor with, you could always cut off tiny bit of each leg to level things up, I have a chopsaw for that if needed.

 

[Benny Z]

awesome!

can you pm me your number? i'd love to check the floor and could use help getting everything perfectly level.

 

[Benny Z]

HUGE thanks to smorrow5773 (sean) for coming over today to knock out this stand. it would have taken me several weekends to do what he was able to accomplish in a few hours. the expertise that comes from professional experience is invaluable. this thing is perfectly square and level. i will still go ahead and cover 3 sides with osb, per his advice. i think i'm also going to add at least a couple of braces front to back between the rails. then 3/4" ply on top and a coat of marine grade sealer (anyone have recommendations for this?).

here are some shots:

finally, here are some shots of the basement area where this will be built. the stand is in place where it will be now. the plan is still to put a bar in the little alcove in front of the tank.

this alcove is just off to the left of where the home theatre system is.

and finally, here is the most important part - the fish room behind the tank. the door is access off of the unfinished portion of the basement. note the convenience of the window.

 

[Horace]

Looks great man. Brad and I just finished his canopy as well. Wish we had a carpenter with us

 

[brad23]

Good looking stand, it took me and Horace 5 hours to make the canopy. But it doesn't look to bad and was a pain in #$@. I'm going to buy some trim and paint for it tonight.

 

[blooper74]

Not to hijack but do you have any pics of the hood Brad? Or better yet make a thread about your new hood. By the way great looking progress Benny.

 

[Sloeber]

looking good!

 

[rick rottet]

looks earthquake-proof. nice job!

i see your cat is still liking the tank.

 

[Benny Z]

thanks for the compliments. and thanks again for the advice and help.

do you have any recommendations for a sealer product that i can pick up locally at a lowe's/menard's type store?

 

[Benny Z]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6615810#post6615810 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rick rottet
i see your cat is still liking the tank.

hah!

actually, all 4 (!!!) cats (don't ask) have taken a liking to the empty aquarium. i've come downstairs to find two of them sleeping inside it at least a few times. they're going to love sitting on the bar when this thing is up and running.

 

[brad23]

Make sure you cover that thing up or they will have there paws in there trying to get your fish.

If you have a lot of trouble with this I'd buy a clown trigger, after the first time he gets ahold of them they will never put there paw in the tank again.

 

[Benny Z]

they will be locked out of the fish room, so they won't have access to the tank.

there will be drywall above the tank from the display side, so it will be unexposed.

 

[Benny Z]

little bit of progress today. flipped the heffer upside down and slid it back into the laundry room. added two 2x4 cross braces, front to back, splitting the open area in thirds.

also cut two pieces of osb and slapped them onto the end legs. one of the legs required a little grunt work to square out, but it wasn't bad at all. i was going to go get another sheet of osb from lowe's this afternoon for the front of the stand, but it started raining. i don't want the osb to get wet, so i'll wait till some evening after work this week to get that.

what do you think...should i still cross-brace the back open side?

 

[blooper74]

Wouldn't hurt, more support never hurts.

 

[Benny Z]

little bit of progress to report.

this afternoon i emailed glass cages to see what i could get a glass 80x24x24 tank from them with internal overflow boxes built in. turns out it's a lot less than i thought it would be. especially if i pick it up.

so, i finally got up the nerve to tackle cutting the top holes of the tank larger. i figure i'll go through with the plan for this tank, but if i screw it up i can go ahead and get a glass tank and continue on with the plan.

i cut out the far left side of the tank...

it was actually much easier than i thought it would be. so much worry for nothing! lol. this piece will be trimmed up into about an 8x8 square so i can cover the hole in the bottom of the tank. solves that problem.

also, a bit of progress on the stand.

i picked up a 3/4" sheet of styrofoam to go on top. is that thick enough, or should i get another sheet?