240Gal Reef of its own kind

[mattsilvester]

ok thanks for the advice for a front access. i a going to look into that to see how i can add it in at this later point. but i have a new question.
are the supports i have right now good enough to hold the weight of a full tank?
there are about 6 double stud legs and the plywood board behind the sump vertical on the wall is also holding the weight up attached into the studs in the wall.

I'll be brutally honest - don't interpret that as derogatory. There are a number of flaws with your stand design:

1. There is no leg at the right corner. Supports should be on corners.
2. The legs touch the ground at a point - nomrally, the leg would stand on a horizontal "beam" which would distribute the weight across the floor.
3. The cross member on the top of the stand is 2 peices of timber - this should be one continuous piece to reduce deflection and distribute and uneveness evenly.

Timber is cheap, and easily worked. Personally I would build a new stand from 2x4's. Search the DIY forum - there are lots of good examples. Whilst you probably will get away with the current stand - and people both underestimate the strength of timber (and glass) and over estimate the weight of water - I could not verify that design with a calculation and it just "feels" wrong - considering the value of your tank when running, and te safety issues of it collapsing for both human and animal life, then I would re-do it.

Sorry to be so negative

 

[unhandleable]

Looking forward to seeing this thread continue to grow, especially with photos!

 

[Dr. Reef]

after Matts comments i have decided to reinforce the whole stand structure with more added legs and horizontal beam to distribute the weight out and also put a leg on the corner where there isnt one.
thanks for all the comments and safety concerns. please do update me with more comments so i can make sure it doesnt end up in a disaster.
thanking all in advance

 

[bmullikin1]

Agree w above statement, go to dyi section and look up rocketengineer's thread. Here's mine from that design.

 

[MarlinDreams]

Following, as I live in the same area. Also on the stand design, the DIY one is very simple and VERY strong. I built mine with no problems whatsoever and it is strong as can be. Also check your 2X4's that are in the wall and make sure they are not supporting something other than the sheetrock. I can't tell but they may be 2X6. I would also suggest a header in the front of the wall for added support. All in all it would be a great peace of mind and very little work to add the strength as the above posters said.

 

[firsttimereefer]

For support in the front of the stand is it only a piece of plywood screwed to the wall if so I'm not sure if I would trust that

 

[Dr. Reef]

So a little update: after realizing the design of legs being not good i reinforced everything. there is a leg missing to be placed as soon as i get the sump in there. Mostly the update is on the electrical side. i placed 5 GFI's on the under side of the tank 3 to the side and 4 above the tank. I have put a lot of focus on the electrical side to make sure i dont have to use electric strips. plus ever box is run on its own leg of wire running back to its own independent breaker.
This way i can distribute the electric load on different breakers. Also helps in multiple heaters in my case 4x 300w titaniuns that can run on 4 different breakers just in case 1 trips i still have 3 for backup. 1 1/2 HP Commercial Chiller goes on its own breaker.
Anyways wanted to update a bit for so far what has been done.
All feedbacks are welcome.

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[DevilishDukie]

Very nice.

 

[chefzif]

This will be a great looking system when all finished! Chef! Love the long tank!

 

[Jhuff]

Looking really good so far! Good quality build.

 

[Dr. Reef]

thank you guys for ur comments.
here are few more pics with updated.
I finally finished building all the platforms/shelves where all the equipment will be placed.
I ran into some plumbing issues today but finally Lowes had an alternative part that made things better. Also mounted my Genesis Renew system today.
Here are few pics. Hope u guys like it and comment of anything that may look off.

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

 

[Dr. Reef]

Monsters that are going to run the system: