270 Gallon SPS tank for JBNY
- Thread starter JB NY
- Start date
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JB NY
Active member
Attaching the plywood wasn't too hard. I wanted the 2x4's to sit flush with the top of the support so I had to notch a section of the plywood after it was put on the 2x4's.
First I set up a separate area that I could assemble the supports and still have access to my other tools if I needed them. So fist I put the support of assemble studs down.
Next I put the 1/2" piece of ply on top of it.
I aligned everything up to get ready for glue up and attaching the screws. Before I permanently attach the ply I checked to make sure the bottom of the support is square so that all of the support will uniformly touch bottom for stability.
After I'm happy with that, I attached the ply to the studs with screws. With that done I need to notch out the sections that will receive the studs for the top support. So I cut away a rough hole leaving about 1/8" all around, then hit it with a router using a flush trim bit and use a hand saw to square up the rounded edges.
First I set up a separate area that I could assemble the supports and still have access to my other tools if I needed them. So fist I put the support of assemble studs down.
Next I put the 1/2" piece of ply on top of it.
I aligned everything up to get ready for glue up and attaching the screws. Before I permanently attach the ply I checked to make sure the bottom of the support is square so that all of the support will uniformly touch bottom for stability.
After I'm happy with that, I attached the ply to the studs with screws. With that done I need to notch out the sections that will receive the studs for the top support. So I cut away a rough hole leaving about 1/8" all around, then hit it with a router using a flush trim bit and use a hand saw to square up the rounded edges.
JB NY
Active member
So with the one side of the ply put on, I flip it over and do the other. Then I do the whole thing two more times and voila. I have my three supports.
I marked them so that I would remember which ones were for the left, middle and right sides.
Another shot with the studs placed just to make sure everything was lined up correctly.
I marked them so that I would remember which ones were for the left, middle and right sides.
Another shot with the studs placed just to make sure everything was lined up correctly.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
Ahh...that is one fear I have of an Acrylic tank is the scratching too. Heck my 58gal has scratches on the glass 
NICE legs...support legs that is. That is a great idea for stability w/out having to so some huge supports. Everything looks nice. Keep those pics coming
Lunchbucket
NICE legs...support legs that is. That is a great idea for stability w/out having to so some huge supports. Everything looks nice. Keep those pics coming
Lunchbucket
REEF-DADDY
New member
wow your tool collection has grown in the past 6 years!!!!!1
JB NY
Active member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9399999#post9399999 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lunchbucket
Ahh...that is one fear I have of an Acrylic tank is the scratching too. Heck my 58gal has scratches on the glass
NICE legs...support legs that is. That is a great idea for stability w/out having to so some huge supports. Everything looks nice. Keep those pics coming
Lunchbucket
My acrylic frag tank has lots of scratches in it and I was really careful with it. So I could imagine what my main tank would look like in 5 years
Thanks I really like how the legs turned out. I'm taking lots of pictures, so hopefully this thread will stop sucking.
JB NY
Active member
With the support legs done I went upstairs to open up the holes that I had previously drilled into the hardwood floor to run pipes to the basement. In addition to just holes, I had put in a bulkhead for the 1 1/2" return piping. Here is a shot of the holes that I have behind the tank.
So I decided that this time I would just cut a big hole and run everything through that, rather that bother with just a few small holes. The holes ended up being a problem because as time went by I would always want to run something else through the existing holes and I ran out of room. So I figure with a large hole that problem would go away.
It turned out that getting that bulkhead fitting off was a real pain. Word of advice, don't use them on the floor , I ended up cutting mine out with a sawzall.
So after about a hour with messing with the bulkhead, I finally got it out and cut a big 4x12 hole into the floor.
Holy moly! that thing is huge, what am I going to do when I go to sell the house some day?!
Now you see it.
No you don't.
When I was having my floor re sanding and finished the guy doing it was commenting on the holes I had drilled in the floor. I told him what they were for. He said. why don't you just make a big hole the same size as the HVAC register? I thought that was a great idea. So now I have lots of room to runs pipes and wiring and you don't even notice it when the tank is gone.
So I decided that this time I would just cut a big hole and run everything through that, rather that bother with just a few small holes. The holes ended up being a problem because as time went by I would always want to run something else through the existing holes and I ran out of room. So I figure with a large hole that problem would go away.
It turned out that getting that bulkhead fitting off was a real pain. Word of advice, don't use them on the floor , I ended up cutting mine out with a sawzall.
So after about a hour with messing with the bulkhead, I finally got it out and cut a big 4x12 hole into the floor.
Holy moly! that thing is huge, what am I going to do when I go to sell the house some day?!
Now you see it.
No you don't.
When I was having my floor re sanding and finished the guy doing it was commenting on the holes I had drilled in the floor. I told him what they were for. He said. why don't you just make a big hole the same size as the HVAC register? I thought that was a great idea. So now I have lots of room to runs pipes and wiring and you don't even notice it when the tank is gone.
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
That is a killer idea. A nice big hole but you can hide it!!
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
JB NY
Active member
Moved all the pieces upstairs to start assembling the stand. I put the base down and started positioning the legs to make sure that everything was properly cut and aligned correctly before I started attaching anything.
If you lookk at this picture, you can see a towel stuffed over the hole at the back of the stand, Every time I turned around my cat kept sticking her whole head and looking down the hole. I figured I better plug that hole up before she took a dive!
Next, checked to make sure the sides are square to the front of the base.
Next I made sure the top supports were square when put in place.
Then I tacked it down with a few brad nails to make sure it wouldn't shift when I went to screw it down. After that, I used more pocket holes to attach the legs to the base.
Every thing secure and in place.
Here are a few more pictures of the corners with the supports in.
If you lookk at this picture, you can see a towel stuffed over the hole at the back of the stand, Every time I turned around my cat kept sticking her whole head and looking down the hole. I figured I better plug that hole up before she took a dive!
Next, checked to make sure the sides are square to the front of the base.
Next I made sure the top supports were square when put in place.
Then I tacked it down with a few brad nails to make sure it wouldn't shift when I went to screw it down. After that, I used more pocket holes to attach the legs to the base.
Every thing secure and in place.
Here are a few more pictures of the corners with the supports in.
ReefBum
Active member
Looking sweet Joe. I wish I had your carpentry skills. I had to have a custom stand made for my new tank.
I actually did the same thing you did with the floor. I had a new floor put in and had the floor guy build the new floor around an extra vent hole for my pipes. Just cover the hole with the vent cover and you are good to go!
I actually did the same thing you did with the floor. I had a new floor put in and had the floor guy build the new floor around an extra vent hole for my pipes. Just cover the hole with the vent cover and you are good to go!
Michael Mota
Member
Very nice so far. This thread rocks with pics!
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