Building a small concrete block stand.

jclf

New member
Hello everyone, im thinking of building a stand out of concrete blocks for a (36" x 18") frameless tank, i have some granite and
4x4's laying around waiting to be used, all i need to buy is the concrete blocks and a couple of top caps, they're all less than 1 dollar a piece at my local home depot. the rest just needs to be cut to size. Total cost is going to be something like $8

but im not sure about a couple of things.

one is..the tank is 18 inches deep (front to back) the concrete blocks are only 16 inches long, i was thinking of laying the 4x4's on top of the concrete top caps (like in the picture attached) and cutting the granite top 18-1/4 inches wide (front to Back) then laying a closed cell foam mat on top of the granite and finally putting the tank on top of the
foam mat, centering the granite leaves me with 1-1/8 of overhang on the front and back sides....is it ok to leave it like that or is that
1-1/8 of overhang going to be a problem?

The other thing is...i live in southern california on the second floor of an apartment building. how much should i worry about
this thing falling on its side in case of an earthquake? its going to be roughly 43 inches high in total (including the tank) and about 500 to 600-lb, its going to be sitting on top of carpet, if that makes any difference.

should i add plywood in between the concrete blocks for more stability or is that unnecessary? id rather not add plywood if i dont need to.


if you have better ideas about how i should go about this please me me know.

thanks for your help.
 

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Not trying to be negative but it sounds like your trying do this on the cheap, I assume your going to dry stack two columns of 8x8x16 block 3-4 high 24- 32” on carpet lay some 4x4’s over the top slap a piece of granite over the wood and expect it to be safe let alone stable. None of what your thinking of doing will be stable from the ground up, as for the granite if the 4x4’s have any crown or unevenness even with plywood the granite will most likely crack under the load, granite can be very unforgiving if the surfaces is not flat. I would rethink your current idea.

EDIT:A proper cabinet or steel stand is a better idea.
 
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I've seen concrete blocks used for 10 gallon racks. usually in a basement or garage.

I have a computer desk made from dry-stacked concrete blocks with a wooden top. although its plenty stable I wouldn't bet money on it surviving an earthquake, let alone with water on top.

How many 4x4's do you have. There are plenty of stands/ stand plans that have been built just using 4x4's or 2x4's. If you use a glass tank only the edge is supported. I still don't know about earthquake proofing..
 
If I were concerned about an earthquake, whether my tank stayed upright or not would be the least of my worries.

I'd scrap the 4x4 use. If you can cut a 2x4 check out the rocketengineer stand thread. Useful and better than the blocks. Probably as cheap too.

Best of luck.
 
If you can cut a 2x4 check out the rocketengineer stand thread. Useful and better than the blocks. Probably as cheap too.

Best of luck.

You don't have to be able to cut them... your local store will likely do that for you for less than 10 bucks even at like a quarter a cut. The rocket engineer thread details it pretty well, and a internet searches will get you a more step by step look at putting it together.
I don't know that there is any structural problem with your plan... but I personally wouldn't trust dry stack not to shift...and I can imagine it being a nightmare to level it if necessary.
 
Not trying to be negative but it sounds like your trying do this on the cheap, I assume your going to dry stack two columns of 8x8x16 block 3-4 high 24- 32" on carpet lay some 4x4's over the top slap a piece of granite over the wood and expect it to be safe let alone stable. None of what your thinking of doing will be stable from the ground up, as for the granite if the 4x4's have any crown or unevenness even with plywood the granite will most likely crack under the load, granite can be very unforgiving if the surfaces is not flat. I would rethink your current idea.

EDIT:A proper cabinet or steel stand is a better idea.


lol..i was trying to keep it simple more than anything, i like the simplicity of the stand. i checked the 4x4s that i have and they are level straight, the stone is 1-1/4in thick of black galaxy granite, trust me even if this thing was unleveled or uneven the stone would have no problem taking 200/300 lb of weight on top of it without breaking.

and yeah, stability is what kept me from putting this thing together. for piece of mind im just going to try to make a real stand or have one made.

thanks.
 
I've seen concrete blocks used for 10 gallon racks. usually in a basement or garage.

I have a computer desk made from dry-stacked concrete blocks with a wooden top. although its plenty stable I wouldn't bet money on it surviving an earthquake, let alone with water on top.

How many 4x4's do you have. There are plenty of stands/ stand plans that have been built just using 4x4's or 2x4's. If you use a glass tank only the edge is supported. I still don't know about earthquake proofing..

i dont have enough 4x4s to make a stand out of them.

earthquakes are the norm around these parts, the big ones are pretty rare but they do happen once in a while and i would hate to lose my fish just because i didnt build a proper stand for their tank.


im gonna check out the rocketengineer stand thread and try to make a stand myself.

thanks everyone.
 
the stand i made for my 55 the one i posted a pic of is the rocketengineer stand. just go a decent skill saw, and a cordless drill. two tools you will be glad to have. can use one of the top braces for stright edge to cut the plywood top since your tank will need one.
 
lol..i was trying to keep it simple more than anything, i like the simplicity of the stand. i checked the 4x4s that i have and they are level straight, the stone is 1-1/4in thick of black galaxy granite, trust me even if this thing was unleveled or uneven the stone would have no problem taking 200/300 lb of weight on top of it without breaking.

and yeah, stability is what kept me from putting this thing together. for piece of mind im just going to try to make a real stand or have one made.

thanks.

If you say so, but my 26 years trade specific, and as a contractor, dealing with dimensional, non- dimensional stone tells me something different so does the words “trust me”. I have seen much thicker stone and less weight a top the stone snap under the conditions your presenting. Black Galaxy is not the densest of the trade name Galaxy and then you have veining in the stone that can adds to failure of an under supported uneven substructure. On the other hand I have used much thinner ¾” granite properly supported substructure and a flat surface for an aquarium successfully. Proceed how you wish.
 
Simple H beam stands such as this work quite well. Have used them for years. Powdercoate the H beams and use a pillar in the center if the span is too long.
 

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Simple H beam stands such as this work quite well. Have used them for years. Powdercoate the H beams and use a pillar in the center if the span is too long.

This would work quite well, I like that the block is grouted and core is filled I would assume the columns have rebar and are pinned to the slab. However the OP lives on the second floor of an apartment building, and will be sitting on top of carpet. Very different situation, stability is an issues.
 
If you say so, but my 26 years trade specific, and as a contractor, dealing with dimensional, non- dimensional stone tells me something different so does the words "œtrust me". I have seen much thicker stone and less weight a top the stone snap under the conditions your presenting. Black Galaxy is not the densest of the trade name Galaxy and then you have veining in the stone that can adds to failure of an under supported uneven substructure. On the other hand I have used much thinner ¾" granite properly supported substructure and a flat surface for an aquarium successfully. Proceed how you wish.

well...heres one example. i believe thats a 40 or 42in ctr tv sitting on top of a coffee table made out of 3/4in thick absolute black granite, not 1-1/4in thick but 3/4in thick, its a big difference when it comes to granite. black galaxy and absolute black dont have veins, if you see something that looks like a vein..its most likely a crack. but yeah... that tv weighs around 300lb, theres a good 10 inches of overhang on each side, the base is hollow, not leveled or perfectly straight..or squared, i know because i made'em and i put'em there lol, the top is centered all the way around but thats about it, that tv has been sitting on top of what is supposed to be a lil coffee table for more than 7 years. so if 3/4in thick absolute black can take that for that long i have no doubt a solid 1-1/4in thick black galaxy can take that and more. i wouldnt try that with less dense granite materials tho.
 

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well...heres one example. i believe thats a 40 or 42in ctr tv sitting on top of a coffee table made out of 3/4in thick absolute black granite, not 1-1/4in thick but 3/4in thick, its a big difference when it comes to granite. black galaxy and absolute black dont have veins, if you see something that looks like a vein..its most likely a crack. but yeah... that tv weighs around 300lb, theres a good 10 inches of overhang on each side, the base is hollow, not leveled or perfectly straight..or squared, i know because i made'em and i put'em there lol, the top is centered all the way around but thats about it, that tv has been sitting on top of what is supposed to be a lil coffee table for more than 7 years. so if 3/4in thick absolute black can take that for that long i have no doubt a solid 1-1/4in thick black galaxy can take that and more. i wouldnt try that with less dense granite materials tho.

A skilled and knowable person knows better. Simply put thats not true they have veins both open and closed, your not fooling me, all granite has natural veining.

"General Black Galaxy veining is consistent however the colour, veining and flecks can vary considerably depending which quarry blocks are used."
 
A skilled and knowable person knows better. Simply put thats not true they have veins both open and closed, your not fooling me, all granite has natural veining.

"General Black Galaxy veining is consistent however the colour, veining and flecks can vary considerably depending which quarry blocks are used."


what can i tell you, maybe we're getting our terms mixed up or our materials mixed up here. maybe you're thinking and mixing marble and granite in one whole bunch. they're totaly different, and sure alot of granite materials do have natural veining, but not all of them do. two of those materials are absolute black and black galaxy. in my experience of 12yrs dealing with all types of granite i have never seen black galaxy or absolute black with veins or a vein on them that wasnt a crack. if you look at the picture of the base i posted earlier, thats one solid piece of granite with no "veins" in/on it, thats how absolute black slabs should look like. black galaxy should look similar..with bronze/gold specks.
 
what can i tell you, maybe we're getting our terms mixed up or our materials mixed up here. maybe you're thinking and mixing marble and granite in one whole bunch. they're totaly different, and sure alot of granite materials do have natural veining, but not all of them do. two of those materials are absolute black and black galaxy. in my experience of 12yrs dealing with all types of granite i have never seen black galaxy or absolute black with veins or a vein on them that wasnt a crack. if you look at the picture of the base i posted earlier, thats one solid piece of granite with no "veins" in/on it, thats how absolute black slabs should look like. black galaxy should look similar..with bronze/gold specks.

I'm no geologist but I do no the difference between a metamorphic, and indgest rock.

The misunderstanding is on your part, You seem to think Black Galaxy, Absolute Black and we should add Star Galaxy as well, has no veining what so ever. Anyone can do a simple search online and find that the above stone can and does have veining.

Plane and simple your argument that these stones have no veining is nonsense and lacks basic understanding of such stone(s) further more one should not confuse veining with "˜cracks"˜, (as you call them) I prefer the word fissure when people hear the word crack they tend too think it's a defect in the stone.

Pits, fissures open or closed and micro fissure are part of the stone's natural structure, yes some types of granite have more then others. However if the granite has a raised crack, it's most likely man made. I'll just say over the years I have seen all the characteristics from above in the Galaxy, Absolute trade name granite. And I have seen many types of granite including Galaxy and Absolute fracture from natural fishers found in and out of veins. All go's back my OP a properly supported substructure and a flat supporting deck for the granite. with that in mind, most any stone can be used in a variances of thickness.

PAU.


Like all natural stones Black Galaxy can and does vary in appearance and physical structure with natural veins a common feature within the material. Once again, these can broadly be divided into four types as follows:
1. Slabs and tiles clean of any veining
2. Slabs and tiles with one vein line
3. Slabs and tiles with two vein lines
4. Slabs and tiles with three vein lines
 
I'm no geologist but I do no the difference between a metamorphic, and indgest rock.

The misunderstanding is on your part, You seem to think Black Galaxy, Absolute Black and we should add Star Galaxy as well, has no veining what so ever. Anyone can do a simple search online and find that the above stone can and does have veining.

Plane and simple your argument that these stones have no veining is nonsense and lacks basic understanding of such stone(s) further more one should not confuse veining with "˜cracks"˜, (as you call them) I prefer the word fissure when people hear the word crack they tend too think it's a defect in the stone.

Pits, fissures open or closed and micro fissure are part of the stone's natural structure, yes some types of granite have more then others. However if the granite has a raised crack, it's most likely man made. I'll just say over the years I have seen all the characteristics from above in the Galaxy, Absolute trade name granite. And I have seen many types of granite including Galaxy and Absolute fracture from natural fishers found in and out of veins. All go's back my OP a properly supported substructure and a flat supporting deck for the granite. with that in mind, most any stone can be used in a variances of thickness.

PAU.


Like all natural stones Black Galaxy can and does vary in appearance and physical structure with natural veins a common feature within the material. Once again, these can broadly be divided into four types as follows:
1. Slabs and tiles clean of any veining
2. Slabs and tiles with one vein line
3. Slabs and tiles with two vein lines
4. Slabs and tiles with three vein lines

yeah...the misunderstanding is coming from our definition of veining. this is veining to me..

wet.JPG

marble_stone_Black_Marquina.jpg


you wont find anything like that on black galaxy or absolute black, well..ive never seen it and yeah i did a simple google search and i didnt find anything similar to those pictures. ive seen where patterns on stones shift drasticly but nothing what looks like "veins".

if you wanna get specific about fissures, pits etc...well..thats a different story.
im talking specifically about black galaxy and absolute black here...

small pits/open "pores" on black galaxy; not unusual. on absolute black; very rare.-- looks bad/shouldnt effect the integrity of the stone.
micro fissures are just that, micro fissures, again..looks bad/shouldnt effect the integrity of the stone. they are very-very rare on absolute black.
now, can a pit or micro fissure cause a fracture? yeah sure. how likely is it? from my experience its highly unlikely. i believe when you say youve seen fractures caused by micro fissure or pits, but again in my experience ive never seen it happen.
anything bigger than a micro fissuer..thats when you have to be careful specially if its open, nutural or not, if a fissure is open...thats consider a crack, even if its a small one, it is still a crack...good luck trying to close it/patch it with out it being noticeable as hell on this type of material. but yeah..any type of granite that has an "open fissure" should not be put up for display, let alone have a aquarium on top of it.

and i agree with you. anything heavy should always be properly supported. = )
 
your tank is 36" long, block will leave a 4" gap in the middle, 1/2" plywood would probably do fine just as a flat layer to put the granite on. You don't need I beams or 4x4s to support a 4" gap LOL If you layered Styrofoam on the blocks directly it would be stronger than many stands ive seen sold in LFS.

For earthquakes not much you can do, cables might help it from tipping over but if it's that bad you may want to go with a rubbermaid tub just sitting on the floor.
 
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