building a stand larger than tank

[reefnewbie83177]

Morning all. Been busy re-tilling the family room. Had to remove about 400sqft of asbestos tiles and that sucks. Getting ready to tile this weekend, and then back to my build. In this process we have decided to change a few things with regards to my tank and this is where I need some reassurance. I now am going to have my sump underneath my stand, and the current stand I have will not fit it. So I want to build an oversized stand that will house my sump along with dosing and ATO. With that in mind, I was planning on building your standard 2x4 stand that is 5' x 24" using RocketEngineers design:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1169964
My tank is a rimless 48x18. If I put down 3/4" plywood over the top and add a few extra cross braces is it going to be a problem that my tank edges aren't sitting on the verticals? This is a rimless tank, so the load should be distributed throughout. I am not an engineer, but this seems more than ok, but there seem to be differences in opinions. Thoughts?

 

[mcgyvr]

Not a problem at all..
The load is easily distributed and the design is massively overkill..

 

[billdogg]

Not a problem at all..
The load is easily distributed and the design is massively overkill..

^^^This^^^

 

[reefnewbie83177]

That is exactly what I thought, but looking at previous threads there seemed to be concerns. I do think we tend to overthink and overbuild our tank stands. Thanks for the input

 

[mcgyvr]

That is exactly what I thought, but looking at previous threads there seemed to be concerns. I do think we tend to overthink and overbuild our tank stands. Thanks for the input

There is always overly cautious people when it comes to stand building/recommendations..Partly for good/valid reasons though..
From this site of the internet we have zero clue in your ability to even build to the rocket plans let alone put a design out there that only has a safety factor under 100 ..
There are just so many variables in joint technique, wood quality, cutting ability and so many more things that many times people feel better to err on the side of caution..

Take for example your post.. You just said "add a few extra cross braces"... and quite frankly that can mean totally different things to you than it can to me..

There are many times where I too will be cautious but this just isn't one of them as even the worst of constructions could likely be just fine given the minor spans we are talking about here..
And..of course.. This is the internet.. You can't come back at me and do a darn thing if it does come crashing down/flooding your house.. :lmao:

 

[davocean]

^^ Pretty much agree, though being a contractor I'm still pretty cautious when giving structural support advice...

I'm going to change the trend and say, "what Billdogg said", that way I'm covered and buffered by the advice of both him and Mcgyver!

 

[tydtran]

Let me make sure I understand the situation. If i interpret the OP correctly the idea is to put 48X18 tank on a wood platform with no vertical supports. if the tank is a 120 glass, that's something like 230pounds/square foot. That seems risky to me. People typically use trusses to support their floors when installing a 125 gallon tank and that's only 160 pounds/square foot.

 

[davocean]

Rockets plans if you are not familiar not only have vertical support, but most would agree a bit overkill on support.
He's stepping in, just 3" in front and back, and w/ a ply top, not overhanging w/out rim support