Engineering gurus

[jakanala01]

Hey I am building a stand with a great guy and just wanted to see what others thought.

I have a 150 gallon long (72") and wanted to know whether or not a center brace is needed. I am also widening the tank stand from 18" to 28" to allow a 40 gallon breeder tank to slide underneath to accommodate a octopus extreme 200 skimmer. The only other item is increasing the height of the stand from 25" inches to 36" for a better eye level view.

Any ideas or suggestions on both the widening of the stand

any ideas or suggestions on center braces to ensure no problems in the future due to the downward pressure along the 6' span.

Diagrams or anything suggestions would be appreciated greatly as usual.

 

[redfishblewfish]

You wouldn't need a center brace if the top horizontal boards are 2 x 6's, as seen in RC's stand plans HERE

 

[madean]

follow rockets plan on the above post mentioned, cant go wrong just modify the height to fit your needs

 

[zsqure]

Ask Rocket about making the stand deeper than the tank. You may have to build two stands in one to get what you want.

 

[macktab]

I would include a center brace, even though not necessary for vertical loads alone even 2x6, stand designs should consider horizontal loads simultaneously with vertical (accidents or roughousing). It reduces "slenderness factor" of the beam and helps distibute those loads to the stiffer ends. Small price for small extra effort - you should have peace of mind. Cost of materials less than 1$ !

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

Ask Rocket about making the stand deeper than the tank. You may have to build two stands in one to get what you want.

in this case fitting a much smaller sump under the tank it wont be an issue to make the stand deeper then the display...just be sure to properly support all four corners of the display as you would building a regular stand, then you can simply add another set of legs to the back and make the platforms wider as you need...

the only time it really becomes a problem is when people want to put a 75 under a 75 or a 90 under a 90, etc...where all the corners line up..then it is an issue to make the stand wider, as the display will be "floating" on the top and the fasteners and not the corner posts as it should.

 

[jakanala01]

clarification

clarification

What do you mean wider platform and addl legs. Can you email me a diagram explaining?We will use 2x6s on the top rails.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

basically as mentioned build your stand to properly fit the tank then add an extra "stand" to the back side and use a sheet of plywood large enough to cover both on the top and the bottom...or you can build the top and bottom frames to the size you want and just be sure to have legs under the four corners of the display, if it is a mass produced glass tank you only need support the corners, if it is a custom tank (glass or acrylic) you need to support the whole bottom of the tank this would require joist hangers and members to span the depth of the stand...

 

[grouper therapy]

The " center brace" does not have to be in the center. I build several stands a year with the brace at 1/3 the length of the tank on 72" tanks. I personally would not build a stand 72" long without a brace some where either at 1/3 or 1/2 the distance no matter who built the tank. I have no engineered specs to back that up besides practical application over the years. You can also place vertical supports under the intermediate horizontal/s and not have to use hangers. Just make sure they are secure and transfer the load all the way to the floor.