Gussets or No Gussets?

Dustin1300

Dustin1300

Reefaholic
I'm currently in the process of building a 600 Gallon DT that measures 96X48X30 and I need to do some prep work on the stand before moving to the basement. That being said, I need to 1) determine if gussets are needed, 2) prep metal for paint, and 3) paint with several coats of hercu-liner.

Does everyone think I need gussets? If so, should they be the 2" square tube or just steel plates cut in triangles? Any recommendations on prepping the metal as it has surface rust from bad paint job after being set up....I'd prefer not to have to sandblast but looking for another good recommendation.

Tanks stand. Can get better pics if needed and specifics on dimensions. Welds seem to be really good.
Tank.png


Before I purchased tank was never set up and only has surface rust from sitting in garage. I did water test before handing over money on the tank and stand was very secure in my garage:)
photobucket-5241-1330119114166.jpg
 
If this were my build, I would put triangles in every corner in every direction. That way I would have the stability, but also have complete access under tank. The key for me is that the welder tack this stand down while welding the gussets into place to assure that the stand does not get warped in the process.

That is a beautiful tank. I would have it media blasted before finishing. This won't be the sort of tank that you would want to tear down anytime soon.
 
Gussets are a great idea. They are probably overkill if all of the joints are fully welded, but a good to have, none-the-less.The 2x2 tubing will be a little trickier due to the angles you have to cut and weld, but I feel like it would be a better option. If you end up going with the plates, a good practice is to leave a small notch in the plate where it meets up at the intersection of the stand tubes. This will relieve some of the stress in the joint due to welding. This is assuming your gussets would be centered on your tubes, not welded to the face of them.

From what I've heard, Herculiner bonds extremely well. I would read the prep instructions for it, but if you only have surface rust and no oil/grease on the steel I would think a wire brush would be all you need.
 
hebygb said:
If this were my build, I would put triangles in every corner in every direction. That way I would have the stability, but also have complete access under tank. The key for me is that the welder tack this stand down while welding the gussets into place to assure that the stand does not get warped in the process.

That is a beautiful tank. I would have it media blasted before finishing. This won't be the sort of tank that you would want to tear down anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the feedback and good tip on the warping worry. Tank is absolutely beautiful and I stole it for it being in brand new shape. Was planning on just a 36" depth but I paid half for what I was planning for and got another ~150 gallons!
 
super_steve85 said:
Gussets are a great idea. They are probably overkill if all of the joints are fully welded, but a good to have, none-the-less.The 2x2 tubing will be a little trickier due to the angles you have to cut and weld, but I feel like it would be a better option. If you end up going with the plates, a good practice is to leave a small notch in the plate where it meets up at the intersection of the stand tubes. This will relieve some of the stress in the joint due to welding. This is assuming your gussets would be centered on your tubes, not welded to the face of them.

From what I've heard, Herculiner bonds extremely well. I would read the prep instructions for it, but if you only have surface rust and no oil/grease on the steel I would think a wire brush would be all you need.
Click to expand...

I think most of our tank stands/precautions are completely overkill but I don't want 600 gallons crashing on the floor and plan on having the tank in place for 10+ years. I'd think the 2" tubing will be much stronger for the gussets? Again, overkill but I don't want anything crashing down.

I've heard the same thing about Herculiner but want it do be sealed for years to come. Previous owner bought the tank/stand and just left it in storage and it does have a couple holes on the underside of stand for mounting. Should I have those holes welded shut before the Herculiner?
 
Triangular gussets would be a good idea.

I wouldn't worry too much about warping. You only need about 1" of weld for every 6".
 
I'd recommend gussets. Especially with a tank that size.

I'd put them in every corner not because you need them in every corner but because I'd use them to hold the skin on. Figure out what you're going to skin it with and how thick it is. Then make a little spacer jig to hold the gussets recessed at the material thickness. You then weld the gussets in from inside and you don't need them fully welded just enough for them to do their anti-racking and skin support jobs.

Then your skins can just drop in nicely bottoming on the gussets. Looks really nice. You can drill the gussets without weakening the support steel or embed magnets in the skin to stick against the gussets if you want removable skins.
 
I agree with triangle gussets in every corner stitch welded. As for prepping the stand you should really get it plastic media blasted then apply a self etching primer to prevent further rust. After that you can refinish it with whatever you like. I personally would have it powder coated. Nice setup!
 
kcress said:
I'd recommend gussets. Especially with a tank that size.

I'd put them in every corner not because you need them in every corner but because I'd use them to hold the skin on. Figure out what you're going to skin it with and how thick it is. Then make a little spacer jig to hold the gussets recessed at the material thickness. You then weld the gussets in from inside and you don't need them fully welded just enough for them to do their anti-racking and skin support jobs.

Then your skins can just drop in nicely bottoming on the gussets. Looks really nice. You can drill the gussets without weakening the support steel or embed magnets in the skin to stick against the gussets if you want removable skins.
Click to expand...

This will be in-wall, should have shared that I guess. That being said the above tips are great for skinning a tank with steel stand! So plates or the 2" square tube?
 
MarkGP said:
I agree with triangle gussets in every corner stitch welded. As for prepping the stand you should really get it plastic media blasted then apply a self etching primer to prevent further rust. After that you can refinish it with whatever you like. I personally would have it powder coated. Nice setup!
Click to expand...

Some of the local club members recommended getting it blasted and powder coated too. Is powder coating really going to provide that much better protection long term? I'd like to have tank in place for 10-15 years so I want it to be done the right way. Powdercoating is just going to require that I get find a way to get to a shop and paint when I could herculine it from where it already is!
 
Unless you physically chip off the powder coating it will never rust. On the other hand I have seen sprayable bed liners fail from surface rust underneath. IMO, powder coating would look much better too.
 
I think I'm going to just bite the bullet and go powdercoating....

I've been trying to go through the stand build thread kcress has graciously headed up for quite some time and not sure that a 48" span is going to be okay without vertical supports? I'll try to make some time tonight/tomorrow to draw up some sketches of stand with dimensions outlined so no questions on what is where! How long should the 2" square gussets be? Should I put a gusset at every junction or just a few locations to prevent racking?
 
Normally gussets go in the corners. IMO the 2" square tubing for gussets is not needed and will just be harder to make and weld. 1/4" steel plate works well.
 
MarkGP said:
Normally gussets go in the corners. IMO the 2" square tubing for gussets is not needed and will just be harder to make and weld. 1/4" steel plate works well.
Click to expand...

If they are going to be stronger, I'd rather go that route just for the additional strength. Again, it might be overkill but I think my passion for the hobby might crash down if 600 gallons of water/livestock go on the floor. This thing is going to have 30-40k gph in water movement at any moment.
 
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