Joining you guys soon and have a quick steel stand question?

[pciscott]

My name is Scott Steinberger and I have been reading your large tank threads for the last few years and I am taking the plunge into what I call Extreme Hobbyist section of RC.

I am building a peninsula tank that measures 100" x 36" x 25" tall that will sit on a steel stand. The Tank is 3/4 Starfire Eurobraced with no cross brace. All the equipment will be in a fish room that is built in the garage.

The stand was built with 3/16th steel and weighs over 400lbs and the builder says it will not flex. It will be anchored to the concrete slab with 1/2 inch anchors.

My question is should I put a rubber matt directly on the stand or should I put a piece of 3/4 plywood on top first. I have taken a 8' strait edge and the top is flat with no imperfections. Is the plywood necessary as I would rather put the tank on top directly as the stand is a little on the tall side at 45"

The tank is in the entry way of my house and I wanted it to be able to be viewed without bending over. It will also have a granite counter that runs around at bar height and a backsplash that will cover the lower edge of the tank.

A couple pictures

A view as you enter the front door.

Any advice would be great from the RC Extreme Team.

Thank you, Scott

I am waiting for the most important part to come in before I start a build thread, the tank.

 

[polywise]

I think you are asking for trouble with just the 4 legs, even though you will be anchoring them to the concrete. Will they be mounted on top of the tile, or will you remove the tile, and mount the leg directly on the concrete?. Also what are the floor side ends of the legs like? are they capped? or just the end of the tubular steel?

 

[dave.m]

I would put plywood in between to reduce heat transfer glass to steel to concrete, and also to buffer the different expansion/contraction rates between steel and glass. More important than whether the top is straight is whether the top is dead level in all directions.

Dave.M

 

[pciscott]

The stand is sitting on 4x4 inch steel legs, the legs have a half inch plate welded on the ends. The tile will be cut and the stand leveled using aluminum 4x4x1/16th inch shims. The stand will be bolted to the floor adding sheer to the structure.

The stand is not conventional for sure, but if the tank and stand on the high side weigh in at 5000lbs and you divide that weight by 4 legs that comes to 1250lbs per leg. Each leg has 16 square inches of surface area touching the floor so the load will be less thano 80 pounds per square inch. The concrete is reinforced and very thick and would carry double the load.

I have a very open downstairs and I was trying to design a large tank without making it a big box that divides the room. Also while my wife and I enjoy the hobby together it was a bit of a sell in going this large. A new set of couches was the go ahead and I am eager to move forward.

I had never thought about heat transfer or the interaction between glass and steel and I have a thin rubber mat I was planning that would insulate the two, but maybe the plywood wood add to the cushion and spread the load more even over the steel supports. I inspected the stand very closely for any imperfections knowing any raised areas could crack the glass.

This weekend my project will be to level the stand, next weekend will be the heavy lifting weekend and at 45" tall I am going to need a large group to lift and set the tank in place.

I will call the tank builder and ask their opinion as well on if I need plywood or not, also I value the experience and ideas I have gleaned from your threads and appreciate any help offered.

Thank you,

Scott

 

[BigOldReef]

I would opt for wood as well.

I think if it was my tank/stand, and if the stand was going to remain open, I would use oak boards rather than plywood, so that the exposed edge could be sanded and then stained or painted for a better appearance.

 

[maik1]

Your stand looks great, I am sure everything will look stunning after it's up and running.

I was told by my tank builder (Miracles Aquariums) to use 3/4"-1" plywood and 1/2" white styrofoam.

Maik1

 

[willybub]

you could problably part a tank on that stand haha its pretty heavy duty

 

[bullitr]

finally!
welcome to insanity!

 

[maik1]

LOL, how true!

Maik1

 

[dch384]

you can use 1/2 styrofome . it will insulate and level in one plus no added weight