Making a stand, need some help.

[zoomin]

I have a new 58g (33x18x24 tall) custom acrylic tank that I am setting up. I am using a nice wooden cabinet as a stand. I have braced the insides with jointed 2x4s, but am unsure about what to do with the top.

Should I route a rectangular section out of the middle so that the weight of the tank is entirely supported on its outside edges? I have read before that that is sometimes recommended over just placing the flat bottom of the tank right onto the plywood top of the cabinet.

 

[Mishap]

Have it so the tank's weight is supported by the outside edge of the stand. That's how 90% of the manufacturer's stands are designed. And it's also how my frag tanks stand is designed.

 

[zoomin]

it will be, as the tank was built so that the side-peices of acrylic line upperfectly with the suports of the cabinet forming a straight run to the floor.

But should I go so far as taking a router, and shaving a quarter inch away from the flat cabinet top in a rectangle a half-inch or so in each direction smaller than the dimensions of the tank footprint?

The few articles I read suggest that this will keep a small high point on the table-top from exerting an extreme force on the bottom of the tank.

 

[scrager]

is the acrylic tank flat bottomed or does it have trim around the edge? If it is flat bottomed acrylic, it is probably supposed to be supported on the entire bottm. Place a piece of rigid foam on the cabinet then place the tank on top of that.

glass tanks are the ones taht are usually supported around the edges. Acrylic tanks are normally supported on the entire bottom.