minor screw-up building my stand

[james3370]

using the diy stands thread, i cut all my pieces & started to assemble my stand.

i had taken into account that since the display tank & the 29 gallon sump tank were the same width (30") that the stand would have to be wider than the display tank, so i compensated for it by making the upper side rails out of 4x4s instead of 2x4s

so i got the top & bottom pieces all screwed together & decided to double-check the sump fit before mounting the legs.....good thing i did, cause yes the sump fit legth-wise, but i then realized there was NO way to get it in either from the front or the ends w/ the legs & required leg supports

i had also gorilla glued it together, so there was no taking those pieces apart, so off to the dumpster for them & high-ho high-ho it's off to home depot i go

so looking at the stands diy thread, i did the math to figure out how deep the stand would need to be for the sump to slide in thru the side & still clear the support legs. it takes a 2x4 (which actually is 3.5") length-wise on each corner. so 3.5 + 12.5 for the sump tank + 3.5= 19.5 .....so i made the stand 20" deep. now the next trouble reared it's head (same as the width) it the stand was 20" deep, but the display tank is only 18" there isn't enough area w/ a 2x4 (1.5x3.5 actually) to support the tank......so the upper front & rear beams would also have to be 4x4s

continued next post........

 

[james3370]

so that lead to another problem.....how exactly do i join (2) 4x4s together & it still be strong enough to support the tank???

the answer came as 1/4 x 5" lag bolts....which led to another problem in that they would have to be counter-sunk so the "skin" material would fit flush. so i bought a 7/16" socket & figured out the external dimension of the socket was 11/16" so i bought a 3/4" wood spade bit to make a counter-sunk hole.

i decided for strength, there would be (5) lag bolts in each board in an X pattern. i also didn't want to try drilling a 1/4x5 lag bolt alone, so i bought a 10" 3/16 drill bit to step-drill all the holes

i got them all drilled & the top piece assembled & then the base assembled also. the base is out of 2x6s cause i plan to seal the bottom to hold water in the event of an overflow. rough figure is it will hold 10-12 gallons of water inside the base of the stand. figure that is kinda a good thing to do since i live on the 2nd floor in an apt.....

i assembled the 2-piece legs. nice counter-sunk holes & 3" screws & all (4) legs were assembled......then i went to attach the legs & ran into another problem. there was no way to attach one of the legs w/out doing lag bolts down from the top into the leg. trouble was, i didn't buy enough extras of the lag bolts so i get to make ANOTHER trip to the depot tomorrow

YIPPIE !!!!!!!!

i also got the new bulkheads & glass drill bit from glass-holes.com, but i'm beat & think i'll re-drill my screwed-up bulkhead holes tomorrow cause i think i'm spent for the eve LOL

i have pics on the camera of most of the steps, but too lazy to dump them from the camera, size them down to a managable size, upload them to photobucket & then post them, so stay tuned tomorrow

 

[commonstranger]

Good grief James how big of tank is this ? 4x4 would support almost any tank out there. (within reason)

 

[james3370]

as i said, it's 30x18.....but the sump is also 30 wide, so the stand had the be wider for the sump to fit inside the supports.

then for the sump to slide in between the legs, it had to be 20 deep

so the stand is 34w x 20 deep, but the display tank is only 30x18, so the only way to provide enough weight support was to use 4x4 beams

so yeah, my stand is gonna be a HOSS
LOL

 

[supertech99]

if its worth building, its worth overbuilding! hehehehehe

 

[waynesworld]

Ya and you never know when your stand may need to be a tornado shelter

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14001285#post14001285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supertech99
if its worth building, its worth overbuilding! hehehehehe

arrr arrr arrr arrr arrr

 

[zef004]

as tim the tool man always say bigger and more power

 

[james3370]

yeah, this thing is a freaking BEAR !!!!!! i just can't believe how heavy it is, but let me tell ya it is rock freaking SOLID

if i never have to drill & screw in another 5" lag bolt again it will be just fine w/ me LOL

i still have to build the canopy & rear surrounding sections. trying to make it somewhat "modular" to facilitate it ever having to be broken down & moved.......

i did realize 1 thing when i was doing it that i am glad i did before finishing. i had intended on making it 36" deep, but a standard doorway is only about 34" opening, so i decide 33" deep it is
DOH!!!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14005801#post14005801 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zef004
as tim the tool man always say bigger and more power

as far as power, there will be a mini-tidal wave in it probably......
it is gonna have the 700gph overflow from glass-holes.com to the sump & an oceanrunner 3500 (900gph) as the return t'd off going to dual 3/4" returns each w/ hydor flo deflectors

then for the closed loop, i have (2) 1.5" overflow bulkheads & a pan world 150ps (1100gph) returning on (4) 1" pvc then reduced at the (4) 3/4" bulkheads w/ loc-line & flat nozzles in the tank

so i should have stupid turnover rates LOL

 

[james3370]

yeah there shouldn't be any twisting or flexing out of this beast. that's 4x4 top beams w/ 1/4x5 lag bolts:



& here is the beast assembled. btw, the reason for the large 2x6 bottom rails is that i intend to seal it to hold water just in case of a catostrophic leak. i figure it should hold about 10 gallons. not a bad idea i think since i live in a 2nd floor apt



i probably didn't need the center support on the upper rail, but i had quite a bit of 4x4 stock left over, so figured it couldn't hurt LOL

 

[james3370]

here it is w/ the diplany tank on top & sump tank inside the stand....52" to the top of the tank (& there will be an 11" tall canopy on top of that) LOL

 

[supertech99]

I LOVE it! NICE JOB! I cant wait to see it full of corals!

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14010934#post14010934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supertech99
I LOVE it! NICE JOB! I cant wait to see it full of corals!

yeah, i'm ready to see it up & running myself

let's see, all i need to do is:

* temp attach all the bulkheads w/ screw-in plugs & do a leak test
* paint the back of the tank black
* fix that center rock & construct the rock wall
* install all the plumbing for the overflow & return bulkheads
* install all the plumbing for the closed-loop
* silicone the baffles in the sump tank
* build the canopy & side panels
* paint the finished stand inside & out
* build the light drawer & attach all the retrofits & ballasts
* build the LED moonlight bar & all it's wiring
* build small spraybar for fuge tumbler
* finish cutting the open-top acrylic cover w/ netting
* build the power outlet box for all the outlets & aquacontroller jr
* figure out something for ATO tank & setup all the ATO floats in the kit i bought

gee, i'm almost finished....... LOL