My 300 Gallon Half Hexagon Reef Tank Build!

[BILLYO382]

Well ladies and gents as far as some you may now and see I did go ahead and purchase the 300 Gallon X petco koi pond tank. I have leak tested it and it holds water great. However in lifting the tank off the stand I was surprised to see that the base is only a eurathane plastic material very flimbsy in appearance that holds the water on the bottom. The tank itself is glass on 6 sides with a rimless top and plastic bottom, just look at the pict's I provided. But back to what I was saying about the bottom of the tank. It is really odd, but it is braced like 2 " around the bottom with glass and the rest is the plastic base. So if the bottom gets cut or cracks thats it. Ive never seen a tank made like this before. But it holds water fine, so Im going to be cautious in installing it in the house and putting a deep sand bed inbetween the rocks and sand, lol. But the bottom was like hot glued to the base of the stand that it was resting on, no foam or anything inbetween, just the 1/8" thick plastic bottom, lol. And the stand was very flimbsy looking but surprissingly sturdy and strong. Essentially is was made out of all 3/4 plywood with a few 2 x 4's. Anyhow my stand is going to be overbuilt like I did on my last build for my 270 tall reef tank I had. The tank dimesions itself are 94.125" long x 38" wide x 21" tall. Anyhow Ill post a few prelim veiws of the stand I have in mind and you guys let me know if you think I should add or take away any bracing. Also let me know if youve seen a tank built like this one before and how the rested on the stand, etc. Thanks in advance for all of your comments and help. Please refrain from any flaming or chastising in this build thread. Thanks :strooper:

A couple pictures of the tank & leak testing it.

 

[BILLYO382]

old stand that im scrapping. :rollface: Notice how weak looking it is with the bracing made of 3/4 plywood and small pieces of 2 x 4's only on the sides. its a wonder how the tank shear weight didnt collapse this weak looking stand. Wood stregth is somthing else. Wait until I build my overbuilt stand. lol

My Best picture of the tank thus far, is of my Mermaid & future wife

:strooper:

 

[burky_tc]

Looks like it should be a pretty nice tank to start with. Hopefully that bottom holds up..never really seen or heard of anything like it. Just curious how you got this from Petco? Going out of business or what?

 

[BILLYO382]

My stand ideas

I pland onbuild a 2 x 8 platform for the stand to rest on to give me a taller stand height. The reason I have to build this 8" base is because my door limits me to 35" opening to get the sand thru. So my stand will be 34" and base will be 8" givning me a total height of 42" tall stand. Just look at some of my prelim ideas in my 3D models.

Tank, Stand and Base

Stand (Made of 4 x 4 and 2 x 4)

Base (Made of 2 x 8)

Please lend me all of your experince and suggestions in whether or not my tank stand and base with have sufficent lateral and vertical support, etc. Also please note that the entire thing will be covered in 3/4" plywood with door access, etc. Thanks in advance again for your tips and help. :bum:

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13692895#post13692895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by burky_tc
Looks like it should be a pretty nice tank to start with. Hopefully that bottom holds up..never really seen or heard of anything like it. Just curious how you got this from Petco? Going out of business or what?

I bought the tank from a guy that worked there for get this $400 lol. Too good a deal to pass up for a tank that size reef ready and closed loop drilled. :lol: But thanks

 

[RocketEngineer]

BILLYO382,

I have two issues with your stand design and a suggestion.

My first issue is that the load path for the weight of the stand is through the screws, not the wood. If you look here you will note that the legs of the stand are directly between the top and bottom frames of the stand. This means that the tank load travels through the top frame, down the leg, and into the bottom frame with the screws only serving to hold everything in place.

Second issue is the idea of using 2X4's for the top frame. Due to the lengths involved, you may want to consider going up to 2X6s or 2X8s in order to keep the bottom from deflecting. The stiffer the top frame, the less likely you are to have bottom deflection issues. Along the same lines a nice thick sheet of plywood on top wouldn't be a bad idea.

My suggestion is to not build an 8" riser but to instead, assemble the stand in place. Cut and dry fit all of the pieces in the garage / workshop / driveway. Once everything fits, take the legs out of the structure and carry the top and bottom frames inside separated. Then put the legs back in and you should be good to go. This way you don't have to worry about lining the two frames up perfectly to one another.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[Owen28GT]

What I want to know is, where can I get one of those particular Mermaids?

 

[dismalorb]

Nice Dutch Aquarium Systems tank! I bought a used 180 (same type of flat-back hex, just smaller) for $500 off Craig's List a few years back. You got that one for a STEAL! Those aren't cheap tanks by any means, just try to not sniff the wood trim on the bottom after a while... MAN it'll reek!

I'm excited to see how this one goes.

Cheers to ya!

 

[dustin273]

That looks like a pretty stout stand. I just finished building my stand on Sat. for my 400g glass tank, but it's not even close to as stout as yours. I was told by many people the stand I built was overkill?!?!? I'm about to post a thread to see what others think. If mines overkill your design should be fine.

Here's some pics of mine. Let me know you're thoughts.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[dismalorb]

heh. You're dealing with over a ton of weight... I don't really think you can go overkill when it comes to protecting that investment.

 

[dismalorb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13692896#post13692896 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BILLYO382
My stand ideas

I pland onbuild a 2 x 8 platform for the stand to rest on to give me a taller stand height. The reason I have to build this 8" base is because my door limits me to 35" opening to get the sand thru. So my stand will be 34" and base will be 8" givning me a total height of 42" tall stand. Just look at some of my prelim ideas in my 3D models.

Please lend me all of your experince and suggestions in whether or not my tank stand and base with have sufficent lateral and vertical support, etc. Also please note that the entire thing will be covered in 3/4" plywood with door access, etc. Thanks in advance again for your tips and help. :bum:

I just had a 450g acrylic built through Envision, and my suggestion would be to have a nice steel stand (with powder coating or rhinolining) made. With all that saltwater you're bound to have some spills, and you wouldn't want a wooden stand to rot.

 

[dustin273]

Very true...however my equipment will not be going under the cabinet ,so I won't be spilling to much water other than what come off my hands. Well, a steel stand is probably much stronger, but i already have the wood stand finished.

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13693524#post13693524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RocketEngineer
BILLYO382,

I have two issues with your stand design and a suggestion.

My first issue is that the load path for the weight of the stand is through the screws, not the wood. If you look here you will note that the legs of the stand are directly between the top and bottom frames of the stand. This means that the tank load travels through the top frame, down the leg, and into the bottom frame with the screws only serving to hold everything in place.

-----------------------------------MY answer------------------------
I understand you point and dealt with this same issue on my previous build of a 270 tall tank that had a stand footprint of 6' long x 2'wide x 3' tall. I built the stand 42" tall out of 2x8 and 4 x 4 the same exact way I have above with the screws carrying the load, I just didnt have a center 4 x 4 beam in the middle of the stand like I do on this one. But needless to say that stand was overbuilt but It held up fine for a year, now is bieng used by a guy i sold the tank to. Anyhow I understand your point and considered notching the 4 x 4 to accept the 2 x 4 but I thought it would be to much work and morw than enough. Im just unconforable with the overall shape of the tank thats why Ive added that center 4 x 4. However I respect you opinion. But for a example look at the skimpy stand that was holding the tank for years above in the pict's I posted. :lol:

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Second issue is the idea of using 2X4's for the top frame. Due to the lengths involved, you may want to consider going up to 2X6s or 2X8s in order to keep the bottom from deflecting. The stiffer the top frame, the less likely you are to have bottom deflection issues. Along the same lines a nice thick sheet of plywood on top wouldn't be a bad idea.

---------------------------My answer--------------------------------
Here again I understand your point but, I think that with the way I have the 4 x 4's spaced the load should be carried evenly and not be deflected to snap the 2 x 4's. The main reason I went with 2 x 4 is because I want to have as much room under the stand as possible right now it is about 26" inside hieght room for skimmer and sump etc. Also I would go with a 3/4" sheet of plywood for the skin and base for this stand I thought that would be thick enough.
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My suggestion is to not build an 8" riser but to instead, assemble the stand in place. Cut and dry fit all of the pieces in the garage / workshop / driveway. Once everything fits, take the legs out of the structure and carry the top and bottom frames inside separated. Then put the legs back in and you should be good to go. This way you don't have to worry about lining the two frames up perfectly to one another.

------------------------My answer---------------------------
I understand your point here to. The reason I want to build the two, base and stand is so when I move it will be a easy and quick removale and setup again. I will be screwing or bolting the stand to the base, and am not conserned with linig it up exactly as I will be able to just fine.
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Just my thoughts on the subject.

Thanks for all your thought and ideas..BTW your build post of a stand is quite good and helpful.

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13693612#post13693612 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Owen28GT
What I want to know is, where can I get one of those particular Mermaids?

Sorry bro. Ive known mine since high school. lol. So I dont know where to begin to tell you to look. I guess the mall, pool hall, movie, church. Where ever you see a pretty one snatch'em up before the next guy. lol :bum:

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13693673#post13693673 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dustin273
That looks like a pretty stout stand. I just finished building my stand on Sat. for my 400g glass tank, but it's not even close to as stout as yours. I was told by many people the stand I built was overkill?!?!? I'm about to post a thread to see what others think. If mines overkill your design should be fine.

I think your stand looks really professional. I agree if they say your stand is overbuilt then i know mine will be, lol. It looks like you used all 2 x 4's, im just too scary to risk it. But you stand exterior looks real professional. I like it. :eek2:

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13693778#post13693778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dismalorb
I just had a 450g acrylic built through Envision, and my suggestion would be to have a nice steel stand (with powder coating or rhinolining) made. With all that saltwater you're bound to have some spills, and you wouldn't want a wooden stand to rot.

Yeah I had a steel stand quoted out, but steel is real expensive now adays, so Im going with the wooden stand, besides I built a wooden stand similar to this one for my 270 I used to have and it worked out great.

 

[dustin273]

THX!

I wish I would have known about this site prior to building my stand...I may have designed it different?? Who knows?!?!

 

[Bax]

I have little to add except, that, is an awesome tank!

 

[BILLYO382]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13695176#post13695176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bax
I have little to add except, that, is an awesome tank!

LOL. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[BILLYO382]

Ok I think I have come up with my final tank stand design. Main change between this one and last is i remove the center 4 x 4 and added a groove piece to brace inbetween the front and back of the stand to carry the middle load evenly. Also I added alot of cross braces to help dispurse the load to the 4 x 4's from the 2 x 4's. I think that the 4 x 4's will carry all of the load to the ground and the 2 x 4's will just spread out and balance the weight and will be fine. Please still let me know your opions but I think im set on this design.