new tank stand recommendations???

[labragg1]

Ok, I have been debating on how I want to build the stand for my new tank
The new tank will be acrylic and the dimensions will be 60x36x24
I want to have as much room underneath as possible, so I am trying to avoid any kind of center bracing. I will have a standard 75gal tank underneath for sump.
I was debating about building the main frame out of steal or wood.
I just don't know what would be best when dealing with a 36" wide tank.
would 1 1/2" or 2" square tube steal be enough to hold it without any center bracing?
Also, if I go the wood route, what would be best? I definitely want to over-build it just for my peace of mind.
I will definitely have plenty of cross-bracing in the top to keep the acrylic from bowing in the middle, but I wasn't sure how much or how little I could get away with when it comes to the main stand structure.
The tank will be in an island format, with doors on three sides.
I was planning to have it wide enough to be able to slide the sump in from the end, so there shouldn't be any problem putting a few extra braces on the sides--6' sections of the tank.

does this make sense???

I would also like someones input on how much floor-bracing I'm going to need.
The main display will be 220gal and then I'll have the 75gal sump, not to say rock, sand, etc.
I'll try to get pics of the under-side of my floor, but it is basically 2x12's running the oposite direction of the tank.


I'm open to any suggestions or ideas. Thanks

 

[MCary]

I have some shelves made from 1/8" angle iron that says it can hold 5000 pounds. I'm guessing that tubular steel hold one helleva lot of weight. A frame made of 2x4's would also hold a tremendious amount of weight. I bought a commercial stand (made in china) for a 150 gallon (48"x24" footprint) whose weight was supported by nothing more that 1x6 pine boards on the sides, open back maybe 6 1"x6" in front and back, all stapled and glued together. And it held fine, even though getting under it to plumb or clean made me nervous. So make it strong, but don;t over engineer too much.

About the floor, it will probably hold fine without any bracing but there are so many forces I can't calculate mathematically because I'm not a structural engineer. Besides load bearing there are shear forces and junk like that. Like I said, your probably fine but if in doubt see if you can get an engineer to tell you what you need to know. You'll get a ton of different answer from this site and most of them won't know any more than I do. And I'm an idiot.

Mike

 

[labragg1]

Thanks for your honesty Mike.
It will be close to at least one load-bearing wall and basically i have a crawl-space underneath. I was thinking of just getting some cinder-blocks or something and then a few of those permanent steel jacks from Lowes and bracing it up.
Not sure if that helps. Just wanting some feedback of what to try to look for and plan on.
Thanks

 

[bassnman11]

It probably would be a good idea to brace up the floor. Maybe a couple of 4x4s with those jacks. I have considered building a stand with a timber frame, but use 2 x4 x 1/4 wall steel tubing for the top rails. You could park your car on it , so you will not need to worry about it sagging. If the tank is acrylic, I would cross brace the top and put down a sheet of 3/4 plywood for total support.