So What Do You Guys Think?

[hillius31]

Well yesterday I bought a new All Glass Aquarium. Is a 75 Gallon tank.
Today I started building the stand for it. So here are some pictures of it. I was almost done and both of my cordless drills went dead.

Anyways do you guys think I should add a brace in the center of the stand too? I have more wood so It wont be a problem.
thanks,
Justin

 

[coral keeper]

Its lookin good!!

 

[hillius31]

Another question is what color/kind of wood would you use for the out side of the tank? The first picture shows where the tank is going to be located at. I have that tongue and grove wood walls in my basement, it only goes half way up. So I dont know if I should go with a Light colored wood like the walls or a darker color wood. What do you guys think.
Justin

 

[natclanwy]

I think you might be officially addicted

Stand looks good, and I think that I would add another brace to the center. You want to make sure that the stand cannot bow at all and put stress on the glass. 75g tank will be around 650lbs when full of water.

 

[natclanwy]

I think I would go with wood that is similar to whats on your wall but my wife says I have no taste so I don't know if I would listen to me.
BTW what are you putting in this tank?

 

[nel621]

You need to add 2x4 to the 2x4's you already have but between the top and bottom rims.The way it is now the weight of the tank is being held by the s c r e w s .Look at SCSInet build thread on how the wood was cut to eliminate the stress on the fasteners.Otherwise lookin good!

 

[scopus tang]

Your off to a good start. Where are you talking about an addition support in the middle? If you do it in the middle of the stand, you're going to lose a lot of room within the sump. Maybe in the back, on the outside, but I wouldn't brace the middle of the front ~ to hard to get things in and out. If it were me, I'd put one more 2X4 brace on the outside of each of your brackets top to bottom, so the top box is actually sitting on something, rather then have all the weight resting on those screws. As for your wrap, if you use the same wood as your walls, you'll not only match, but get a bit of a built-in, tank popping out of the wall as well. JMO

 

[acrylic51]

Looks good!!!! Only thing I would do is use cripple studs on the outsides of your legs in place to transfer the weight to the bottom of the stand....The way it's built currently your relying solely on the fasterns you've used....HTH.

 

[hillius31]

So are you guys saying I should put a 2x4 on the outside of the legs, between the top and bottom rim. I put a red line where I think you guys are talking about, is it right? Should I put two on each corner, so there will be 8 more 2x4's, or just one on each corner. As far as the center brace, I dont know what to do, cause I want to be able to put a sump and stuff in there easy.
thanks,
Justin

 

[scopus tang]

I personally would only use only one additional one on each corner and place them so they rest upto the outside corners, which is were I've always been told the weight of the tank rests (perhaps thats what you meant). Not that you would hurt anything by adding eight. Additionally, I would add one cripple stud in the middle of the back (as shown) and leave the front alone. With a four foot tank, you shouldn't have to worry about the front dropping, so long as its supported on the ends. JMO

 

[hillius31]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2559045
I personally would only use only one additional one on each corner and place them so they rest upto the outside corners, which is were I've always been told the weight of the tank rests (perhaps thats what you meant). Not that you would hurt anything by adding eight. Additionally, I would add one cripple stud in the middle of the back (as shown) and leave the front alone. With a four foot tank, you shouldn't have to worry about the front dropping, so long as its supported on the ends. JMO
So what do you mean by a cripple stud?
thanks for the input,
Justin

 

[sk8shorty01]

The black lines that scopus drew are where I would put the 2x4's. This will take all of the weight off of the screws, and put it all through the 2x4 and into the bottom rim. I would just put one on each corner, I think putting 2 would be overkill.
I also would not do a center brace, (unless you do one as scopus mentioned) as I think you have plenty of support for a tank of that size with your four posts.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by hillius31
http:///forum/post/2559071
So what do you mean by a cripple stud?
thanks for the input,
Justin
Sorry, cripple stud just means a short stud placed between the top and bottom plates, rather than from the floor to the top. At the point you are at, this can easily be done by using long screws, predrill and drive them through your top and bottom plate into the cripple. You can also

[hr]
it in from the sides, but I feel its more secure when done from the top and bottom.

 

[hillius31]

Well the first picture is of the stand with some more reinforcements and the second picture is of a pump and fill mechanism I picked up today. I got the idea of the fill mechanism from SCSInet's pictures on his new tank, I hope he doesnt mind that I used his idea.

I also got a 36 gallon rubbermaid trash can so I can premix the salt and water then pump it into the tank. So tonight it looks like the tank with be getting some water added to it.

Ill keep you guys posted.
thanks for the input,
Justin

 

[hillius31]

Oh and dont worry about the heater, its gonna be moved down another 24" in about 10 minutes.
Justin

 

[hillius31]

Originally Posted by natclanwy
http:///forum/post/2558170
I think I would go with wood that is similar to whats on your wall but my wife says I have no taste so I don't know if I would listen to me.
BTW what are you putting in this tank?
Well IDK what Im gonna put in this tank. Im thinking I will put Louie and Leonard in there (Lionfish and Stone Fish), and I might get a snowflake eel. So Its gonna be a FOWLR tank, I think. I would like to add some corals but I dont know if the stone fish is reef safe

. If any one knows let me know. I have another 6 weeks to make up my mind so it might change.
Justin

 

[natclanwy]

I believe that they are you just need to be careful with what you put in as far as inverts go no shrimp or crabs. Hermits might be okay but thats about it.

 

[hillius31]

Heres the update!!!!

Justin

 

[hillius31]

Well I added some 18 pounds of live rock today. Got more coming too. So heres a few pictures of the two pieces I got today.
Justin

 

[snakeblitz33]

Looking good, wish the best to you.
Are you going to protein skim on this tank? Also, don't tell me that you are using those glass covers on top of your tank either?!