Done making stand for 120gal reef tank is it safe enough ?

[ravi197699]

hello m/r good morning i am done making my stand for 120 gal reef tank. please look at the pics of step by step progress and finally done.
http://s1127.photobucket.com/albums/l630/ravi197699/
any ideas to make it better will be appriciated.

 

[fishman1069]

Didnt you already post this? I remember telling you I thought it was a solid stand.

 

[garys reef]

i would put 2x4's between the top and bottom frame attached to the 4x4

 

[ming]

i would put 2x4's between the top and bottom frame attached to the 4x4

+1
Most of the weight of the tank is held up by screws in your pics

 

[ming]

Even after those 2x4's, it looks like it has the potential to rock back and forth. Without bearing the weight of the tank, it might feel solid, but after everything is on, it may rock more easily.

 

[ravi197699]

tank waight is going to be on 4 of 4x4 posts on the back and two 2x4 posts on the front with steel brackets holding 2x4 and on top 1" solid plywood is screwed in i am adding another 4x4 in the middle of the front and add another support in the middle on the front side and rear and 1" soild skin and sides will have same too. after that if should be ok i think.

 

[garys reef]

i dont trust screws or bolts if u put 2x4's under the frame the weight is transfered right to floor your talking over 1000 pounds i just finished building a stand for my 90 that im puting in a wall i used 2x6's it is in deneral discussion

 

[Jim]

Personally I would not have used pressure treated 4x4s. PT has a higher tendency to warp, twist or crack more than regular Doug Fir dimensional lumber. Home Depot and Lowes both carry 4x4s in Doug Fir. Plus I hope the screws and the teco hangers were meant for use with pressure treated lumber. If not the chemicals in the lumber will corrode the screws and plates.

 

[xxxAngeloxxx]

This thread brings back alot of memories on how my 55g wall stand was gettin build lol


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[Breakin Newz]

Looks like the screws will be bearing most of the weight.. I wouldn't put a 120g on it, but thats me..

Read this thread for the correct way..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1169964&highlight=rocket

 

[dj ze]

if you sheet the top & sides with 3/4 plywood you should be fine because the 4 by 4's will pick up the load is there's a problem but you have to have a sheet of plywood on top or the 4 by 4's will come up through the tank

 

[ming]

tank waight is going to be on 4 of 4x4 posts on the back and two 2x4 posts on the front with steel brackets holding 2x4 and on top 1" solid plywood is screwed in i am adding another 4x4 in the middle of the front and add another support in the middle on the front side and rear and 1" soild skin and sides will have same too. after that if should be ok i think.

Based on the pic you posted on photobucket, the only weight I see directly on the posts to the floor are the rear center 2 posts. All other 4 corner posts have the weight transferred from the screws to the post. The solid plywood on the sides will help it from rocking, but you still have the issue with the weight on the screws. If those screws get torn out of the posts because its too much weight, your tank will come crashing down. Also, if its a standard 120g, then they usually come with a plastic lip, so all the weight will be on the edges, therefore the 2 rear center posts aren't really bearing the weight directly either except with screws.

For reference, I'm looking at this pic

You probably made up your mind by now if you're going to use it as is or not so I'll let you decide what you think is best. Either way, good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[garys reef]

i would put a 2x6 in front and a 2x4 on the side of the front posts and the same on the back its almost like doing a header u want to transfer the weight

 

[wonderballz]

OK Ravi. What everyone is talking about is that your stand only has the equivalent of the green posts. Which means that the weight of the tank is resting on the red and yellow posts, which are only held up by screws.

We are suggesting that you should add the purple posts so that the top frame is resting on the posts and not relying on the screws to keep it up. If the screws fail, then the tank will drop down like a flat pancake. BUT if you have the purple posts, then the tank pressure will be sitting on both the posts and the screws.

 

[ravi197699]

ok pics dont show everything, now the tank is sitting on 6 4x4 water treated posts and there are three on the back and three on the front tank is resting on those posts not on 2x4's screws that i used are special coated out side decking screws so those are ready for harsh use. 2x4's are mounted to 4X4 posts to keep it steady from out side and inside and i am going to add 4 more 2x4 on the out side in the middle of the posts to keep it from swinging and that should do it i cant even move this stand anymore and 4 strong man try to push this stand so i see if i swings and not even 1 mm meter it swings but still i will add more support in the middle . but 100" tank is resting on 4x4 posts not on 2x4 or screws. but i tank every one to give me ideas.

 

[NL146]

ok pics dont show everything, now the tank is sitting on 6 4x4 water treated posts and there are three on the back and three on the front tank is resting on those posts not on 2x4's screws that i used are special coated out side decking screws so those are ready for harsh use. 2x4's are mounted to 4X4 posts to keep it steady from out side and inside and i am going to add 4 more 2x4 on the out side in the middle of the posts to keep it from swinging and that should do it i cant even move this stand anymore and 4 strong man try to push this stand so i see if i swings and not even 1 mm meter it swings but still i will add more support in the middle . but 100" tank is resting on 4x4 posts not on 2x4 or screws. but i tank every one to give me ideas.

How wide/long is the top including the 2x4s? As Ming said, if your tank has a rim the weight will be distributed around the edges and so will rest directly on the 2x4s and not on the 4x4s. If the tank's width only goes out to the 4x4s then you are running the risk of creating (6) pressure points on the bottom of the tank. Perhaps having ply on top of the 4x4s will be enough to distribute the weight evenly, I don't know. This might be the opportunity to rebuild rather than adding more weight. I built my stand using the template wonderballz posted and it was pretty heavy so I can only imagine how heavy your stand will be if you continue.

 

[masterswimmer]

ok pics dont show everything, now the tank is sitting on 6 4x4 water treated posts and there are three on the back and three on the front tank is resting on those posts not on 2x4's screws that i used are special coated out side decking screws so those are ready for harsh use. 2x4's are mounted to 4X4 posts to keep it steady from out side and inside and i am going to add 4 more 2x4 on the out side in the middle of the posts to keep it from swinging and that should do it i cant even move this stand anymore and 4 strong man try to push this stand so i see if i swings and not even 1 mm meter it swings but still i will add more support in the middle . but 100" tank is resting on 4x4 posts not on 2x4 or screws. but i tank every one to give me ideas.

ravi, I noticed that every time someone mentions some sort of shortcoming on the stand build you add more lumber and more screws. Unfortunately, just because you add more lumber and screws, it doesn't mean you're adding structural stability to the build. It can be as heavy as a full grown elephant, but if the construction of the stand isn't built to proper architectural designs, it won't get any better or stronger.

You mentioned,

i am going to add 4 more 2x4 on the out side in the middle of the posts to keep it from swinging and that should do it i cant even move this stand anymore and 4 strong man try to push this stand so i see if i swings and not even 1 mm

believe it or not, without knowing how you plan to add these additional 2x4's it could be all wasted lumber.

The appropriate way to add crossbracing is by starting high on one 4x4 and attaching it to the base 2x4. Don't run the 2x4 parallel to the ground all the way around the stand. It'll do nothing for stability, but it will add weight.

Russ

 

[UnknownWaters]

Cant somebody go and help him build this stand before something bad happens?