Will this stand hold my tank?

[K1ng]

I recently purchased a used 220 gallon saltwater system and did not like the look of the original stand nor did I feel comfortable with it being structurally sound. Ive decided to build my own stand instead.

I asked my friend to pick me up some 2x6's to build the famous rocket engineer stand found everywhere. To my demise he picked up 2x10's.

The tank dimensions are 72 1/2" wide, 24 1/2" front to back

The stands dimensions will be 76" wide, 26" front to back and 40" tall and will be topped off with 3/4" plywood (no centre braces but 2 cross braces on top)

So my question is will this stand support my tank even though the tank will sit inside the perimeter of the stand?

 

[Big G]

That's an awful lot of weight without any center braces to help maintain the load. What kind of wood and is it kiln dried?

 

[K1ng]

This is the wood that I got and the entire stand will be built out of it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.2x10x16-spf-dimension-lumber.1000100177.html

 

[davocean]

Why is the perimeter wider/bigger, are you adding this on top of the old stand?

I would build according to rockets template, and I would want the perimeter of glass sitting on frame.

Also is your tank trimmed or not?

 

[Big G]

This is the wood that I got and the entire stand will be built out of it.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.2x10x16-spf-dimension-lumber.1000100177.html

Very important to find out if the lumber is dried or not. Kiln dried is the highest measure and the best to use; air dried is somewhere in the middle of "dryness." And green not dried lumber is the worst to make a tank stand with. As the "green" (undried) lumber dries in your house the wood will shrink and the shrinking can be uneven putting stress on your tank's structure/glass.

 

[K1ng]

I will give them a call and ask whether it is dried or what not.

The tank does have a trim so all the stress will be on that. I wanted the dimensions a little bit bigger to have a lip around the tank as well as more room in the stand for sump and other accessories.

Should I cut the wood to be the exact dimensions of the tank or will the 3/4" plywood on top disperse the weight enough?

 

[dugthefish]

I will give them a call and ask whether it is dried or what not.

The tank does have a trim so all the stress will be on that. I wanted the dimensions a little bit bigger to have a lip around the tank as well as more room in the stand for sump and other accessories.

Should I cut the wood to be the exact dimensions of the tank or will the 3/4" plywood on top disperse the weight enough?

Plywood will not be enough, you need the load to bear on the structural framing. You could go 3/4" past, so your tank is sitting on the inside edge of your 2x.

Fwiw, I think 2x10 SPF would be strong enough to support your tank. If you still have concerns, use double 2x10 front and back, which would be enough to hold up an entire end of a house.

 

[scriptmonkey]

@K1ng
So you appreciate some the loads you are going to see....the tank alone should be in the 420-480lb range. If you fill 220 gals you are looking at roughly 2300 lbs. Between the tank and just the water. I would have as much of that tank sitting square on the 2x10 as much as possible. Do not rely on the 3/4 ply to hold this up.

 

[davocean]

I will give them a call and ask whether it is dried or what not.

The tank does have a trim so all the stress will be on that. I wanted the dimensions a little bit bigger to have a lip around the tank as well as more room in the stand for sump and other accessories.

Should I cut the wood to be the exact dimensions of the tank or will the 3/4" plywood on top disperse the weight enough?

I would want perimeter of glass landing on top of the frame, but you can make it land in the middle or inside edge of that 2x, so if you build 2" bigger than tank perimeter, stand will extend an inch past tank perimeter, and still land on a solid half inch.

I would still want a ply top and screwed to frame to stitch it all together, and then you will probably wrap it in ply and this would bump it out some.

Trimmed tanks are definitely more forgiving, as they only need support at corners.

 

[Big G]

Been conversing with a reefer in Brazil. He's covering the plywood base with a layer of carbon fiber to protect the plywood from moisture, drips, splashes, etc. Great idea. Never heard of doing this before.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hirata-50g-reef-tan.547405/#post-5640587

 

[K1ng]

Thank you all for your input!

I will be cutting the wood to be the exact dimensions of the tank so the 2x's will take all the load and the 3/4" plywood will just be there to maintain a flat surface. Ill be looking up some designs for skinning the tank which I will do at a later date. Just need to get the thing up and running now.

Really neat idea to wrap in carbon fibre, ill be following that as well.

 

[2015GaTor]

If it is a glass tank the weight falls on the edges. If it is acrylic then you will need support all along the bottom. I would still have a center support since you are talking about 2000 pounds for the tank full plus rock and sand. The rock and sand displace the amount of water but still more than 2 large. I would over build to be safe. 220 gallons on your floor would not be good. Good luck