Thoughts On New Tank Build

[Wagonpitt]

Setting up a 125g that will let me combine my 90g and 37g into one tank.

Looking for ideas on what kind of stand and how to set up the overflow.

Wondering what differences there are in steel vs wood stand and which do you recomend. I can build one from wood myself.

Anyone using the eshops eclipse overflow? I like the look of ghost overflow but not the $. Looking for something similar.

Thanks

 

[WiredWeasel]

I used the eshopps eclipse overflow on my 80 Gallon "Frag" tank. The large is a bit too small to set up a proper bean animal siphon. I had to get some street overflows and cut them down with my mitre saw was still kinda tight. At the time I was gonna get the ghost overflow but they were out of stock everywhere and required a wait time of 6-8 weeks. I would recommend getting the ghost overflow over the eshopps eclipse unless you can get ahold of the extra large version.

I wouldn't recommend using steel...even if you powder coat it heavily itll still eventually rust out over time. I know marcelo, fragbox's, previous system was powder coated and it didnt last too long, but mileage may vary. I imagine a residential home's tank stand would last a longer? I personally would use that extruded aluminum stuff, but its quite pricey. My last "display" tank was made of solid white oak and coated with marine grade penetrating epoxy from epiphanes, but thats also quite expensive.

 

[shamous113]

I Love the beananimal overflow due to the redundancy. I did a DIY c2c overflow with an external beananimal and would defiantly do it on my next build.

Wood is defiantly cheaper, here is a good thread on reef central for wood stand design. the benefit to using steel is that the members are a lot smaller and don't change in size with the moisture content. eg for a 600gal tank I would use HSS 3x1.5x.125 LLV with a 4'-0" unsupported span with a max deflection >0.1" when the tank is completely filled with water, rock and sand. if you use wood then your in to using 2x8 for the frame which reduces the access and clearance under the tank. As to powder coating I would do one coat of zinc rich primer and 2 coats of colour to make sure the steel is sealed. Below is a pdf of the stand I built for @Josh it is a bit over kill but it is one of the lower cost items on a large build.

IMHO The problem with the cheaper off the shelve steel stands is that their built incorrectly they use the thinnest wall tubing possible so the steel deflects more when loaded adding stress to the tank. They do butt joints and then use plastic caps on the tube ends, this allows a place for the moisture to enter and eat away at the metal from the inside. They typically only have 1 coat of powder coating on them, this can lead to a finish that isn't completely sealed and as soon as you scratch them it compromises the finish allowing the steel to rust.

 

[Wagonpitt]

I like the reef savy ghost but long wait time. Synergy reef shadow ive read is a little flimsy. Trying to contact modular marine. Might end up with eshopps eclipse depending if i get a hold of modular marine and how long shipping might take. Anyone use the synergy reef shadow overflow box?

I would have preffered to go with a metal stand for looks and space but wood was half the $

I went with rocketengineer design off reefcentral. this tank will be centered on the back wall.

Floor is not very level and will need to shim under stand. Between stand and tank there are small gaps. Do i need to shim these or will it be fine once full of water. Or...?

What do you think about adding wheels to the stand. Under my 90g i have 2 dollys rated at 800lbs each. Its very convenient to be able to move it around.
With this one i feel with the wider base the stand might bend and twist more then a narrow base when rolling over unlevel ground.

The most i would move it is about a foot forward or backward for cleaning and maintenance.

Any advice or recomendation. If its garbage and i need to try again feel free to tell me. Id rather hurt my pride then break the tank

Thanks again and appreciate any help.

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[Jewel]

I've built a few wood stands in the past but I wouldn't say I knew what I was doing, I just over built them and never had any problems. I couldn't dream of putting wheels on my system. That's a ton of weight well not that much but pretty close.

I think your stand looks pretty good but like I said I would over build it and that would mean putting some support in the middle, I think that's all I would do. I envy you I'd love to find a 6 ft tank so I could combine mine. Good Luck with the new system

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[Copperkills]

I've built a few wood stands in the past but I wouldn't say I knew what I was doing, I just over built them and never had any problems. I couldn't dream of putting wheels on my system. That's a ton of weight well not that much but pretty close.

I think your stand looks pretty good but like I said I would over build it and that would mean putting some support in the middle, I think that's all I would do. I envy you I'd love to find a 6 ft tank so I could combine mine. Good Luck with the new system

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+1 anything over 48” should have a center brace.

 

[Josh]

Wheels are no different than leveling feet in terms of weight distribution. If the wheels are rated for the correct load there should be absolutely no problem using them just be careful of what might happen to your flooring with all that weight on 4 pressure points.

Tank on wheels is an interesting idea though.

+1 to center bracing as well, just make sure a sump can fit if thats in your plans.

 

[Matt1997]

Agree with what’s said above. I know someone who put a 750 gallon plywood tank on casters and it worked for him.

 

[Wagonpitt]

would one support work at about 30 inch. If not ill just put at center.

Im using 2 of the dolly in pic now under my 90g stand.
I was thinking of using the tool box casters in pic.

Not worried about the floor in that area.


No one mentioned the gaps between tank and stand. So assuming thats not an issue. ?

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[Copperkills]

would one support work at about 30 inch. If not ill just put at center.

Im using 2 of the dolly in pic now under my 90g stand.
I was thinking of using the tool box casters in pic.

Not worried about the floor in that area.


No one mentioned the gaps between tank and stand. So assuming thats not an issue. ?

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If it was me and I couldn’t brace in the centre I would put braces in 18-24” from each end.

 

[Wagonpitt]

Im looking for confirmation if what im doing is ok.


There was a gap between stand and tank so i added 3/4in ply ontop and shims between ply and stand

I left a lip along the back of the stand and will add a full 3/4in ply for back piece.
(just an idea of what i mean)

2 supports in the back 1 in the front to alow me to pull sump if i have to. 42inch span at front.

The front and sides i will skin after when i decide what to use.

Will put cross supports on the bottom and lay 3/4ply ontop for sump to sit on

Ok so far ?


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[Wagonpitt]

Missing front support in this pic but will be put in.

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[Matt1997]

Hi, I had a write up on another forum involving calculations with pressure distribution on uneven stands and what causes failure. How you did it is the preferred way assuming all other dimensions are level. Contact between plywood and tank bottom using shims between plywood and stand frame provides the same support. Reasoning is that if you shim it correctly all weight will still be evenly distributed. Ill copy and paste it for ya minus the calculation part.

 

[Matt1997]

Here’s the post I made. It was with respect to an uneven 600 gallon acrylic tank. The issue was associated with the bottom of the tank being bowed and not the stand but principle still applies to yours.

“The main issue comes when the tank is not level in two directions x-y. This causes the acrylic/glass to twist creating failure. If the tank is only off in one direction, say from left to right it may last a lifetime.

When a tank is perfectly level the only pressure exerted on the panel is in the x-y direction. By making the tank off level the panel is no longer at 90 degrees thus expieriencing a very minor Z component force. Now since the force on the panel is always equal you can create a simple mathmatical equation to solve for the Z component. To do so sigmaSx+SigmaSy= SigmaSz+SigmaSx+SigmaSy. Where sigma Z, X, Y can be solved using vector components of the cos/sin of the angle. This type of calculation I have not done in a while I may add as I hate structural physics. However the ratio between total stress and additional stress stays constant if the forces are at constant angle with changing water volume. Say there is a 1/4” difference from left to right and nothing front to back so the tank still sits perfectly flat on a surface. The additional water exerted on the side panel in the Z direction will account for under 1% of the total stress on the panel (if I remember the calculation it was closer to .5%). Given any standardized level of safety, 0.5% is greatly inside the safe range. The key to this calculation is that the tank is still on a flat flush surface.

Now to solve the issue of the tank in this thread. If he shimmed between the plywood and the stand properly the weight of the tank will be evenly distributed. To do so, every spot of the tank that is not touching the plywood will need shims, you would need to go under and around the outside of the tank. I agree with both members in what they said above. I would start by taking the tank off the stand to ensure both the metal and plywood are level. (Personally I think the acrylic tank itself may have a very slight bow on the bottom as a result of cell structure collapse of the foam. My reasoning for this is based on where the tank is raised. To me it looks like it’s the front right corner. Assuming the tank is back heavy and there is a slight bow in the bottom the front should be slightly raised).

If after the tank is off and the stand is level I would place the tank back. If it’s still raised in the corner then you know the acrylic is bowed slightly. This is when the discussion gets interesting. Should the tank be filled as is and have the acrylic contort to the stand or should the tank be shimmed. If the stand is perfectly level but the tank still does not sit flat I would shim between the plywood and the tank creating a flush even contact between tank and stand.

I understand what was trying to be said about the shims but unfortunately/fortunately the physics won’t create a point pressure as long as the entire base is still in contact with the plywood and the plywood and shims still make contact all throughout the stand.

My opinion is shim the plywood. I will happily hear out others in why they would do differently.”

So to summarize, shimming between plywood and tank bottom is fine as long as it remains level in the X-Y components.