Bean's 300 Gallon AGE Build
- Thread starter BeanMachine
- Start date
The stand will be a little different than standard. Its going to be 6 inches wider than the tank, so the stand will extend 6 inches past the back of the tank. There will be 6 legs, 4 supporting the tank, and the other 2 supporting the extension piece. I'll be able to place the sump directly under the external plumbing.
The steel will be larger than 1". We are still working out the details on that.
T5's just for now. My last 120 gallon had great success using the old school ATI Powermodule with Reef Brite combo. I would like to go all LED eventually.
As for the return pumps, redundancy mainly. I like the idea if one happens to go out for whatever reason, my tank will still be circulating through the sump. They won't be run at the full speed / wattage. I've already got the M1s and am excited to play with them.
The steel will be larger than 1". We are still working out the details on that.
T5's just for now. My last 120 gallon had great success using the old school ATI Powermodule with Reef Brite combo. I would like to go all LED eventually.
As for the return pumps, redundancy mainly. I like the idea if one happens to go out for whatever reason, my tank will still be circulating through the sump. They won't be run at the full speed / wattage. I've already got the M1s and am excited to play with them.
Re: The steel will be larger than 1"
I hope the builder is basing this on something more definitive than a swag. That is a considerable load/span to be supported by 4 legs. The other 2 legs do not directly support the load. What you must guard against is excessive deflection of the steel tubing (horizontal members) under load. The tubing must be the proper size AND wall thickness to work properly. Glass will deflect, but not much before it fails. This is assuming a pane of glass free of defects. Not likely which is why builders use a good sized safety factor when sizing glass thickness. You would be smart to work w/AGE on selecting the right sized tubing based on load analysis rather than guessing or what others have used.
The more legs you have means more of the load can be transferred to the ground. Less legs means the horizontal members must be strong/stiff enough to resist the load (deflection). This is why simple 4 sided woods stands are used by many builders. The 4 sides are essentially an infinite number of legs. You are spanning 6' in length & 3' front to back on 4 legs. You will need good sized tubing to support this load. As a frame of reference I used 1.5" square tubing, 3/16" wall thickness for my 220g tank. I would expect to see a max of .020" deflection in certain areas of the horizontal members. This is with 6 legs, 72" x 30" footprint.
Definitely work with your builder to get this right. Some things to consider if in doubt is to possibly have the bottom pane tempered or euro braced to increase strength/stiffness. Ask them what they would consider acceptable (safe) deflection for 3/4" glass. Have them build a stand to match.
I hope the builder is basing this on something more definitive than a swag. That is a considerable load/span to be supported by 4 legs. The other 2 legs do not directly support the load. What you must guard against is excessive deflection of the steel tubing (horizontal members) under load. The tubing must be the proper size AND wall thickness to work properly. Glass will deflect, but not much before it fails. This is assuming a pane of glass free of defects. Not likely which is why builders use a good sized safety factor when sizing glass thickness. You would be smart to work w/AGE on selecting the right sized tubing based on load analysis rather than guessing or what others have used.
The more legs you have means more of the load can be transferred to the ground. Less legs means the horizontal members must be strong/stiff enough to resist the load (deflection). This is why simple 4 sided woods stands are used by many builders. The 4 sides are essentially an infinite number of legs. You are spanning 6' in length & 3' front to back on 4 legs. You will need good sized tubing to support this load. As a frame of reference I used 1.5" square tubing, 3/16" wall thickness for my 220g tank. I would expect to see a max of .020" deflection in certain areas of the horizontal members. This is with 6 legs, 72" x 30" footprint.
Definitely work with your builder to get this right. Some things to consider if in doubt is to possibly have the bottom pane tempered or euro braced to increase strength/stiffness. Ask them what they would consider acceptable (safe) deflection for 3/4" glass. Have them build a stand to match.
How tall do you plan on going with the stand? I'm not looking to dissuade you but those 3" on the tank height will make a big difference. I bought a 300 that was 30" tall and the stand was kinda tall too and I ended up selling it off right away because it was just too **** big. I was on carpet and it was kind of wobbly (when empty) and that scared me (especially with little ones running around). When I was planning on getting it Emac said to me, "A 300 ain't no joke!" and he was right. I would have had to be on a ladder to do anything with the tank and if anything needs to be done on the bottom, you're reaching WAY down.
Just things to think about in your planning stage!
Just things to think about in your planning stage!
I have a A.G.E. tank and steel stand these guys are the best they will calculate all the steel and make sure it has cross braces as needed and enough support once it's decided on base design they have a engineer review and adjust accordingly. Great tank Cody. Can't wait to see it
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