New setup: AA 54x24x20 + 50x16x16 sump
- Thread starter haiguys
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I am sorry but as is that stand will not hold.
It is not safe to screw into the end grain of a board for this application. I think it would be wise to reinforce those joints with aluminum angle, or something of the type.
I would also be concerned with the lack of center brace. Did you wrap the back and sides in ply?
It is not safe to screw into the end grain of a board for this application. I think it would be wise to reinforce those joints with aluminum angle, or something of the type.
I would also be concerned with the lack of center brace. Did you wrap the back and sides in ply?
You’ll have to explain “rack”
I’m no craftsman; I simply got the plans offline and taught myself how to use the pocket hole tool.
This is the second stand I’ve ever built; I can say that the first stand I built looked like crap and had some slop in the corners.
This time around I used wood glue everywhere and then wood and/or pocket screws. I was very surprised at how strong everything held together. Even when I picked it up, I didn’t feel any give.
I’m no craftsman; I simply got the plans offline and taught myself how to use the pocket hole tool.
This is the second stand I’ve ever built; I can say that the first stand I built looked like crap and had some slop in the corners.
This time around I used wood glue everywhere and then wood and/or pocket screws. I was very surprised at how strong everything held together. Even when I picked it up, I didn’t feel any give.
I think he means that if an Earthquake hits, and your tank weight starts going side to side...that stand may collapse sideways. You need something to prevent sideway movement like corner braces, even if it is added to the back corners.
Also, the nails you screwed at the top, I can see it is already splitting your wood. May not be a problem, but you may want to drill a smaller pilot hole next time, and that would prevent splitting the wood.
You may want to add some cross beams (front to back) on the top to support the tank bottom glass as well.
Also, the nails you screwed at the top, I can see it is already splitting your wood. May not be a problem, but you may want to drill a smaller pilot hole next time, and that would prevent splitting the wood.
You may want to add some cross beams (front to back) on the top to support the tank bottom glass as well.
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I am referring to this.
This will fail. All four of them in time. Not sure which first but probably this one. If you added aluminum angle to each of these joints it could help. You'll want to get as big of a piece as you can and make sure it is screwed in close to the top, close to the bottom, and close to the middle of each butt joint. I drill my own so I am not sure what is out there but I am sure you can find one with 3 or 5 holes on each side.
End grain does not hold glue or screws well. There are chapters on books about it but I can sum up hours of research with it will fail in time. It will fail much sooner if exposed to humidity or water. End grain not holding screws or glue well is why we have countless other ways to bring corners together, like pocket screws, dovetails, finger joints, miter bits, talons, dowels, etc etc. We wouldn't have any of those types of joinery if you could just screw into end grain.
Racking is the next concern. It is the stand moving side to side with weight on it and not be able to absorb an outside force. Earthquake is a great example but it doesn't have to be something that drastic. A person bumping into it could collapse it. Closing off the back and sides with plywood would help. Marine ply would be your best option, but it is spendy. You could do a Baltic birch as well, which is what I build my stands out of.
Did you paint the wood to protect it from moisture?
If there is still no water in it, I would also highly recommend getting some pond liner and incasing your sump area up a good six inches on all sides. Basically make your cabinet water proof for 6". I think it works out to like 15g for that size. It is a small increase in price, but it will make the stand sturdier as it protects the base from moisture, but also, if there is every a spill, or sump leak, clogged filter sock, slight spill when taking off the protein skimmer lid, etc etc it will save you a lot of clean up. A couple years back my sump seam failed (store bought sump) and having the pond liner meant I wasn't replacing the floors in my house. I just sucked the water up with a shop vac and fixed the seam. The $20 or whatever I spent on the pond liner easily saved me 10 grand. It's just nice to not have to worry about dripping in the sump regardless; even if there is never a a big thing.
Sorry for being so long winded. I had a store bought stand fail on a 65g tank about 15 years ago; and my hobby is wood working. So I am both a bit paranoid and actually know a good amount about this.
This will fail. All four of them in time. Not sure which first but probably this one. If you added aluminum angle to each of these joints it could help. You'll want to get as big of a piece as you can and make sure it is screwed in close to the top, close to the bottom, and close to the middle of each butt joint. I drill my own so I am not sure what is out there but I am sure you can find one with 3 or 5 holes on each side.
End grain does not hold glue or screws well. There are chapters on books about it but I can sum up hours of research with it will fail in time. It will fail much sooner if exposed to humidity or water. End grain not holding screws or glue well is why we have countless other ways to bring corners together, like pocket screws, dovetails, finger joints, miter bits, talons, dowels, etc etc. We wouldn't have any of those types of joinery if you could just screw into end grain.
Racking is the next concern. It is the stand moving side to side with weight on it and not be able to absorb an outside force. Earthquake is a great example but it doesn't have to be something that drastic. A person bumping into it could collapse it. Closing off the back and sides with plywood would help. Marine ply would be your best option, but it is spendy. You could do a Baltic birch as well, which is what I build my stands out of.
Did you paint the wood to protect it from moisture?
If there is still no water in it, I would also highly recommend getting some pond liner and incasing your sump area up a good six inches on all sides. Basically make your cabinet water proof for 6". I think it works out to like 15g for that size. It is a small increase in price, but it will make the stand sturdier as it protects the base from moisture, but also, if there is every a spill, or sump leak, clogged filter sock, slight spill when taking off the protein skimmer lid, etc etc it will save you a lot of clean up. A couple years back my sump seam failed (store bought sump) and having the pond liner meant I wasn't replacing the floors in my house. I just sucked the water up with a shop vac and fixed the seam. The $20 or whatever I spent on the pond liner easily saved me 10 grand. It's just nice to not have to worry about dripping in the sump regardless; even if there is never a a big thing.
Sorry for being so long winded. I had a store bought stand fail on a 65g tank about 15 years ago; and my hobby is wood working. So I am both a bit paranoid and actually know a good amount about this.
Long overdue update:
1: tank was setup around May of last year but I got lazy with husbandry around October. Got into a GHA and red algae outbreak. Since then I’ve been doing 30 gal WCs every two weeks to fight it. Slime was going away but GHA wasn’t. Realized that I didn’t change my RODI filters. So I changed those and it’s slowly getting bettee
2. Setup a Santa Monica Surf ATS but didn’t set the timer. It’s now getting some growth. I’ll take off the GFO
3. Bought the giant BTA island from @Discotu and plopped it in the middle of the tank. Seeded the surrounding rock with the free floaters and everything looks happy.
4. Went full T5 and don’t plan to go back to LED unless T5 is fully extinct. I like LED but the price of covering my tank didn’t agree with my wallet.
5. More photos will be uploaded once I figure out the whole light filter so it isn’t so blue.
1: tank was setup around May of last year but I got lazy with husbandry around October. Got into a GHA and red algae outbreak. Since then I’ve been doing 30 gal WCs every two weeks to fight it. Slime was going away but GHA wasn’t. Realized that I didn’t change my RODI filters. So I changed those and it’s slowly getting bettee
2. Setup a Santa Monica Surf ATS but didn’t set the timer. It’s now getting some growth. I’ll take off the GFO
3. Bought the giant BTA island from @Discotu and plopped it in the middle of the tank. Seeded the surrounding rock with the free floaters and everything looks happy.
4. Went full T5 and don’t plan to go back to LED unless T5 is fully extinct. I like LED but the price of covering my tank didn’t agree with my wallet.
5. More photos will be uploaded once I figure out the whole light filter so it isn’t so blue.
