Stand build journal for 125 gallon tank

[The Zigman]

You may want to reconsider those plastic / rubber casters.
Althought they may handle the weight, the static load on them may eventually break them.

I used similar casters on a cart to move my snowmobile around in the garage, I had 12 casters under a 500# snowmobile. After a year all of the casters were flat on the bottom, and a couple had cracked where the little axle goes through the center.
the ones I wund up using were steel, with only a bit of rubber for the tread part of the wheel.. Big improvement!

Looks lke a fine SUPER heavy duty stand otherwise though!

 

[NewObsession]

Attaching the casters with 5/16x1-1/2 HWH screws. Lag bolts would work as well and are a lot cheaper, I just use the hwh (hex washer head) screws because it saves putting a washer on..and I work for a fastener company so cost wasn't an issue.

I'm wondering if I should switch to carriage bolts and bolt right through the bottom rail. My concern is whether with the swivel casters being offset if there would be enough leverage on one side of the caster to pull the screws out whereas bolting straight through the bottom rail would eliminate that possibility. Probably not an issue but I tend to worry about these things anyways

 

[NewObsession]

You may want to reconsider those plastic / rubber casters.
Althought they may handle the weight, the static load on them may eventually break them.

I used similar casters on a cart to move my snowmobile around in the garage, I had 12 casters under a 500# snowmobile. After a year all of the casters were flat on the bottom, and a couple had cracked where the little axle goes through the center.
the ones I wund up using were steel, with only a bit of rubber for the tread part of the wheel.. Big improvement!

Looks lke a fine SUPER heavy duty stand otherwise though!

Thanks!.
the jury is still out on the casters, both how to attach them and if I should forget them all together. I figure I have a few more steps to work on before I get to the point of no return as far as changing or removing them. If nothing else for now, it makes it a lot easier to move around the garage while I'm working around it.

 

[NewObsession]

Drilling pilot holes for each screw to reduce wandering and avoid splitting anything since they are a larger diameter. Only going with an 11/64 pilot hole. I want it tight enough that it doesn't reduce the holding power of the screw. Here's a tip, if you put a piece of tape around your drill bit at the depth you need the holes it makes a quick and easy depth gauge.
Also, it's not necessary but if you have a socket adapter for your drill it saves a lot of wrist turning putting the screws in.

 

[NewObsession]

Lined the casters up with the vertical supports. I wanted to put them as close as I could to the outside edges for stability, but keep in mind that depending on the swivel caster, the wheel actually swings out past the top plate. Since there will a face plate and molding on the front of the stand I wanted to make sure the casters still would swivel 360 degrees. Checked this by putting a scrap piece of wood against the front of the stand and making sure the wheel cleared it. This wasn't a concern on the backside as there won't be trim on it and hence I can leave it open for the casters to move.
Then it was just a matter of marking the hole locations, drilling and installing the screws

 

[NewObsession]

And voila..A stand on wheels.

 

[fishorama]

Will you be adding any diagonal bracing, sides & back? I've seen that suggested but can't remember the tank size. Or are you using plywood? Sorry if you said already, I mentioned it to my friend in an email & he didn't quite get what I meant according to my husband...He's already thinking I might need a matching stand for the other tank in the room...

 

[NewObsession]

Will you be adding any diagonal bracing, sides & back? I've seen that suggested but can't remember the tank size. Or are you using plywood? Sorry if you said already, I mentioned it to my friend in an email & he didn't quite get what I meant according to my husband...He's already thinking I might need a matching stand for the other tank in the room...

The plan is to put plywood sides on & plywood across the back, then cover the whole unit with 1/4 plywood panelling for a finished look. The front will have a cupboard with a door on either side and a set of drawers down the middle
I'm goingthe plywood because I figure it gives more support than diagonal braces and is less cumbersome. Well, that and I just happen to have a lot of it..

 

[NewObsession]

So I've hit a bit of a snag in that the casters are imports and not rated for what I thought they were since I checked the ratings on the ones from our domestic vendor. I think I've come up with a solution theat will give me the option of the casters should it ever have to more AND eliminate any fears of overloading and an added bonus of adding stability. I would explain the plan but in words it would just go in circles. I'll take some pictures as I do it and hopefully post some pics after the wekend.

In the meantime thought I would get some feedback on a question I have. For the top of the stand I would like to use MDF since I have a big sheet I would like to get rid of. My plan was to use the MDF and then put two or three coats of poly on it to waterproof it so I didn't have to worry about drips or water issues when I'm doing maintenence. My question is whether this seems plausible or am I asking for trouble and should just go plywood?

 

[wespastor]

Was googleing around for ya and came across these:

http://www.reidsupply.com/Detail.aspx?itm=WC-101

Thought they might do ya.

Best wishes,
Wes