We use iron stands welded togeather, and it would be strong enough to hold 4 250gals and one 500gal in the middle.
Fishroom Multi Tank Stand Construction?
- Thread starter Nolapete
- Start date
pickled in oil, a metal treatment process for carbon steel, affects workability of the metal. Soft for forming, yet strong.
you could take cinder blocks and stack them vertically into two stacks. take 2 4x4's and put them through the holes. then, where you want your tanks to be, you could take 2x4's and cut them to the distsnce from each 4x4. you could then take thes 2x4's and lay them across the 4x4's like bed slats.You could make these as wide as needed also, you would just have to put mor stacks of cindeblocks behind the first set.
I thought about the cinder blocks, but there'd be too much possibility for fluctuation I think.
I'm going to build a normal 2x4 framed stand 2 levels up. The only difference will be that the bottom tank will have one or two support 2x4s for the above tank across the front that can be removed. Each level will be screwed together then bolted to the uprights. Sort of like www.garf.org stands but double stacked.
I'm going to build a normal 2x4 framed stand 2 levels up. The only difference will be that the bottom tank will have one or two support 2x4s for the above tank across the front that can be removed. Each level will be screwed together then bolted to the uprights. Sort of like www.garf.org stands but double stacked.
Would you be creeped out knowing that's how your house is held together?
screws are much stronger than most people think (of course, only if the joint is done properly).Having said that though, I really like your framing technique... I'm a big fan of overbuilding things, and that thing looks ready to rest a truck on!
I'm looking at doing something similar, except all my tanks will be hidden behind a false wall in the basement with only the fronts showing through windows in the wall. I drew up a few different ideas for the stands, and then talked to an architect about it. He did some research and basically said to design each support like a wall, with a header and a footer and verticals for support. Here are screenshots of the PDFs I got, the plans may change a bit, and in the side view the tank widths aren't exact, but you get an idea of the design.
I'll have to explore that as an option. It may be just what I'm looking for. Do you have a more detailed plan or just those?
Let me preface this post by saying that I am NOT a DIY-er, I suck at building stuff, and I have very little understanding of carpentry and what constitutes structural integrity, and what not. But I just have to throw this in there.
A LFS that I frequent used 2x4s and 4x4s to build DIY stands for every tank in the store. They held 30x55 gallon tanks to make up the FW section. The stands were painted black. A couple years after the store opened, the stands started to twist and bend just a little bit. I'm not sure if this was due to water damage or the slightly uneven concrete floor (I suspect the latter). Even though the stands had been leveled initially, the twisting still happened, and caused quite a few of the tanks to leak. This person eventually had steel stands custom fabricated and powder-coated. I guess just make sure that your floors are very, very level... because shimming the stands probably won't work as a long-term solution.
Good luck Pete! You should definitely do a build thread for this project, I think a lot of others would benefit from it.
A LFS that I frequent used 2x4s and 4x4s to build DIY stands for every tank in the store. They held 30x55 gallon tanks to make up the FW section. The stands were painted black. A couple years after the store opened, the stands started to twist and bend just a little bit. I'm not sure if this was due to water damage or the slightly uneven concrete floor (I suspect the latter). Even though the stands had been leveled initially, the twisting still happened, and caused quite a few of the tanks to leak. This person eventually had steel stands custom fabricated and powder-coated. I guess just make sure that your floors are very, very level... because shimming the stands probably won't work as a long-term solution.
Good luck Pete! You should definitely do a build thread for this project, I think a lot of others would benefit from it.
