I'd like to ask your opinions

I would not ever overhang any tank. Glass tanks are edge supported, if that edge is not over bearing support, you are asking for trouble.

If you are considering a custom tank, make or have made a custom stand for it that will offer proper support. Breeder tanks are 36x18" footprints, and the standard 50 is 36 x 18 x 18". There are two shorter, lower gallonage tanks in the series, 30 gallon and 40 gallon. There are also a variety of stands made for these tanks.
 
RTR, I think the word 'overhang' was misleading; the tank I have now is on a Big Al's wooden stand - it's basically shaped like the Roman numeral II; two pillars, with a sheet of wood along the top and bottom. The tank's edges are along the edges (with about 1/2" of wiggle room) of the wood, but there's no support directly beneath all the edges. That's what amosf meant - that it's alright to have a 36" x 18" piece of wood (well, actually I'd make it 37" x 19"), with a 36" x 18" tank resting on it, all on top of two 8" x 16" pillars. I am planning to build it myself because I'm starting to really enjoy the DIY aspect of the hobby, as well as to save a bit of money (more to spend on the tank itself).
I'd like to get a slightly larger tank, so a 50 might be nice... you guys are giving me serious food for thought! Already I've decided to go with a 36" x 18" footprint, now it's just a matter of height :D
Swimfins - that's a really nice size, ~55g and I like the proportions. Thanks for the link!
 
There are iron stands for all the range of hagen tanks, in the neighborhod of about 100 to 200 dollars. You can find them in the terrarium section of a good pet shop. I'm going with the iron stand, myself. The cinder blocks idea looks heavy.

I was told by a salesman that the iron stands are in the terrarium department and not the fish section because they want people to buy the prettier and more expensive canopy and stand sets, but the iron stands are just as sturdy if not as attractive.

:confused:
Any comments?

welcome Blinky, and any Hagen dealer can order up the tank you want.
Check out the products. There are tons of sizes. :)
 
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RTR said:
I would not ever overhang any tank. Glass tanks are edge supported, if that edge is not over bearing support, you are asking for trouble.
Click to expand...

Well, no, you wouldn't overhang the tank as such. You are correct there. The tank would be supported firmly on the thick ply. I was talking about the top ply being an inch (well 2 inches total) larger than the supporting blocks.
 
Also I'd like to note that I have been confused by the tank sizes. As we live in Australia we use metric and on top of that our old gallon is different to the US gallon and I was getting all the sizes confused... Apparently my 190litre tank is about 50 US gallons, or 40g in old Oz gallons... So that's why the 55g you were talking about didn't seem all that much bigger :)

I also have a feeling my tank was custom build about 30+ years ago as it measures 34" by 20" on the base, which seems odd...
 
The pylwood being larger than the tank footprint is not the issue. The possible flex or delection of the plywood without a support under its edges is highly significant. DIY is great if you have the engineering know-how and references to back it up. My tank room is more than half DIY stands, but I had the engineering back-up to be secure with the structure. An unsecured unupported piece of 1" ply is not suited to a cantilevered stand IMHO.
 
I think there would be more chance of sagging in the large gap between the two supporting blocks and you could reinforce that. The 1" cantilever edge with 1" ply would hardly be a problem I think. I have homemade waterbed frames here with 8" cantilever edges made with 3/4" ply. No major flex in that aplication. You could always use some sort of flexible material between the tank and ply to take up the space for flexing anyway.
 
RTR - This is the stand I've got under my 45g. It's only 1" ply and now I'm a bit nervous about it!
I keep changing my DIY plans, often based on input from you guys, and now I'm considering a tank with an 18" - 20" x 36" footprint. I've decided to make sure the bricks/cinder blocks are situated such that there's no overhang, and then I'll be able to sleep at night ;)
The project will probably not be done until about three months from now (unless I chicken out and buy a stand and hood), I'll post pics and let everyone who helped see what it looks like when it's all done. Thanks guys :D
 
I wouldn't worry about the 45g stand. It's been holding up so far, right ;) I had a tank on a table with a 5" overhang for years with no trouble. The weight is actually distributed fairly even over the base of the tank and the construction means they are very rigid and strong. Strong enough that even the base does not actually need to be supported over the whole area. Tho I'm not advising it, I do have a tank on a metal support that overhangs the metal frame on the ends by over an inch and the frame only supports the sides in 4 small places. The ends are well supported by the side panes of the tank. I should send a photo, but it's pretty scary :) If I was worried the support ply might flex, as in the frame you have, then I'd use a flexible filler like polystyrene or whatever under the tank...

And no, I don't advise that you should have a tank in an unsupported situation like I have. I built that frame when I was a kid and it worked and I've just never bothered to change it. If it's lasted 25 years so I figure why bother... I wouldn't build another quite like it :)
 
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