Can I remove the middle front brace on my stand?

[Neptune 555]

I have a 4 foot wood stand holding a standard 75 gallon reef. I need to upgrade my sump. The problem is that I can' remove my sump and replace with my desired sump with the middle brace in place. The middle brace is the piece of wood that both doors land on. Can I remove this with out losing the integrity of the stand?

 

[Todvod]

Are you talking a permanent or temporary change? If permanent, you could replace with a header. When complete then remove the center brace. If temporary, you could cut some 2x4’s to temporarily support the tank while you remove the center and add the sump. Certainly doable one way or another.

 

[Ron Reefman]

That's a really difficult call without knowing more about your stands construction. Things like corner posts size, top thickness, is the center you want to remove between the top and bottom rails (or attached from inside the stand) and is the tank on any kind of foam. And even then it would be a tough call.

I'd recommend that you take a floor jack and place it in front of your stand. Then take a 2x4 or 2x6 and cut it so it is just a tiny bit short of going from the lifting surface of the jack to the inside of the upper rail of the stand (where the current part you want to remove is attached). Raise the jack very slowly until you know you have the weight of the tank supported by the jack and new board. Now remove the center board very carefully. athen lower the jack very slowly. If the center doesn't sag more than about 1/4" you could remove the jack and new board long enough to get the old sump out and the new one in. And I mean you have the old sump already disconnected and dry and the new sump ready to slide in. As soon as the new one is in, jack the stand up again, fit the old center board back in and attach it. Then lower the jack slowly.

If the center doesn't sag at all, you have almost now worries about the swap time. If the center sags more than 1/4" I wouldn't even try leaving it unsupported for any time at all. That much sag could cause your tank to crack.

I did this with a 65g shallow tank and a 25g frag tank on a 6' long stand that I made. The top was 3/4" marine plywood with a layer of Corian on top of that. When I removed the center 2x4 and let it down, the center was about 1/4" lower than with the center brace in place. It took me about 10 minutes to swap out sumps.

I hope that helps a little?

 

[davocean]

That appears to be a standard store bought stand, and they usually don't add materials or extra parts on those!

Most store bought stands are minimal materials and design, it would not be a good idea to remove, especially while full.

You could however drain tank water into brutes, cut it out, get sump replaced, and replace that brace, but it would need to be a new piece of lumber as cutting it out will make it come up short w/ what a blade takes out.

Afterwards just pump water back in.

That would be doable.

 

[Neptune 555]

That appears to be a standard store bought stand, and they usually don't add materials or extra parts on those!

Most store bought stands are minimal materials and design, it would not be a good idea to remove, especially while full.

You could however drain tank water into brutes, cut it out, get sump replaced, and replace that brace, but it would need to be a new piece of lumber as cutting it out will make it come up short w/ what a blade takes out.

Afterwards just pump water back in.

That would be doable.

Arrrrhhhh so stressful! Thanks for the thoughts.. YES my stand is a standard no frills store bought stand. I am upgrading in a year... but wanted a new sump now... but I think this will be an all in one swap. If I have to drain the tank I think I want to do the real move.... only once.
thanks!

 

[davocean]

Arrrrhhhh so stressful! Thanks for the thoughts.. YES my stand is a standard no frills store bought stand. I am upgrading in a year... but wanted a new sump now... but I think this will be an all in one swap. If I have to drain the tank I think I want to do the real move.... only once.
thanks!

Draining a tank and then refilling is less stressful than most people might guess, many corals and reefs are exposed for hours on low tides.
If you had a board already cut and ready to go, you could drain, remove, replace in probably about a half hour, pump water back in.
But do what seems comfortable or most practical to you.

 

[Timrpn]

How did this move go? I am going through similar problem

 

[jda]

I have done this a lot. Used a bottle jack, removed the brace, removed the jack, did the work and then put the bottle jack back on and put the brace/piece back. The 4 corners are paramount, but I would always replace the brace when you are done working.

I can tell you that on a 84 inch oceanic stand, the middle sagged enough that the middle braces (there were three) would not go back in without the bottle jack to make 1/32 of room.

You can use hardwood boards on the top and bottom of the bottle jack to save the finished wood.

 

[motortrendz]

No way lol unless your removing the water front the tank first. It will 100% bow on you if you remove it especially with all the weight.