Reinforcing a Stand

[Protodad]

Wanted to grab some opinions on this one. Have a 48” long, 60 gallon tank going on this stand. It’s mostly appears to be 3/4” plywood with a center support of two glued 3/4” boards (1.5” duh).

I have a 14” wide sump I want to use and the gap between the two supports is no where near that. The interior depth is 17” so not a ton of room to work with. Since I plan to cut the supports, I was wondering how much more support I should add back in and where. There are no horizontal supports under the top piece of wood. I have a good amount of height to work with, but want to keep the space as open as possible.

 

[92Miata]

How long is the sump?

 

[MarshallB]

3/4th quality plywood is pretty strong. I would leave what is already there and just reinforce it with 2x4s. Put a 2x4s in each corner connected to pieces on top of the stand running length wise ( front to back )

Make sure you also attach the 2x4's to the back piece of plywood for extra horizontal strength.

 

[Scratch08]

Wanted to grab some opinions on this one. Have a 48” long, 60 gallon tank going on this stand. It’s mostly appears to be 3/4” plywood with a center support of two glued 3/4” boards (1.5” duh).

I have a 14” wide sump I want to use and the gap between the two supports is no where near that. The interior depth is 17” so not a ton of room to work with. Since I plan to cut the supports, I was wondering how much more support I should add back in and where. There are no horizontal supports under the top piece of wood. I have a good amount of height to work with, but want to keep the space as open as possible.

I would completely remove the 2 upright supports, then glue and screw another layer of 3/4" strips of plywood, 2-3" wide, around the inside right up against the bottom of the top board. Then do same thing to the bottom, then run verticle strips up the corners. This should provide ample strength and provide you with enough room for your sump.

 

[Scratch08]

You can see what I'm talking about in these pics...this is the inde of my stand for my 75its mostly full now, but still have room to work on equipment

 

[Protodad]

How long is the sump?

30”

I probably could move them over 7”

 

[Protodad]

I would completely remove the 2 upright supports, then glue and screw another layer of 3/4" strips of plywood, 2-3" wide, around the inside right up against the bottom of the top board. Then do same thing to the bottom, then run verticle strips up the corners. This should provide ample strength and provide you with enough room for your sump.

That’s similar to what I’ve done in the past framing a stand. I will probably use 2x4 as I think I have the room.

 

[Dahas]

You can remove the vertical supports and install 3 or 2x4 under the top piece of plywood and attatch to the sides one in each corner and then one in the center. This Will support the top and stop sagging as well. Will also give you room to work with nothing in the middle of the area that has the existing uprights right now

 

[Scratch08]

That’s similar to what I’ve done in the past framing a stand. I will probably use 2x4 as I think I have the room.

If you have room 2x4's will be fine.

 

[Bepis]

If you do use 2x4s remember they aren’t truly 2” by 4”, so measure the ones you get to avoid miscalculations

 

[Spieg]

Maybe you could use some t-slot to build an interior frame. Would have to be cut pretty precisely to fit tight to the exterior box structure (this could also make assembly a bit difficult). I usually build the frame first then skin it with the exterior material.

 

[Dahas]

If you do use 2x4s remember they aren’t truly 2” by 4”, so measure the ones you get to avoid miscalculations

2x4 is really 1.5”x3.5”

 

[Bepis]

2x4 is really 1.5”x3.5”

Yep the wood companies scammed us all

 

[Dahas]

Yep the wood companies scammed us all

Its made at those dimensions for framing.

 

[Bepis]

Its made at those dimensions for framing.

Or to save cost and increase output

 

[Protodad]

I would completely remove the 2 upright supports, then glue and screw another layer of 3/4" strips of plywood, 2-3" wide, around the inside right up against the bottom of the top board. Then do same thing to the bottom, then run verticle strips up the corners. This should provide ample strength and provide you with enough room for your sump.

Nice. What skimmer is that? I have one now but I’m not a fan of the footprint.

 

[Scratch08]

Nice. What skimmer is that? I have one now but I’m not a fan of the footprint.

Reef Octopus 152s, its been a great skimmer, easy to get dialed in and so far relatively low maintenance.

Protein Skimmers

Shop Protein Skimmers and reactors on bulkreefsupply.com. Read reviews and compare protein skimmers and reactors.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Protodad]

Reef Octopus 152s, its been a great skimmer, easy to get dialed in and so far relatively low maintenance.

Protein Skimmers

Shop Protein Skimmers and reactors on bulkreefsupply.com. Read reviews and compare protein skimmers and reactors.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Figures. I was looking into getting one but I’ve spent a little too much this month on fish stuff...

 

[Protodad]

If you do use 2x4s remember they aren’t truly 2” by 4”, so measure the ones you get to avoid miscalculations

Haha. Yea, I’m aware. I’m far more concerned about finding a “straight” one and the recent insane price spike.

 

[Scratch08]

Haha. Yea, I’m aware. I’m far more concerned about finding a “straight” one and the recent insane price spike.

Thats why I suggested plywood to reinforce with, that and structurally, plywood is stronger than dimensional wood, however on a 60 gal tank wood type is not going to be an issue. I built my stand this way from the start, wanted/needed the extra room under the stand for equipment, and using dimensional wood was going to take up too much usable space for my liking