Will this support 240 Gallon tank

[Robert Baumer]

Hi Robert First your stand will hold up your tank no problem. We have a 120"x 24"x30" Plastic Tank on a stand framed like yours except we put a sheet of 3/4 plywood on top screwed down to the framing. The tank was then placed in a bed of silicone and water immediately added to compress bedding. The stand was also bolted to the wall. Just in case the grand kids get out of hand. (One day you will find the kids on top of the tank fishing) The tank stand and canopy were all finished in oak and then pickled Stained. The tank has been running no problem for 6 years. As far as scratches .... yep. From the outside kids. From the inside pretty much everything. And we use it for freshwater only. They can be buffed out. But they will be back. We also have a 250 Gallon Saltwater tank (Glass) that has a 70 Gallon refugium sump that works fine. The tank has no sand bed. The sand is in the sump. Makes cleaning easier. Also only one fish and two shrimp. But loaded with SPS LPS Coral all doing well. Saltwater tanks are a labor of love. Saltwater Acrylic Tanks require a little more labor. Ron

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Thank you so much for your comments and ideas, as I am taking this slow and thinking everything out. I too want to use a 3/4" oak plywood and then wrap the stand in 1/2" oak plywood. I have been looking at stands these days getting some really good ideas. I was prepared to order the cabinet doors when I came upon some youtube videos that show how easy they are to make yourself if you just have the equipment. I believe I am going to use a 1/4" plywood on the inside of the stand and then seal it with marine paint. I have not given the canopy much though yet, but I suspect I will line it with 3 hydra 52's and then 2 2 bulb t5 retro kits. I would like to know from anyone if they went to the extent of adding acoustic insulation between the inside and outside walls of the stand? I also want to see if anyone had worked on using pc fans, like 4 on each side... intake on one side and exhaust on the other, then wire them into something like an Apex to control the speed of the fans... higher temps in the sump would speed up the fans, lower would stop them or just slow them down.

 

[Robert Baumer]

Yes that will hold a 240 gallon tank like a literal tank no problem wow talk about going above and beyond nice job

And Go ghost overflow

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Thanks Justin, but like most of us, I just bogarted the design off someone else and added a little more security to the build. I know there is quote for this, but for the life of me I cannot remember. The guy who I want to build my tank is trying to talk me into internal overflow and I like the ghost overflow, however I do not like all the pipes on the outside of the tank, but then again I need some for the return lines..... I also have thoughts of adding a closed loop, I hope to have a decision on that before I start building the rock structure as I will like use the return lines to make interesting reef structures.

 

[justingraham]

I'm a fan of closed loops
The thing is with internal overflows I loose a lot of real estate inside the tank one of those plastic covers make u loose roughly six inches

 

[malira]

All the braces on top may not be needed. Make sure you leave enough room to work on your plumbing at the bulkheads if your plumbing runs underneath. I made that mistake and once the tank is filled it's a pain to modify it.

 

[Chain]

You are fine, my best question is why didn't you just go with steel? Would have had half the size and twice the support.