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Adam Haycock 
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 Posted: February 09 2004 at 5:41pm |
Very good idea mariner! Why didn't I think of that??
As you can see, I added 2x4's on the sides and a piece of plywood on the back. This is how I am planning on placing the sump. I could easily place a couple 2x4's to support the back wall. Then I could drill through without worrying.
Here's a shot of the 2x4's i'd need to drill through...
That center beam does not go into the other 2x4's, so it wouldn't be effected.
Thanks for the great idea!!
Edited by BananaTropics
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 09 2004 at 10:23pm |
Use 2x4's not 4x4's A problem I am noticing is that like most stands, there are so many supports connected to small doors that it's a bear to work in the sump. Carl could probably second this comment. To be more specific, the center vertical support in the top pic of your last post is unecessary, but I would give a turn of 90 degrees to all the horizontal 2x4's supporting the top of the stand, 2x4's bend very easily in the position you have them. To see what I mean look at how floor joists are positioned. Have someone stand on it and notice how much it bows. I could be wrong of course. Turning the 2x4's would also give you the room to run the overflow and return piping. The metal brackets will be of no use if the stand decides to twist or bend (and they will get rusty too.), but the plywood side, adequately secured to the legs will support it through an earthquake. It needs to have that kind of support in two directions, side to side and front to back. just my 2 cents
Edited by Mark Peterson
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Skyetone
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 6:57am |
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I agree with the metal brackets. Build some corners into both sides top and bottom about 6 inches from the edge of the 2x4's. Unless you have plywood 3/8 or thicker on three sides.
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I will just give my warning that your system will flood, bulbs will burn out, and things will take continuous maintenance... get over it.
Magna
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 11:58am |
Mark, the top pic of my last post is a picture of the side of the tank, not the front. The vertical 2x4 is only there to support the birch plywood i'll be placing over the sides. My door will be big enough to get the sump/refugium in since there will be no center brace. The 4x4's are also held to the top and bottom by screws in addition to the L-brackets.
Is there something I could spray on the metal brackets to help prevent rusting??And what about treating the wood to become water resistant? Could I just use a deck protectant?
Edited by BananaTropics
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Kull
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 12:19pm |
Rust-Oleum
(I think that is how it's spelled) Ask for it by name at the hard ware store and they will point you to it.. Works great to help keep metal from rusting. Before painting with it have your screws all in place and it will help seal them in as well, the stuff works as a primer, so you could even base coat the inside of your stand with it. Just a thought.
(Auto - body paint also works really well, but you have to mix it to get it harden correctly.)
Edited by Kull
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Ryan Willden
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 1:47pm |
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Adam, did you build your sump? I want one! It looks good!
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Will Spencer
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 2:32pm |
 Mark Peterson wrote:
but I would give a turn of 90 degrees to all the horizontal 2x4's supporting the top of the stand, 2x4's bend very easily in the position you have them. To see what I mean look at how floor joists are positioned. |
I agree with this to some extent, but...though I would do as Mark suggests on another stand I would not worry about changing it on this one. If this is a 2x2x2 cube Those 2x4's are not going to bow much. If this were a 2x2x6 Then definately change it but 2' of 2x4 won't sag much in this application.
I'm very interested to see how this turns out. I thought long and hard about building one for myself before I found a 180 at a great price. Thanks Suzy!
Edited by wsinbad1
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Skyetone
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 4:09pm |
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for a messy waterproofing, vasoline the brackets. I am 50% on rustoleum, I have metal stands, and 4x4's as a hobbie....
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I will just give my warning that your system will flood, bulbs will burn out, and things will take continuous maintenance... get over it.
Magna
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 4:57pm |
Ryan Willden wrote:
Adam, did you build your sump? I want one! It looks good! |
Yes...I built it to practice acrylic fabrication. It turned out good with no leaks.
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 5:06pm |
Ahh...now I see what your saying Mark!
There is 23" between the 4x4's. If I just added some more vertical 2x4's, wouldn't that solve the problem?
Thanks Kull, I'll pick some up tomorrow.
Skytone, when you say corners, do you mean triangle pieces of wood that fit in the corners? I could easily add some of those too. I want to make sure this stand can hold the weight. How much does water weigh anyway (per gallon)??
BTW, Thanks for all the feedback!
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 5:26pm |
I made some more progress today. I was able to finish all the drilling of the acrylic. I was able to drill the bottom of the tank for the bulkhead.
I also was able to mill out some holes in the top of the overflow...
If all goes as planned, I should have the tank assembled by the end of the week.
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Ryan Willden
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 6:55pm |
Adam, I like the milling on the overflow. Looks A+! Also, how much do you charge to build sumps?
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 8:34pm |
BananaTropics wrote:
How much does water weigh anyway (per gallon)?? |
8.35 pounds. (and also the weight of rock and sand)
Adam
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Ryan Willden
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Posted: February 10 2004 at 9:19pm |
I'm a little worried about weight as well. My new tank will weigh over 1400 lbs, and will be in my office upstairs... Hope the joists will hold it, though I've been assured they will.
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Richard L.
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 9:03am |
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So how did you do the milling of the overflow slots? Those look great- crisp, and uniform . . .great job!
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Richard
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Ryan Willden
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 9:05am |
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I'd like to know how you did that too. They look great.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 9:49am |
BananaTropics wrote:
Ahh...now I see what your saying Mark!There is 23" between the 4x4's. If I just added some more vertical 2x4's, wouldn't that solve the problem? |
If the front is completely open then then three points at which the side and back panels would be fastened will completely stabilize the stand and with those supports, you could drill holes for the piping and be okay. Problem with drilling holes through those horizontal 2x4's is, once it's put together and filled, if it leaks at the bulkhead it's impossible to tighten the bulkheads without draining and lifting the tank.  With sides attached you don't need the metal or other corner brackets. I'd just remove them! (I assume there is a nail or three into the end of those corner 4x4's attaching them to the horizontal pieces top and bottom  )
Edited by Mark Peterson
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 11:02am |
1mariner7 wrote:
So how did you do the milling
of the overflow slots? Those look great- crisp, and
uniform . . .great job! |
Its amazing what you can do with an exacto knife, isn't it! The slots are all the same to within 1/1000th of an inch of each other. It was done on a very large mill used for precision milling of wood, metal and plastic. Its a pretty amazing machine. I drilled all the holes by mainly watching a computer screen to see where the drill was in XYZ cooridinates.
Edited by BananaTropics
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FuzzyWeasel
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 11:05am |
I just finished a 114 gallon grow-out tank this weekend. It is only 12 inches deep so I was able to use 1/4" acrylic and am using a back brace... but overall it has cost me $190 bucks to build. And it was a ton of fun. I've already filled it to test for leaks and I'll be plumbing it tonight and tomorrow.
Warning if anyone is thinking of making one... dont let the cement drip. That stuff makes permanent marks on the acrylic. Luckily for me it was only on the bottom and on one corner (which I made the overflow).
- Fuzzy Weasel
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: February 11 2004 at 11:19am |
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Thanks Mark. I already drilled the hole in the bottom
of the tank, so I guess i'll need to alter the stand. The
only side with a thick plywood panel is the back. The
sides will only have a 1/4" birch panel.
Heres an idea...tell me what you think.
When I drill the hole, it will leave about an inch of the
two 2x4s. I could add some serious metal braces to
these 2x4s so they wouldn't be stressed. I could also
add the vertical 2x4s on both sides of the hole.
To make the whole tank stronger, id like to add
corner bracing (triangle pieces of wood) to all
corners that I can. I'll probably just leave the metal
braces and spray them with rust protectant.
i do have 2 or 3 screws on both top and bottom that
attach into the 4x4s.
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