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Tank stand question...

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sfsuphysics

Supporting Member
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I'm setting up a temporary tank, and the stand does not need to be pretty just functional. The tank is 180g, 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, 2 feet tall.

Now building the "deck" is no problem, 2x6s locked together with a sheet of 3/4" plywood over the top, basically stuff I have already laying around the house because at one time in the past I said "I might be able to use those..." and sure enough it's time! :D

However the legs I have an idea about, I really don't want to have to build wood legs and strength them up... I thought maybe I could get away with using cinder blocks as legs, and simply place the 4'x3' deck on top of them, the stand will be on the order of 30" tall.

Some things that I'm a bit concerned about with the cinderblocks (mostly due to not using them)
1: Strength, I've dropped concrete forms before and the corners crumble, how many would I need to support the weight? 6 "pillars"

2: Lateral load. With wood it's no problem, you slap a sheet of plywood across and you shore up the wall, now granted this tank has a wide base, so I'm not so worried about it tipping over, however that lateral load is a concern of mine.

3: Stacking, I'm not going to fill these with concrete or any of that, so this kind of goes under the lateral load catagory.

I know I may have seemed to argue my way out of using cinder blocks, but I'm curious to hear from others who might have a bit more expertise/practical experience than I.
 
my .02, with a 3' x 4' foot print.... i'd say cram the stacks into squares so that you have fewer larger pillars. Why do you think people don't just push over basket ball playes as tall as they are, it's because they ware size 18 shoes :)
 
oh yeah, you might worry more about getting a level surface because each block may not be perfect so you may find yourself shimming it in places. The last thing you want is bowing of any kind. The 2x6's may help with that but it all depends on how clean it comes together.
 
Hmmm I don't want a mound of concrete blocks, I want accessibility.. so if an earthquake hits while I'm changing the skimmer it kills me in one quick motion no worries of getting an arm trapped and having to rip it off with an old coral skeleton!


BTW, what type of foam do people use under tanks? I never used foam myself, but being as this isn't my tank.... :D
 
just the regular white foam you can get at HD. Is that a glass tank? If it's glass and has the plastic brace, don't use foam.
 
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