[kwdelre]

Well for the next week or so I will be documenting a build for a 90 gal tank stand with a 40 long refugium and 40 long sump.

This is for a customer of my LFS owner. It will be a neat project and something that I personally have never seen. Here's what he wants:

90 gal on top. Below, there will be the 40 gal long display refugium up front and behind that he will have the sump of the same size. Great water volume huh? The design he requested will place the 90 show tank on the front 18 inches of the stand and he wants 10 inches behind it. (Kind of odd looking if you ask me) But that's what he wants! The extra space will be a removable cover for access to the sump. The stand will not have any doors and will be virtually wide open below the 90 gal show tank. So as you can imagine, there will be some interesting structural issues to deal with!

I will begin on the framing tomorrow and will be posting pics promtly. If I don't, feel free to harass me. but please wait until tomorrow night to start.

I really wanted to show you all what it will look like using google's sketchup but I don't have the time to learn a new program right now.

If something in my description doesn't make sense then just ask.

 

[kwdelre]

Framing

Here we go. Got 90 percent of the framing done this afternoon after work. Here are some pics. All is done except for some 2 x 6 center bracing that will be between the refugium and sump.

Like an important part of any project, I went ahead and cut myself on a wooden splinter

 

[kwdelre]

 

[aquawolf]

You're not wasting any time at all getting this done. It looks great so far. Keep up the good work. :thumbup:

 

[kwdelre]

Haha...no I waste no time and i'm sure the customer appreciates that! You can probably see in the pic from the framing that this will be a very odd stand...

 

[aquawolf]

I have a 60 gallon acrylic tank that I have not even put water in yet that I wanted to set up as a frag tank. The plan was to make a stand for it that had an extra 2 feet on one side and that would have a cutting board surface and act as my attached fragging station. So the 10 inch sump cap doesn't sound too crazy to me, although it will definitely be different than anybody else's.

 

[kwdelre]

Yeah I definitly understand the space to work with, but this guy wants it behind the display tank. LOL!

 

[OneDummHikk]

Yeah I definitly understand the space to work with, but this guy wants it behind the display tank. LOL!

The new stand/canopy I just built for my 90G tank is 4 1/2" deeper than the tank. The tank is 19 5/8 and the stand is 24" deep. Originally, the idea was to slide the tank all the way forwards and have a 4 1/2" filler along the back to hide the return plumbing (my tank only has one hole drilled in it). After seeing a late night History Channel show on Suspension Bridges, I decided to leave 2" at the back for plumbing (it is tight but will allow a 3/4" pipe through it) and have a 2 1/2" band across the front. The band across the front will become home to a 48" long self supporting suspension bridge built of Legos and String (being the Lego fanatic that I am).

You can see a few pictures of the stand in my Photo Gallery.

 

[kwdelre]

Thats a great stand you built! As a fellow carpenter you are probably thinking that I am over doing the framing huh. LOL! I just play it safe.

 

[OneDummHikk]

Thats a great stand you built! As a fellow carpenter you are probably thinking that I am over doing the framing huh. LOL! I just play it safe.

No, I can see the "better to be safe than sorry" reasoning behind it. The only thing it does is lose 7 inches both directions under the stand. When it is built properly, it is a very stout and sturdy stand. I have to go tomorrow and help a fellow reefer get a "wobble" out of his stand that is built with framing material.

One benefit is that it allows you to use 1/4" material on the facing instead of 3/4" material which saves some money.

Nice looking stand so far and I hope to see it finished soon

 

[kwdelre]

Progress!

Ok today I got a lot done. Let's see some pics....

Lining the Sump/Refugium floor.

1/4 ply covering the 2x4s in the sump area

Sides go on...

Some veneer edging...

And what it looks like when applied and sanded...

 

[kwdelre]

Front framing secured together with biscuit joints

Top put on...the thinner part in the back is removable to get to the sump.

Base trim...

Tomorrow I will finish the trim underneath the top piece overlap and install the dividerbetween the sump and refugium.

 

[aquawolf]

That looks great! I am now wishing that you lived closer to me.

 

[kwdelre]

That looks great! I am now wishing that you lived closer to me.

Hahahahahaha. Thank you!

 

[OneDummHikk]

No legs under the corner of the tank? The weight of a tank is supported by the 4 corners (until you get to larger tanks). The way you have it, it will put the weight on the 2x4 band

 

[Loverotties]

Nice Job!

 

[kwdelre]

No legs under the corner of the tank? The weight of a tank is supported by the 4 corners (until you get to larger tanks). The way you have it, it will put the weight on the 2x4 band

The horizontal braces (mostly 2x6) will disperse the weight to the vertical supports. It should be fine. You guys ever look underneath a 90 gal stand at Petco or some place like that? SCARY!!!

You don't think it will hold?

That's not much of a problem right now considering I have to see if I can get it through a doorway first! HAHA

 

[kwdelre]

No legs under the corner of the tank? The weight of a tank is supported by the 4 corners (until you get to larger tanks). The way you have it, it will put the weight on the 2x4 band

I thought because of the design I was stuck with that, but now I am rethinking....thanks man, you're not such a dumbhik :dance: I will make some changes real quick when I get home.

 

[OneDummHikk]

The horizontal braces (mostly 2x6) will disperse the weight to the vertical supports. It should be fine. You guys ever look underneath a 90 gal stand at Petco or some place like that? SCARY!!!

You don't think it will hold?

That's not much of a problem right now considering I have to see if I can get it through a doorway first! HAHA

Looking the first time, I thought it was 2x4's. Do I think it will hold? Probably so. The board isn't but 2 feet long and that isn't very much of a span. Diagonal bracing would probably do more good for shearing/wobbling than adding legs to it would.

Yes, I have looked at the ones at Petco, VERY scary, to say the least.

Most doorways are 30 (interior) and most of the country code requires that exterior doorways be a minimum of 36" for emergency egress (fire mostly). So, you should be alright.

 

[kwdelre]

Looking the first time, I thought it was 2x4's. Do I think it will hold? Probably so. The board isn't but 2 feet long and that isn't very much of a span. Diagonal bracing would probably do more good for shearing/wobbling than adding legs to it would.

Yes, I have looked at the ones at Petco, VERY scary, to say the least.

Most doorways are 30 (interior) and most of the country code requires that exterior doorways be a minimum of 36" for emergency egress (fire mostly). So, you should be alright.

Yeah I was driving to work today thinking about painting and staining it and then it dawned on me...wow this thing is really wide! Am I going to be able to get it through the doorway? Luckily the height is not much because the guy wants it to be at a sitting level.