High-density polyethylene HDPE or plywood

[AlphaOmega]

Anybody familiar with High-density polyethylene HDPE? I had a metal tank stand made 96x36. Instead of using a sheet of plywood for the tank to sit on I was thinking of this instead. The stand Will be holding a 125 for now. But eventually it will hold a 300+ gal tank

 

[KStatefan]

It is on my list of possibilities for my stand.

Designboard HDPE Plastic Materials | Vycom Plastics

Designboard products lend a finished touch and sophisticated aesthetic without losing any of the inherent toughness of HDPE; maintenance free, rust & scratch resistant.

www.vycomplastics.com

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Highly recommend the HDPE.

 

[AlphaOmega]

Highly recommend the HDPE.

so there should be no problem with it supporting the weight of a tank? I have looked all over for its weight capacity and haven't been real successful.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

The support should be provided by the stand. Small tanks 1/2" larger tanks 3/4" - 1" thick HDPE.

 

[Darren in Tacoma]

I would ask the manufacturer for some engineering assistance.

 

[AlphaOmega]

The support should be provided by the stand. Small tanks 1/2" larger tanks 3/4" - 1" thick HDPE.

I understand that, but what I am talking about is will the weight of a 300+ gal tank crush the HDPE?

 

[Biglew11]

300 gallons is about 2500 pounds. plus weight of tank 1100-1200. this is spread out over a lot of surface area. i'd probably go with 1inch just to be safe. materials have a rating in pounds per square inch that they can handle. if you took the area that the tank actually sets on you will find that the pounds per square inch it exerts is pretty low.

 

[92Miata]

So you built an 8x3 stand, and want to put a 6x18" tank on it? Does it have any additional support at the corner points of where the tank will be, or are you just hoping the sheet goods will handle it?

Any sheet good you use (plywood, mdf,hdpe) is going to deform enough that the tank will blow out of its not supported underneath at atleast the corners. or has frame rails running under its edges. The tank won't crush HDPE, but it will bend it.

 

[AlphaOmega]

So you built an 8x3 stand, and want to put a 6x18" tank on it? Does it have any additional support at the corner points of where the tank will be, or are you just hoping the sheet goods will handle it?

Any sheet good you use (plywood, mdf,hdpe) is going to deform enough that the tank will blow out of its not supported underneath at atleast the corners. or has frame rails running under its edges. The tank won't crush HDPE, but it will bend it.

It will have support on 3 of the 4 sides of the 125. back and both sides just not a support bar across the front. going to be a while before I actually get the bigger tank and was hoping I could get the 125 out of my bedroom.

 

[92Miata]

So, the two sides will sit along say, bars 1 and 4, and the back of the tank will sit along the back edge? Most tanks will be fine with that. Generally, if all 4 corners are directly supported, you're in pretty good shape.

 

[Biglew11]

if putting a smaller tank on the stand you want a leg underneath each corner of the tank

 

[ca1ore]

You'd have to look into the crush strength of the material. Easy enough to figure out how much weight per square inch from the tank (much more for a rimmed than a non rimmed tank). Plywood has a very high crush strength and will compress rather than fracture. Plastic tends to fracture.