Will this support 240 Gallon tank

[Robert Baumer]

What do you think, will this support a 240 gallon tank? I have not ordered it yet, still debating on reef ready vs ghost overflow....

 

[ndrwater]

Um... Yea... A 240 and your car, and your Sherman tank.

 

[tgp4274]

wow....
I'd say your good :)

 

[Jay11355]

That looks good to me to hold like 300 gallons tank!

 

[Robert Baumer]

Thanks, the more I read the more paranoid I get..... Once I finish the sump area and paint and seal it, I plan to wrap it with perhaps 1/2" oak plywood..... stand is already heavy as hell.... So that forum discussing floor capacity is increasing my paranoid factor. Hope to find someone that has ideas on braces you would use in a crawl space.

 

[David Patterson]

Man it looks pretty good to me

 

[cracker]

Yes it will !No worries !

 

[CamG]

Absolutely.
Wow those must be some really long pocket screws.

 

[Robert Baumer]

Absolutely.
Wow those must be some really long pocket screws.

I bought the longest ones Kreg makes for the HD..... they are a much heavier duty screw and provided a much sturdier build that I expected. I do want to put some corner supports in on the upright 4x4, just so there is absolutely no chance of movement. Probably cutting a bunch of 90 degree triangles using 4x4 and using it to secure the uprights.

 

[Bmatthall]

Dude... I'd say your good... like if there was an earthquake and your foundation failed and the roof caved in... your tank will still be standing lol

 

[JaimeAdams]

Yeah that stand is WAY over built. I agree that it will probably hold up the house if the rest of it caves in.

 

[xREEFINaintEZx]

Stand looks real good. The floor... Do you know what way the joist are going?

 

[Robert Baumer]

The floor joist run perpendicular to the length of the stand. They are 2x10 spaced 16" on center. Each joists spans 17' and rest on a 10 concrete footer. I believe I am going to purchase two 4x6x8 and place one perpendicular with the floor joists and below the stand, then place the second on the crawlspace cement floor. I will then use either 2 or 3 jacks to support the floor. I think I will be safe.

 

[jasonrusso]

The floor joist run perpendicular to the length of the stand. They are 2x10 spaced 16" on center. Each joists spans 17' and rest on a 10 concrete footer. I believe I am going to purchase two 4x6x8 and place one perpendicular with the floor joists and below the stand, then place the second on the crawlspace cement floor. I will then use either 2 or 3 jacks to support the floor. I think I will be safe.

Why are you going to add anything else to the floor? I have 2x10s under my 72" 225. It is against a load bearing wall and it's just fine. Don't underestimate the strength of your house. No one has ever seen an aquarium fall through the floor.

On a side note, why the vertical wood on the top? What is the internal height? Is there enough room (height) for a 24" skimmer? I had a 150 with similar stringers. They were vertical and take up a lot of height. My Aqueon stand is completely open at the top except for 2 small braces that prevent the long runs from bowing.

 

[Scott.h]

That's 4 more supports then what holds my entire deck with a birthday party on it. Lol. It's stronger then your house floor.

 

[Robert Baumer]

Why are you going to add anything else to the floor? I have 2x10s under my 72" 225. It is against a load bearing wall and it's just fine. Don't underestimate the strength of your house. No one has ever seen an aquarium fall through the floor.

On a side note, why the vertical wood on the top? What is the internal height? Is there enough room (height) for a 24" skimmer? I had a 150 with similar stringers. They were vertical and take up a lot of height. My Aqueon stand is completely open at the top except for 2 small braces that prevent the long runs from bowing.

----
Good question, I was thinking about that myself. After studying different stands for different aquariums I found that if you plan to use a acrylic aquarium like I am, you must have as much support for it as possible. The center supports are a little deceiving, I cut a 2x8 in half and straddled it across 4 of the uprights. I used gorilla glue and 2.5" deck screws to attach them to the outside joist. I placed the runners at 10" on center. The sump area is 60" l x 25" w x 27" h. I am still debating on buying a custom sump or building one, I would like 20wx48lx18h, but the price jumps so much.... a 39 goes for 549.00 and then jumps to 750.00 for a 48.... I am still studying, I think I would like to have onside feed through a refugium and the other side a skimmer and the center would be the return... I am open for suggestions... I would say everyone here know much more than me, so I am learning... thank you for your advice!

Please don't burn me at the stake for wanting to use acrylic, the only downside I hear is it needs more support at the base and it scratches easy... This will be my first aquarium in some 20 years and I am shooting for it to be my last. The stand is 96"lx32"wx37"h. I am toying with the idea of using a ghost overflow and saving to real-estate in the aquarium or having the bottom drilled. I built the stand to handle a 72x32x24 but my wife wants the tank to fill the stand end to end..... so it looks like I am getting a 96x24x24, a 96x32x24 would require me to mortgage my home to fully populate it with corals and fish.

 

[Robert Baumer]

Here is a picture how I cheated to provide more support to the center of the tank.

 

[jasonrusso]

----
Good question, I was thinking about that myself. After studying different stands for different aquariums I found that if you plan to use a acrylic aquarium like I am, you must have as much support for it as possible. The center supports are a little deceiving, I cut a 2x8 in half and straddled it across 4 of the uprights. I used gorilla glue and 2.5" deck screws to attach them to the outside joist. I placed the runners at 10" on center. The sump area is 60" l x 25" w x 27" h. I am still debating on buying a custom sump or building one, I would like 20wx48lx18h, but the price jumps so much.... a 39 goes for 549.00 and then jumps to 750.00 for a 48.... I am still studying, I think I would like to have onside feed through a refugium and the other side a skimmer and the center would be the return... I am open for suggestions... I would say everyone here know much more than me, so I am learning... thank you for your advice!

Please don't burn me at the stake for wanting to use acrylic, the only downside I hear is it needs more support at the base and it scratches easy... This will be my first aquarium in some 20 years and I am shooting for it to be my last. The stand is 96"lx32"wx37"h. I am toying with the idea of using a ghost overflow and saving to real-estate in the aquarium or having the bottom drilled. I built the stand to handle a 72x32x24 but my wife wants the tank to fill the stand end to end..... so it looks like I am getting a 96x24x24, a 96x32x24 would require me to mortgage my home to fully populate it with corals and fish.

My 150 was acrylic as well. It's already built, so it's a moot point, but couldn't you have put a piece of plywood over the top? That's how mine was.

I point was, I had a similar stand. It turned a 31" stand into a stand with 24.5” height. I had a hard time with servicing my skimmer

 

[Fucina]

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

 

[justingraham]

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