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Stand question


treesprite

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I am wondering ig I could use my 48x18 stand for a 48x24 tank if I just put a 24" top on it.

 

I don't want to have to build or buy a new stand, so I if I can't just put on a top, I might build onto the front and back of the stand and put a new shell over it, so it will be like a new stand but the inside space will still be narrower.

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I am wondering ig I could use my 48x18 stand for a 48x24 tank if I just put a 24" top on it.

 

I don't want to have to build or buy a new stand, so I if I can't just put on a top, I might build onto the front and back of the stand and put a new shell over it, so it will be like a new stand but the inside space will still be narrower.

 

So, essentially, a 120 gallon tank on the stand for a 90.  I would think that, provided the bottom of the tank was completely flat to distribute the weight evenly, that shouldn't be a problem on a good, heavy top (although I can't say how thick/heavy it would need to be). If, however, it's like my tanks where the weight is really just along the edge, I'm not sure if I'd chance it. I'm by no means an expert carpenter, so hopefully there are better informed opinions out there. 

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What I need to ask is, is 3" in front and back too much even if I put a thick piece of wood under it to support it?

 

If the consensus is no, I can just build some 2x4s onto the stand in front and back to make it bigger. I will have to make a shell and it will be a new stand without having to make the base from complete scratch. I've seen some interesting stands here, like the one with the shutters for doors... pretty cool looking (can't remember which member did it).

 

I need to minimize the use of power tools now that I'm in an adult-only community where it's nice and quiet all the time. I could use them day and night in my apartment, because there is so much other noise there that no one cares.

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Without additional (bracing) support, Forrest, you would need a top that is ideally three inches thicker to cantilever out three inches on the front and back and to carry the load to the existing stand for a typical glass tank whose load is carried out to the edges. Be careful though. If it's a commercial stand, you'll be decreasing the safety margin of that stand because you'll be adding another 33% load (to go from a 90, for example, to a 120) to it. That may be reason enough not to take this approach but to get another stand more suited to the weight.

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I built the stand, so know where and how I can extend it. I had a few different plans drawn up already, but lost them when moving.

 

I don't trust factory stands, and would never try adapting one. If I don't build myself, I would have to pay someone else to build it.

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I built the stand, so know where and how I can extend it. I had a few different plans drawn up already, but lost them when moving.

 

So, if you know that, what exactly are you asking?

 

Remember, key to any solution, if you're using a glass tank with a bottom frame, is going to be maintaining the strength and continuous stability across the extension(s). Should your joinery between the sections shift, you'll stress the panels and, at the very least, risk the silicone opening up an a leak forming. This includes if you were to add a top that was did not sufficiently transfer the load to the base cabinet without warping under the load.

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I want to post pic of the stand, but the site isnt letting me do it with the phone. It's not going to help much for me to explain without a picture. Ill try to do it later.

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I want to post pic of the stand, but the site isnt letting me do it with the phone. It's not going to help much for me to explain without a picture. Ill try to do it later.

you can text it or email it to me and i'll host and post it up here for you if you can't figure it out.
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I want to post pic of the stand, but the site isnt letting me do it with the phone. It's not going to help much for me to explain without a picture. Ill try to do it later.

Are you using tapatalk? 

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I am wondering ig I could use my 48x18 stand for a 48x24 tank if I just put a 24" top on it.

What would you make the 24" top from?  Unless the material is very thick and rigid, no. 

 

I think even 3/4" plywood would deflect too much, with a 3" cantilever.  Maybe if you doubled 3/4" sheets, for a 1.5" total.  But that would probably look goofy.

 

 

I might build onto the front and back of the stand and put a new shell over it, so it will be like a new stand but the inside space will still be narrower.

 

If you decide to go this route, I would just build onto the back of the stand, not the front 'and' the back.  You'll basically need to build a 6" wide aquarium stand and lag bolt it to the existing stand.  Remove the 48"x18" top, and replace with a single 48"x24" top. 

 

Might be easier just to build a new stand.  You could let your neighbors know ahead of time that you're going to be using power tools on a particular weekend, and there'll be some noise.  Just like considerate neighbors do when they're planning a party.

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Thanks for the reality check, folks. I have just been having a lot of wishful thinking lately, because I've been so overwhelmed with so many things and could really use a few shortcuts.

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Being able to bounce ideas off people from time to time is good.

 

Listen, I want to just run some numbers by you for a second so you can see the rationale here.

 

A conventional glass120 (which fits the footprint of what you've referred to), fully loaded and equipped with with a plastic frame is going to weigh somewhere in the area of 1,500 pounds. Because of the design of the frame, almost all that weight is going to be distributed in a 1-inch band all around the perimeter, or over about 140 square inches. In rough numbers, that's 10 pounds per square inch. That in itself is not too bad, but the torque from cantilevering the (500 pound) long edge out three inches is going to be over 1500 inch-pounds and at six inches nearly 3000 inch-pounds. Furthermore, even a deflection of 1/8 of an inch at the end of this extension from the rest of the top is likely to cause seam or panel failure. That's why you'd need some very strong gussets in place - to provide a rigid structure that transfers the load to the original frame without deflection. The problem becomes much more manageable with a tank that's flat across the bottom (frameless), but that's more like a custom glass tank (which I don't think that you have) than a high-volume production tank.

 

So that's what you'd be up against. You can do it, but you'd need to make sure that you understood the hurdles that you'd have to overcome and design/build accordingly.

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