New build following Tank failure.

[FoxxCAN]

Alot of people don't factor the fact that several gallons of water weighs alot. Now smaller tanks (40 gallons and under) stand less risk as they don't weigh as much. But.. do you want to chance it? Eventually it will fail.

In this case I had found a really nice thick glass 75 gal that was advertised as leaking.

already knowing I was going to buy it, upon further discussions I found out they had tried to reseal it once before. Held a few months then leaked all over the upstairs bedroom again .

Its in a serious need of cleaning.. But why did it fail? Tanks don't just blow apart.

The tank came with a really nice stand, however upon further inspection I noticed it was constructed out of particle board. I am not a huge fan of using this stuff under fish tanks. It *can be strong if built correctly. Most are not. Particle board is light cheap and doesn't do well when exposed to water. Ever had a cheap flimsy ikea dresser??.. imagine it holding 700+ pounds

But to the naked eye, it matched the tank and looked okay..or so I thought.

Once I got it home I used a piece of flooring to check how flat it was an discovered a massive bowing in the centre. The thing was clearly not designed properly as the centre had no structure and relied on the bottom flimsy piece for strength.
This stand caused the tank to fail only supporting it properly on the ends and not in the centre. Now this tank is only 4 feet long so it didnt crack but I'm sure the bottom flexed causing the silicon to fail.

more on the repairs to come , and the reason“package deals” are garbage from the store. Stands are not something that can be cheaped out on. if you have a store bought stand.. do yourself a favor. Junk it, and build something. Or prepare to be flooded.

Tanks are all the same and if they sit on a nice flat surface. They will never fail.

 

[Salem]

Yikes, good thing you checked and knew you were getting a leaky tank! What a nice tank too.

 

[Morpheus1967]

I would wager it has more to do with an incorrect reseal job than the bottom "flexing" because it didn't have proper support.

 

[WrenFeenix]

A glass tank only needs to be supported at the ends. As long as it’s level, it’ll hold the weight no problem. The stand I have does not support my tank at the edges, and it’s doing great with no issues.

Acrylic tanks need all edges and the entire base supported.

 

[FoxxCAN]

Lol - have fun with that then! I prefer not to have water all over my living room.

ALL Tanks need support along their entirety bottom. acrylic/glass, it doesn't matter. Level isn't as critical as being flat is. Most of these glass tanks use plastic bracing that can snap or flex . If you want to trust, or convince people that flimsy stuff is strong enough to support several hundred pounds, well I outright disagree with that statement.

Regardless of online banter and opinions, I will outline the proper engineering and construction methods to build a new stand here. Hopefully this helps people understand the importance of proper support.

When I start to remove the silicon all will be revealed. As I said . It was repaired once before and held a short time. This will be the last time it will need repairs. This stand is getting repurposed for a much lighter 33 with a top. Trusting it again without completely reengineering it. I will pass and build a new stand for the 75.

 

[Morpheus1967]

See, that stand is fine for an aquarium, if it had the missing components. It's missing the bottom edgebanding, exposing the edges to water. And I will almost guarantee that it is missing feet that would have gone under the vertical dividers. I would also use an actual level when checking for warpage, and not a piece of engineered flooring.

Also, I wonder why this tank didn't fail? No support at all in the center, yet all of the weight.

 

[FoxxCAN]

Its not missing any support, and you are correct, the fix would be to support the centre of the stand with feet as well. It did not have any nor marks or anything to indicate it had them, subsequently bowed over time. Perhaps missing from new. Its actually 5/8 particle board. So its kinda strong. I contemplated adding the support. But ultimately its junk building material in this application. If you need to protect against water with a material like banding, well that should say something. This is several gallons of water your dealing with here. I don't leave things to chance.

Lol! ideally yes I don't have a level(straight edge) that long, somebody vorrowed my 4 foot one and never returned it.flooring is very straight and this is a brand new piece out of the box. Its pretty obvious gap.

 

[toeknee]

In general tanks just need the four corners and ends supported and "true". The video you are referencing shows the left end was not supported. It's not about the center not being supported in the video, it's about the ends not being supported. Had the left end been supported and true the tank would have been fine.

 

[FoxxCAN]

Okay. Ill bite.

Please show me an example of a stand supporting a tank only on the ends with with no centre support? I have never seen one myself, but if the above statement is true, surely some pictures or referencing a thread of a blatant example of this would convince me.

Please enlighten me!

 

[toeknee]

A quick google search will reveal plenty of articles and forum discussions on glass tanks needing support on the edges, with the key aspect of the four corners being true. Acrylic tanks do need full support around the entire tank. Glass tanks do not.
Is it better to be safe than sorry? Sure. Do you absolutely have to? No.

 

[FoxxCAN]

Google search away! I know how to build with many types of materials.

These cheapo stands have caused more then their fair of damage to dwellings.You can be sure of that.
I like the stand. I hate the way it is built. Since this tank has failed more then once It obvious why.

Great for me! I got a really nice tank for cheap.Some time to prep and clean. It will cost me leas then $100 bucks to seal it and put it on something tough and enjoy it for many years to come.

 

[FoxxCAN]

This cost 50$ to build. It is simple effective and ridiculously strong.

it will never warp, bend or fail.

Be putting 2 sheets of 1/2 inch PLYWOOD for a total of an inch of base . Paint it black and onto the tank repair

Tank scraping over half done! ✅.

 

[FoxxCAN]

1 inch plywood ontop and corrugated plastic topper. Just needs paint!

 

[toeknee]

Looking good!

 

[FoxxCAN]

Total hours - maybe 4.


Thanks man! This is the same design used on my 150 gal. Its tough as nails and super, super simple to build.

 

[Littlebudda]

Good luck I don’t like to risk after having a 300gal explode water causes a lot of damage

 

[FoxxCAN]

Yup. I had my old 75 spring a leak I was lucky I got up in the middle of the night to take a whiz. And from 3 am to 5 am. It was panic city to get it drained.. lucky for me my spare tank was underneath it and caught most of the water that escaped. Probably caught it just after it happened. As I had only lost about 10 gallons.

Now I am more wise. Lol
So left over flooring works great to cover up the ugly 2x4s. Just gotta get some filler and put the tank up there!

 

[Littlebudda]

Yeah mine actually exploded so we got 300gals on the floor in 30seconds

 

[FoxxCAN]

Dude. That sucks.. cause?
Okay. That's enough for today

Shes prepped and ready for new silicon! I'm tired now! Lol Tomorrow we ride... er ...seal!!

Hope yeh’all are enjoying! Cheers!

 

[FoxxCAN]

Sealed!

Shes ready for water!

 

[FoxxCAN]

In response to the 10 gallon holding 220lb. Video
It held that weight for seconds putting downward pressure on the bottom glass only. There is no doubt glass can support a lot of pressure. Clearly he is trying to prove strength of glass. Not real world forces present in a full blown aquarium full of water substrate and decorations.

220lb is a fraction of what a 75 gal imposes, not just downward force but all directions. No doubt it will hold for awhile.. but for how long before you weaken the bracing.

When I see the advanced fish keepers supporting their tanks this way(on the ends/corners only). Ill perhaps eat crow.. until then. Remember water is heavy..

 

[Littlebudda]

Also remember water is the standard control for weight anything that sinks weighs more. Water =1kg per 1L (sorry to all who don’t use metric it’s so much better) sand/dirt = 1.5kg per 1L, sandstone = aprox 2kg per 1L and river stone can be upto 2.5kg per 1L. So as soon as you put substrate in you are adding a heap of weight.
All weights are dry weights before adding to aquarium

 

[FoxxCAN]

Its holding water!

 

[FoxxCAN]

Well.. thought I was done.. apparently not. The built in light wasn't working. HI figured the bulbs. .. nope. Of course not. Bought brand new ones only to find out... still no worky work.. of course .. that's my luck.. now normally I would just toss it and replace it with LED... well the light is part of the top It needs to be in there for the lids to fold..

So apart came the sealed light to get to the heart of the light.. the ballast. After figuring out what I could cross it with locally I picked up a new one. Wired it in and Voila!!!!! We have Light!! The switch works beauty even!! Haha.

 

[FoxxCAN]

Here it is full of water. Still waiting on filtration. For now. the under gravel jet system. GF tank. Shes just starting in the hobby. I told her to set it up however she wanted!Truth be told it was the only way I could get away with three tanks in the living room!

We have a blood parrot and a electric blue crayfish!

 

[Islandvic]

congrats on the new tank and stand build.

My only question is why there is no bottom frame connecting the legs?

 

[FoxxCAN]

Thanks! Doesn’t need them. They are connected internally on the inside. I may add a shelf down the road, but its not required. They don't move.

 

[Morpheus1967]

A couple of things. I am an engineer in the millwork business. I engineer store fixtures and architectural millwork that needs to not only be safe for the consumer, but last a long time for the store owner.

1. Doubling up the legs like you did serves no purpose.
2. I would have definitely tied the legs together at or near the bottom. They are now your weakest points by far. Connecting them internally on the inside does absolutely zero for the bottom of the legs and the overall stability of the stand. If this were a table? Fine. But with a top heavy aquarium sitting on it? No way.

As this thread has shown, you won't take anyone's advice, whether it be anecdotal or actual experience. So with that I say good luck to you.

 

[TWiG87]

Throw a support shelf on the bottom for bracing with some 2x4s or just brace it and throw some doors on the front to hide what’s underneath. Nice job on the reseal

 

[jake37]

Yea I had a 40 gallon bottom plane split. The leak wasn't quite as fast as yours but it sure did make a very very expensive mess.

Yeah mine actually exploded so we got 300gals on the floor in 30seconds

 

[Littlebudda]

Yeah it’s still talked about in hushed tones around here the total bill would have exceeded 30k

 

[FoxxCAN]

I'm not here to argue about the design of the stand. I'm also not going to butt heads with people, so they can feel justified in slamming a design that is proven strong. I don't feel the need to enlighten my credentials to you. I am not asking for opinions. Assuming I have no experience is. ....... Ill zip it here...

There are a million different ways to achieve strength in any stand. If you cannot wrap your head around how it is achieved in this design, that is not my problem.

I will say this, the doubling up of the legs has everything to do with achieving strength both lateral and the vertical forces and The weight imposed on top of this stand. The locked in corners serve as the foundation of strength, the “cantilevered“, fastener method keeps the legs square and unable to runout. The legs are wide and short which is the main factor in why they DO NOT need to be tied together on the bottom. If they were longer. I would probably cross brace them if anything.

The design of the this stand is not only used on my 75 but is also used on my 150. The 150 is supporting over 1200 lb no problem and is proven construction for other types of heavy industrial applications.

I plan on adding a cable across the centre and hanging a curtain to finish it out . Maybe do a shelf, but as I mentioned before there is no risk of the legs “folding”, as they are 100% square and are locked in, internally to the corners.

Thanks for following along! Will update when it falls over! Lol

 

[FoxxCAN]

I should mention I'm also using 2 1/2 inch course deck screws as they are galvanized and will not rust...ever. They are also wider and have a higher sheer strength then a common drywall screw.

I just noticed that my stand build is similar to the DIY king version. I just watched some of his builds. No I did not copy his or modify his design. He does indeed brace his legs on the bottom. in his versions, the common one, he shows is 2x4 construction. Perhaps this is why people are asking why I didn't do it exactly like this.

reasons:

1. My stand total hight is only 27 inches high For the 75. The 150 is about 26 inch high. If I was to go over 30 inch's. I would cross brace the legs slightly different than the King, but achieve the same strength.

2. I'm using 2x6 wood construction. The wider 2x6 gives me a way to fasten which prevents torsional forces(side-to-side, or however you want to think of it), better then 2x4 because it is wider. Thus it cannot move due to cross fastening. As well being doubles up and perfectly square the corner Locks it in completely.

3. My stand is not on a slippery surface directly ..ie concrete or laminate . Each leg is sitting on a rubber mat, combined with the weight of the tank effectively turns each leg into a pillar that can't move.

The other thing is my floor in my house is not perfect level. If I was going to wrap my stand the bottom brace doesn't matter. Because I need to adjust by about 5mm that would look terrible, or even prevent levelling the stand effectively . My solution would be to leave this bracing a few inches off the ground vs how Joey shows them level with the leg feet.

I can admit that my version is not as strong in all directions of force as the DIY KINGS version.

What I mean by that is: If you were to roll the stand down a hill, top over bottom, his would not come apart. As it is effectively a completely boxed in design.

My legs probably would be torn off in this example. However I don't plan on rolling my stand down a hill to prove this, ie... those forces will never be a factor and why I'm not concerned about it.

BTW both stand are perfectly level, and perfectly square and flat. Neither has “Fallen over” !