aquarium stand in raw industrial style

[OverStocked]

But you can't tell which one is stronger unless you know the weight that was subjected against them to failure point.... If you just put them between a wall and a jack and pump on it you have absolutely no idea of the differences between forces on each joint.... so the test would be completely worthless.

Again, I use this stand on a 75g tank with a 30g on the shelf and have no issues with it at all. I'd be comfortable with up to 5 foot tanks no problem, and add a center brace and 6 foot tanks would be no issue at all.

I think it is great you're so concerned with everyone's safety on all of these issues, but I do not think there is any reason for anyone to be concerned with these stands. We're using the brackets AS DESIGNED and as long as you aren't using drywall screws you're going to be A-OK.

Perhaps you should build a box using 4x4's and 2x4's and these brackets and you'll see how strong they really are. These are exponentially stronger than any store bought stand.

[galabar]

Originally Posted by OverStocked

But you can't tell which one is stronger unless you know the weight that was subjected against them to failure point.... If you just put them between a wall and a jack and pump on it you have absolutely no idea of the differences between forces on each joint.... so the test would be completely worthless.

Again, I use this stand on a 75g tank with a 30g on the shelf and have no issues with it at all. I'd be comfortable with up to 5 foot tanks no problem, and add a center brace and 6 foot tanks would be no issue at all.

I think it is great you're so concerned with everyone's safety on all of these issues, but I do not think there is any reason for anyone to be concerned with these stands. We're using the brackets AS DESIGNED and as long as you aren't using drywall screws you're going to be A-OK.

Perhaps you should build a box using 4x4's and 2x4's and these brackets and you'll see how strong they really are. These are exponentially stronger than any store bought stand.

I would not put them against a wall. I would connect the jack to each joint and pull them together. The weaker joint would fail first.

[OverStocked]

I doubt you have a jack that could rip apart two strong tie joined joints.

[GraphicGr8s]

Strongties are great. I built the bench in the plans a while ago. And for a normal bench it's fine. The bench I built using the correct wood joinery however (using half lap and lags) is infinitely more stable and resists racking forces better than the one with strongties. My bench is 12' long and holds my radial arm saw. It is rock steady. I can literally throw up a 4x8 sheet of plywood with no movement. There are no 4 x 4 legs at all yet I'd be confident loading it up with a tank. If I could find one 12' x 2.5' x whatever height. Correct joinery plus correct design gives you a solid bench. Or stand. Or cabinet.

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by OverStocked

I doubt you have a jack that could rip apart two strong tie joined joints.

The jack will rip apart the area where it's nailed. With the correct position of the jack you can bend the hell out of the metal though.

[galabar]

Originally Posted by OverStocked

I doubt you have a jack that could rip apart two strong tie joined joints.

That was my initial thought. I'm not sure I could put enough pressure/weight on either joint to break it. Cars only weight a few thousand pounds and not all of that weight gets put on the jack.

[galabar]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

The jack will rip apart the area where it's nailed. With the correct position of the jack you can bend the hell out of the metal though.

I was thinking of putting some scrap wood between the whatever was pulling and the wood for the joints so that I would be stressing the actual joints rather than just tearing through the wood.

However, the question is, can I apply enough pressure. If I get bored, I might try it.

[Secretninja]

According to the fact sheet with a 4x4 post and a 2x joist, these can support 650lb for 10 years, and 90% of that weight after that. That is with douglas fir, which has similar strength to cedar. That is with an 8ft span. So building code says these can support 650 lbs.

Since aquariums put most of their weight on the corners, and a 4x4 post can support, conservatively, 4000 pounds I do not think any tests are needed to test the reliability of this product.

[hydrophyte]

What is I want to put a really, really tall aquarium on it?

[galabar]

Originally Posted by Secretninja

According to the fact sheet with a 4x4 post and a 2x joist, these can support 650lb for 10 years, and 90% of that weight after that. That is with douglas fir, which has similar strength to cedar. That is with an 8ft span. So building code says these can support 650 lbs.

Since aquariums put most of their weight on the corners, and a 4x4 post can support, conservatively, 4000 pounds I do not think any tests are needed to test the reliability of this product.

So, you wouldn't want to put a tank on them that doesn't span the entire stand. They don't really hold up "tank weight," but that seems Ok, if you have a glass tank and, as has been claimed, most of the force is applied to the corners of the stand.

In any event, my interest was in what was the strongest joint. I never claimed that the stand would fail. My thought is, if the notched joint is significantly stronger, why not use it (even if you are using the connectors). If the connectors only support 650 lbs, it definitely seems that the notched joint is stronger (I can't imagine it being that weak), so I don't think we need testing.

[hydrophyte]

I'm putting together another one of these. This time I am painting the boards. I decided to use a paint with color close to raw sienna.

[hydrophyte]

Here's an example of one of these stands painted...



I worried this barn red color would clash with the purple wall paint, but it actually looks pretty good.

[BS87]

Sorry to bump, but:
A) Love, love these stands. Excellent inspiration. Going to build one for my future 40B

I was wondering, however, what you guys would think about using the 90* corner brackets (For example, these, with obviously 2x on each corner. I was thinking about these because I'm planning on covering at least the back and possibly the sides with plywood anyway. Thoughts? Just go for the heavy-duty corner ties? I might try these on a small 10G stand I need to make for the wife's shrimp tank.

I will probably do 4x4 legs as you have done, but since a lot of DIY stands have 2x4 legs, i would assume 2x4's should be adequate for legs (probably for a 40Gal and under.. 55-75Gal not so much?).
Also, for those planning to do this, a "cheaper" way to buy the 8x corner braces would be to purchase their DIY workbench kit, which contains the 8 brackets and ~200 screws for 40$ (less than the cost of 8 brackets alone). Just a thought.

P.S. sorry for all the home depot links, just pasting what came up first upon googling part #s

[wastedtime]

That is a cool looking stand, I like the the simplicity of it.

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by BS87

Sorry to bump, but:
A) Love, love these stands. Excellent inspiration. Going to build one for my future 40B

I was wondering, however, what you guys would think about using the 90* corner brackets (For example, these, with obviously 2x on each corner. I was thinking about these because I'm planning on covering at least the back and possibly the sides with plywood anyway. Thoughts? Just go for the heavy-duty corner ties? I might try these on a small 10G stand I need to make for the wife's shrimp tank.

I will probably do 4x4 legs as you have done, but since a lot of DIY stands have 2x4 legs, i would assume 2x4's should be adequate for legs (probably for a 40Gal and under.. 55-75Gal not so much?).
Also, for those planning to do this, a "cheaper" way to buy the 8x corner braces would be to purchase their DIY workbench kit, which contains the 8 brackets and ~200 screws for 40$ (less than the cost of 8 brackets alone). Just a thought.

P.S. sorry for all the home depot links, just pasting what came up first upon googling part #s

2 x 4s legs are fine up to at least a 90 gallon. People use 4x4s either because they don't really know how to build solidly or because it makes it easier to cut the lap joints for the horizontal members.