Hey guys, long story short, my makeshift sump failed today and I'm forced to re-design and do it right this time. My problem though is that I have a cheapo all-glass 45 tank with a center support brace that's kind of in the way. I'd LIKE to construct a 30x11x18" sump tank and slide it into the stand, but cant do a lot of sliding with the center support member in there. So, I want to remove it without collapsing the stand. For those of you who dont know what an all-glass 45 stand is like, its made out of a strange creation of 1x4" pine boards. The top and bottom frames are 45 degree mitred and stapled at the corners, and the vertical supports are rabitt cut at the ends and stapled to the frames. There are 4 1x4 vertical supports at the corners, one on either side of the center of the long support (the front one I'd like to remove), and two supporting the short sides on either end of the tank.
Looking at this thing, I have no idea how it stays together, but whose to argue with something that works. However, I want to remove the center support which is clearly carrying a very hefty load. What I propose to do is first to brace the long 3' horizontal 1x4 up front with a thick slotted steel alloy. We call it angle iron here in the States, not sure what you guys call it in the UK. Anyway, its a 3/16" thick piece of zinc galvanized steel pre-drilled with holes for easy monting. Stuff can hold a ton and is very resistant to flexing/bowing. After doing that, I was going to tack on the same angle iron to the two front vertical supports on the corners to re-inforce those members. Then, I was going to remove the shot 10g tank currently in there, tear out the center support member, and finally tack in a last piece of angle iron into the bottom long frame support to prevent bowing. I figure with a tensile strength of 70,000psi that it should be up to snuff. What do you guys think? Am I risking the frame's integrity or do you think I can do this?
Looking at this thing, I have no idea how it stays together, but whose to argue with something that works. However, I want to remove the center support which is clearly carrying a very hefty load. What I propose to do is first to brace the long 3' horizontal 1x4 up front with a thick slotted steel alloy. We call it angle iron here in the States, not sure what you guys call it in the UK. Anyway, its a 3/16" thick piece of zinc galvanized steel pre-drilled with holes for easy monting. Stuff can hold a ton and is very resistant to flexing/bowing. After doing that, I was going to tack on the same angle iron to the two front vertical supports on the corners to re-inforce those members. Then, I was going to remove the shot 10g tank currently in there, tear out the center support member, and finally tack in a last piece of angle iron into the bottom long frame support to prevent bowing. I figure with a tensile strength of 70,000psi that it should be up to snuff. What do you guys think? Am I risking the frame's integrity or do you think I can do this?
The angle iron should hold a 3' span no problem, as long as it is at least 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 x 3/16. You already have the wood, the angle iron is a reinforcing piece to prevent bowing. I would go for it.
