cracked stand under the 90g *Final Output*

[cichlidicted]

Hey .. i have this cabinet that i bought from someone... Am planning on setting up a 90 gallon on it. But i noticed that the cabinet (In the Centre) .. from the inside, has crack which is just on the surface ... I asked the guy and he told me he had 3 aquariums on it. Now am worried bout setting a 90 gallon on a cracked table, i can't afford buying a new stand.

So what shall i do ?? I went to Home depot to get one of these metal bar thingi they use to hold stuff like the ones they use in the basements to hold the cielings ... but it was too big to fit into it ...

what can i put under this to hold it up ... Advice please

[Hookup]

could you take some photos of the stand, from back far and up close?  Your picture is hard-ish, to figure out any solution other than "brace it"..  From what you described I would not go ahead without fixing it somehow..

[winston199]

depending where the crack is you can use angle steel or get a piece of maple and glue and screw it in place

hope this helps

[lost_at_sea]

if the crack is fairly superficial and along the surface of that top then I really wouldn't worry about it.

THe load is transferred down the vertical beams there would be no 'force' being applied to teh crack except for say torsion but since we don't bend teh stand it's just a straight vertical load, you should be fine.

Why don't you fill the tank 1/2 way and leave it for a day or so and seee if the crack spreads then repeat with more water.  Or if you have a really really heavyset friend get them to sit on the stand while you make them dinner

you can also get wood crack filler from Home depot and you could fill the crack with that stuff.

[Vincenzo.]

cut your shoring jack if you are that worried. Have a grinder?

[cichlidicted]

Thank you all. I should've added some pictures earlier.

Anywayz as it shows there are no vertical beams, however i dont think they should be sufficient to hold this amount of weight. Based on some website, a 90gallon would weight 1050lbs !!.... i went to homedepot again, its called "jackall-metal posts/lifters", but nothing small enough to go through the openning, the smallest was 29" ... i need somewhere between 24-25".
Someguy heard me talking, and suggested i get a couple pices of construction woood and just stick them under/along the crack.


I'll be visiting Home hardware sometime soon.
Until then, and after looking through the pics. any new ideas ?!

[Vincenzo.]

cut ply wood to lay directly over the top

[elk]

UPGRADE YOUR HOUSE INSURANCE

[bitterman]

Honestly that is not strong enough for a 90 gallon tank stand. Your looking for trouble. It does not provide support in the correct spots for the tank. You would need major reinforcement.  Confirm, but it looks like it is made of chip board. If it ever gets wet, it looses its structural integrity.

Bruce

[JD]

The piece that is cracked looks like particle board. Particle board by itself is not very strong. The rest of the cabinet is where most of the strength is coming from. One way to fix this is to do what Vince suggested. A piece of plywood cut to fit on the top of the stand will provide more strength than the particle board could ever provide. The plywood would act as a second complete top for the stand. Another idea may be to reinforce the bottom side where the crack is. Here you could glue & screw a piece of plywood cut to fit. Of course a centre support would be ideal. A piece of Styrofoam SM (pink stuff) between the tank and stand will help even out the load on your tank in case the stand is no longer perfectly flat or square. If this were my setup I think I would make the second top, use 3/4" plywood, glue it down, paint it black and forget about the crack.

I was just looking more closely at the pics. It looks like there are no verticle support underneath except at the ends. If this is true your stand is not strong enough. Additional verticle supports will be required.

[jimskoi]

Most of the weight is in the corners.Put in 4 upright braces under the 4 corners where the tank will be sitting.Then put a piece of plywood on top of the outside of the stand.Paint it black and your done.

[Hookup]

Most of the weight is in the corners.Put in 4 upright braces under the 4 corners where the tank will be sitting.Then put a piece of plywood on top of the outside of the stand.Paint it black and your done.

+1

[bitterman]

The above is true, to be safest, I like to give full support to the ends of the tank and at least 1 foot in.
Please see attached image, The areas in back are were you need to ensure that there is bracing under. Most comersial tank stand don't even worry if the middle of the tank is touching the stand.

Bruce

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[Hookup]

It's not a hard job... Home Depot or Rona would cut the plywood for you to size.  Just take in your measurements.... $1/cut but I think the first 3 or 4 are free...

As for the 2x4 that will re-enforce the vertical braces, just get a hand-saw if you do not have a power tool, or again, measure it out, exact, and in the store's molding section, they always have a hand-saw and miter-box you can use to cut the wood to size....

Should cost you very-little to put this together... $30 I would guess, most of that being the plywood, however most stores have a "leftovers" section and you might even find a piece of wood or three there... that can be VERY cheap.

If you can glue the wood to your existing frame I do not even see why you would need screws...

You are retro-fitting an existing cabinet, which is always a challange.  Plan things out, post on here 100 more times if you got questions... but in the end you'll sleep better once you re-engineer the stand and have confidence.

[cichlidicted]

i will definitly sleep better .. this will be my first planted tank.
Thank you all for all the help and advices.... here's whats happening (top to bottom):
1. Styrofoam under the aquarium
2. Plywood all over the top
3 (MIGHT) manage to put a plywood under the crack
4. Will buy one of those strong "wooden" vertical braces to put under the corener tanks.

A couple of questions: will 3/4" do good .... if i dont screw it or glue, how wood that affect the aquarium ? would wooden vertical braces on the tanks edge on the second picture, do the job. Thankyou

I''ll be taking the measurments this weekend.

[Hookup]

From your pic's you've got a good plan.  Looks like you'll be adding vertical bracing under your stand, which is great.  The plywood top will defiantly distribute the load evenly to your vertical braces.  Sleep well my friend, sleep well.

[bitterman]

Only think I would check is the bottom of the stand were the supports are being added floating or sitting right on the floor? If its floating cut a block of wood so the uprights are in direct contact with the floor.

Bruce

[cichlidicted]

thought i'd show you what i did ... wasn't cheap but had to make sure the tank wont fall through !! 

[washefuzzy]

Yep, those 4"x4"s should do the trick.

[JD]

Wow, now that's support. Job well done. I think my 220 would be ok on that stand!!