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In-wall Tank - Stand height recommendation

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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
I'm setting up a 215 gallon in-wall tank that is 29 inches tall. It will have a 4 inch DSB. What height would you guys recommend building the stand?

Thanks,

Dan
 
Edwardw771

Edwardw771

NJRC Member
You took My idea. We also decided to do an in the wall tank I'm shooting for a 265. In my case the stand has to be kind of low because of the way the wall is. Good luck how ever you decide to do it. Post up some pics.
 
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jazzsam

I would go as high as the middle of the tank is at your eye level. I like the higher tank so you don't have to bend down to see everything. It all really depedns on the setup also. If you are going to put chairs in front of if then you don't wan it that high.
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
I will have a wall behind the tank with a room behind it with the sump, etc. The tank will be viewable on the left and front panes. The plumbing will come out from the right side pane. The back pane will be against a wall inside the enclosed wall. I will have a small door to the right of the tank to get access to the plumbing and the closed loop motor.
 
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Jcurry@wesketch

I would start at the ceiling and work your way down to figure out the height of the stand.
96" ceiling height
-24" for halides (12" off water / 12" for fixture height)
-30" tank height
42" max. stand hgt.

You may want more room above for access however.
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
Actually ceiling height is 86 inches and I will be using the Lumenarc DE HQI Reflectors that are 7 inches tall. I would like to keep at least 6 inches between the ceiling and the reflectors. Doing the math The max height of the stand would be 6+7+12+29+1+31=86. The 1 inch would be the foam insulation pad I will be using on top of the stand. I think thats too low. Any place I can reduce??
 
malulu

malulu

NJRC Member
i have an in-wall-see-through tank (210g), this is a perfect height for me (see my day-1 picture), like Sam said, if you are going to put chair in front of it, and when you sit down, your eye level is right in the center point, it would be perfect. cause normally, you would have some free space on top, and your eye will be looking a bit down - which is the most "busy area" on your tank... ;D beside, i would not need a high ladder when i work on my tank, just any regular chair would be enough height for me to stand on it and reach down to the bottom just fine.

332_12_11_07_11_26_15.jpg


good luck on your new tank. :D
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
The tank will be in my family room/home office so I will be sitting down most of the time when I see it. If my eye level is roughly at 48 inches the calculation would bring the stand height to 33 inches. The reflectors will have to go 11 inches over the tank and there will be a gap of 5 inches between the top of the reflectors and the ceiling.

Sounds good ??
 
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billyr98

that sounds good... trust me work on getting the height at sitting level, like you are!! i hated my old 210g not being at eye level... good luck!
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
If you place them 2' apart that's going to make your openings for doors 18-20" wide. I know we have some engineers & builders here (hint hint), but IMO that's too close together. Hopefully they'll chime in. On the ends of the tank the gap will only be 17" wide.
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
That's why I would prefer them centered in the middle which will give me nice large doors for storage underneath but I'm not sure if the 4x4s can structurally take the load. From an estimate I think the tank will weigh about 3500 lbs (luckily this is going on a slab). With 6 4x4s that is approx 585 lbs per 4x4. The other option I was thinking of was of doubling the 4x4s in the center side by side.
 
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jazzsam

Phyl said:
If you place them 2' apart that's going to make your openings for doors 18-20" wide. I know we have some engineers & builders here (hint hint), but IMO that's too close together. Hopefully they'll chime in. On the ends of the tank the gap will only be 17" wide.
Click to expand...

I think you are exactly on with the 17". That is the max you want to seperate your supports. It really does not matter how much weaght (kinda) you have on there because if you put your supports 17" or less apart you will distribute the load evenly. I have my 240 with that right now and the stand has been stable for a while now and I can even lean all my weight on it.
 
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danthemanj

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
But the front of the stand would not have the supports 17" away from each other if I were to put a support on each side of teh stand and a support in the center. It would then be 30 inches apart. What would I have to do to the stand to allow me to keep the supports 30 inches apart in the front? I'm already using 2x8 s and doubling them all around on top
 
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jazzsam

I am sure someone else can confirm or deny this for you but it all depends on the material. If you have less supports then what it is holding needs to be stronger. The piece that runs parallel to the ground would bend or snap without the extra supports. It "may" work with that but if you are like me the word "may" is not good enough. If you really wanted to be sure I would use a stronger material such as steel beams or something like that. You know that will not bend or break and you can leave as much space as you want between there. I would imagine you can use use the 4 corners and steel beams if it is the right steel and be good. Steel beams hold up houses I am sure they will hold up a tank.
 
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Jcurry@wesketch

For what it's worth I modified the origional stand for my 125 which was 3/4" pine boards stapled together. I placed a 2x4 on either side of the origional pine boards and glued and screwed them together front and back. And did the same in each corner to for columns. I then cut out the the origional pine board between 2 of the orginal door to create a larger opening (36"+/-). I did this while the tank was full of fish, coral, rock and sand because my sump sprung a leak and there was no way to get it out of the stand. So plan well grasshopper and when you think you have it all worked out plan some more.
The whole tank sits on 2x8 joists running parallel to the tank. I reduced the span of the joists to 6' by adding columns in the basement.
 
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jazzsam

Jcurry@wesketch said:
For what it's worth I have 2 2x4s glued and screwed together front and back under my 125 that span 36"+/- they sit on 2 2x4 screwed together in each corner without any problems. The whole tank sits on 2x8 joists running parallel to the tank. I reduced the span 6' by adding columns in the basement.
Click to expand...

that sounds workable. All of my experience is with single 2X4. It is about what I said that it all depends on the material that you use and how strong it is.
 
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Jcurry@wesketch

Most of the DIY reef related stuff is so overkill it's not even funny. People love to waste money in this hobby.
Jazzsam is correct you could use a steel beam but it's costly, difficult to work with and rusts. If the height of the beam is that critical you may want to reconsider where your putting the tank. Besides getting a steel beam that small will be a PIA.
 
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