HiImSean Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 im planning on building a stand for my 18" cube. i want it to be pretty tall to be at eye level (to me at least ). i was thinking 40 or 42" tall, putting the top of the tank at 58-60". would making it this tall make it unstable? i plan on building it 26x26x42 to accommodate a 20g high and the top would have a 4" ledge all the way around. Link to comment
Gort Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 im planning on building a stand for my 18" cube. i want it to be pretty tall to be at eye level (to me at least ). i was thinking 40 or 42" tall, putting the top of the tank at 58-60". would making it this tall make it unstable? i plan on building it 26x26x42 to accommodate a 20g high and the top would have a 4" ledge all the way around. For an expert's feedback on that - check out DonW on the Reef Frontiers forum... Link to comment
C-Rad Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 According to my calculations, assuming that the tank is 16" tall, weights 160 lbs, and that the stand weighs 60 lbs, it would take about 40 lbs of force, pushing sideways and a little upward at the top of the stand to cause it to tip over. To put that in perspective, that's about the same as putting the tank on a 30" tall stand with an 18"x18" footprint, which is commonly done. The bottom line is that it will work, but if someone tried, or ran into it hard, by accident, they could push it over. I'm not willing to have any tank in the house that can be tipped over (without using levers), so I find a stud behind the tank and attach the top of the stand to a stud in the wall whenever I have a top heavy tank on a narrow stand. If you don't have kids, big drunk friends, or people with anger control issues in your house, I suspect you can safely do it, and you can always bolt it to the wall if you want to be sure. Link to comment
Gort Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I was promised there would be no math ... Link to comment
ctaylor Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Just brace it to the wall with a 1x 10 or 1x 12... or 3/4 of a inch by 9 1/2 inch board. Once you brace to the wall it wont fall over . You can brace it wherever you want, aslong as its not seen by anyone... you should be good togo. Link to comment
HiImSean Posted January 8, 2011 Author Share Posted January 8, 2011 didnt think of bracing it. its going in a corner so only 2 sides are really open to people and one side will be near my TV. no kids, not too many drunks, and a small dog makes me think i should be good. thanks Link to comment
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