Any structural engineers?

[ShelleyBoston]

I have this innovative marine APS stand for a 30 gallon long tank so I thought being so close on dimensions to a 40 gallon breeder footprint but not quite. I would add this pine top which has a thickness of 0.656" maybe I'm overthinking this but being that there will be about 1" overhang all around and on a 40 gallon breeder the weight is displaced at the frame it could crack the panel and collapse. Am I overthinking this? Do you think the top will be able to support the weight?
Thanks!

 

[mind]

Those breeder tanks are (apparently) designed to be supported by the frame alone. If it is not on the frame, that would be "bad".

Structural engineers will not be able to tell you either, since wood is a sh!*** material to design with. Every tree is different. Every piece of wood has different history of being dried/etc. You get the idea.

After that, you are looking at contact between the bottom of the tank, an overhang which may cause a small amount of arching in the tank bottom due to unsupported overhang and the whole calculation is fraught with "maybe".

Not a structural engineer, but I do have some background in stress analysis, contact and large deformation in solids.

 

[ShelleyBoston]

I really appreciate your input thank you! I was being slightly sarcastic with the calling of structural engineers. That is a good point about the arching of the wood and deformation of the base. I think doing this may fall into the bad idea bucket.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Aren't the IM APS stands made of aluminum. I don't see why it would support the weight of a 40 breeder. What's the difference in weight? Maybe contact IM and see what the capacity of the stand is capable of. I ran a 29galloj tank for years, overhanging a kitchen cart with no issues whatsoever. This is only my opinion, so please research weight limits.

 

[ShelleyBoston]

Oh the weight of the APS 30 long has been tested to 750 lbs it is over engineered. a 40 breeder would add another 100lbs for a total of about 450-500lbs with rock, equipment etc

 

[FREAKINRICAN69]

It should be fine and no need to panic. It’ll work just fine.
You could always add support on each side if you want but I think it’s overkill

 

[thrillreefer]

You could double up the pine panel for more security. Likely sturdy enough, but I might be more worried about it eventually getting wet and bowing, then cracking that way. How do you plan to seal the top? Marine plywood etc might hold up better (but harder to get the wood aesthetic)

 

[ShelleyBoston]

That is a good idea to double up the pine. I was going to sand it, stain it then give it 2-3 coats of polyurethane to water seal it.

 

[thrillreefer]

Sounds pretty bombproof with 1.25” pine and waterproofing. A few coats of spar varnish kept my canopy protected for years

 

[kgstei]

You could also screw and glue in a trim piece along the underside of the overhang

 

[mind]

I should note that when designing stands for tanks, I have seen everyone do "will the stand support this weight"..... but structural failure is NOT the correct design criteria.

Ever wonder why some tank manufacturers have tanks that fail over time? Are their stands made of chipboard and plywood?

IMO, the correct way to design a tank stand is by deformation. ie: how much can your stand deform under the tank load BEFORE it places undue stress on the glass and seams? Because if your tank stand bends 1/10" in the middle of the tank, then the center of your tank is basically unsupported!