Advice on removing a center brace?

[scytale]

So I plan to install my first sump this weekend, but I need to temporarily remove the center brace in my wooden stand to fit the sump in...

My plan is to remove the front center brace (1x5" wood) from my 48x18" by bracing the center of the stand with a 4' piece of 2x4" as the horizontal beam.

I plan to put the 2x4" on top of a car jack-stand, outside the stand, in front of the sump--then put the back end of the 2x4" on a piece of 1" angle-iron that I will bolt to the inside of the stand. That way when I remove the center brace I will have a beam running over the sump.

I also plan to remove as much water as I can from the tank, to help reduce some weight.

Does that plan sound good, am I missing anything?

 

[mcoomer]

Can you put up some pics of your stand, showing the interior bracing? At 48", if you drain some water and have a brace in the rear you may not need to shore up the front. Let's get a look at the interior construction of your stand.

Mike

 

[Krish]

Here's how Marc over at melev's reef did his. Pics are in the link to show a step by step. Hope it helps. Marc's Super Sump

Other than that, maybe you can cut the side of the stand and add a door there and slide the sump in from the side. Just a thought.

 

[DonW]

If the stand is only 48" and built properly it should not need a center brace. A strip of plywood glued / laminated to the back of the top face frame rail is usually plenty. This way you can take the brace off at will to work on the sump if need be. A 2.5" strip of 3/4" plywood is going to be stronger than a a full 2x4. Post a pic so we can see what your working with.

Don

 

[TJL]

I agree with Don, and if it is a glass tank you can more than likely remove temporarily without much concern especially if partially drained. I have removed my center brace a couple of times on same size 48"x18" stand for my acrylic 75g with no problems.

Todd

 

[trido]

Ya, I agree with DonW. Glueing a second piece of plywood to the back of the strip is a great idea, then temporarily removing the center brace from under your 75 or 90G tank will be fine. The plywood deck, strip underneath, and tank itself will be enough support to do the job at hand and it will be ready if you ever need to do it again.

I actually just built a bow front stand this way.

 

[scytale]

Thanks all, I'll post some pics tonight. I KNEW I should have taken pics last night but was too wiped out to find the camera. (And the plumbing for my sump is kind of a mess right now so I didn't want it captured on film yet. ;-)

The stand construction is.... odd.
there's no plywood deck (just another center brace that runs horizontally)
and my tank actually sits ON top of the lip of the stand (rather than inside the lip).

The walls of the tank are made entirely of 1x5" wood pieces (so it ends up looking like bead-board almost)--but there'e no solid "structure" inside (no 2x4"'s or or metal or anything like that.)
So adding a door to the end-cap wasn't really an option (I'm leary enough about cutting 4 holes in the end for the plumbing and electrical!)

This was a commercially made stand (not a DIY)--but if I was going to build my own I'd do it alot differently.

FWIW: It is a 80 gallon glass tank (with center brace removed by previous owner)--and the previous owner also had the tank sitting on a stand built for a 55 gallon tank (ie 48x12 instead of 48x18) so I know the glass tank is sturdy (no center brace AND the whole back 6" was unsupported for years!)

 

[scytale]

Okay, here's the pics.

(The white panel at the top is rigid foam which is attached to the underside of the tank) But there's no plywood sheet or any other bracing structure between the foam and the tank.

The tank sits on the 1x4" horizontal rails, the rails rest on the 1x5" center braces and the end-panels....

 

[DonW]

In the pics it looks like your center brace is just stapled to the back of a 1x4. See the knot that is the weak spot. Take out the brace and laminate two strips of 3/4" plywood to the back of the 1x4. Cut two strips coat with wood glue and use a bunch of clamps to stick it to the back of the 1x4.

Don

 

[scytale]

Sounds like a great plan, Thanks Don!

I have a bottle of "Gorilla glue"--is that an okay glue to use for this application, or should I get some traditional wood glue instead

With the plywood strips glued to the back of the rail, do you think it will be strong enough to remove the center brace permanently? (I'd still keep the center brace for aesthetics... but would like to be able to know that I could remove it once/week for maintenance pump-cleaning etc...)

If the plywood strips are going to be strong enough, I could probably even trim an inch (or two) off of the top of the center brace--that would give me room to put on a plywood strip that would run the whole length of the rail....

 

[DonW]

You do want to go the full length of the top rail. I would install the plywood and cut the center brace about a 1/16 shy. If you want to remove at will you can. Not to be mean or rude but the stand apears to built poorly so if it does start to sag you will know by the 1/16 space closing. Does that make sense?? No gorilla glue is not very good, use tighbond 3 its cheap at lowes or home depot.

Don

 

[scytale]

Thanks for the tips Don!
I get it: a small sag in a 1/16" reveal is a lot more noticeable than a small change in a 1/2" reveal.

And i take no offense about the quality of the stand--I didn't build it.
And it was the ONLY black 75 gallon stand available the day i bought the system. (and hasn't collapsed in 3 years.
Plus an 80 gallon tank on a flimsy 75 gallon stand is still better than a 80 on a sturdy 55 gallon stand, in my book.