Quote:
Originally posted by pcurry18
If it were me i would prefer middle braces as well. Remember, water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. If you center brace wont interfere with your plans, you should error on the side of caution and install it.
Paul
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Any middle bracing on that design, assuming the corner joints are properly welded, will be a total waste of steel and money. They would receive 0% of the weight of the tank, add weight to the frame, add more welds, more $$, and more time to build, all while adding zero strength to the stand in the vertical direction.
It would take an enormous amount of force (aquarium/relatively speaking) to bend 2x2 HSS over a 3'-8" span. As someone already mentioned, I wouldn't be afraid to put several 120g tanks on that stand.
Not to sound cocky, and I'm no structural engineer, but I do have a building science degree and took several structures classes in school. After running the numbers and seeing first-hand how strong wood and steel can be when used properly, it's amazing how many people grossly overbuild their aquarium stands. 1000lbs sounds like a lot of weight, but only because we're human, and to us, 80lbs is a lot of weight. Wood can carry those loads all day long....and steel, come on guys. It's steel for crying out loud!
A little goes a very, very long way for our purposes.