gauging interest: Metal stand for a 300g

[Sisterlimonpot]

Some of you may know that I'm putting together an in wall 300 gallon tank, and I'm struggling to figure out if I want to build the stand out of steel and have it powder coated, of if I should stick with a traditional wood stand.

The problem with the wood stand is the bulkiness of it. I wan't as much open space as possible from behind.

Here's my question, Does anyone know of a reputable builder that can fabricate a steel stand for me? if so, please put this person in contact withe me...

Thanks
Jimmy

 

[DgenR8]

You don't need a master fabricator to build a stand for your tank, it's about as simple a job as you can give to a welder. As long as it's square and the right size, you're golden.
I'd talk to an engineer to find out just what the stand be made of. You'll need a reasonable estimate of what kind of weight you will be supporting.
300 gallons of water alone weigh well over a ton. Rock, equipment, the tank itself. You want a stand that can hold 2 tons, 2 1/2 to be safe. I'm thinking 3X3X1/4" angle iron, but square tubing (2" square by 10ga wall thickness should be strong enough) may be more pleasing to the eye.

 

[JimON]

Hey Jimmy. I agree with DgenR8. Simple job for an average welder. I had a 300 many moons ago, and I had a buddy with a welder. We built the stand in his garage over the course of a couple weekends. It held up just fine for several years for me before I sold the whole set up. I think it could have been run over by a cement mixer and been fine... If I remember correctly, we used 1-1/2" angle iron for the whole thing, had 2 legs in the center of the 8' run front and back. I used 2x12 lumber on top with a sheet of plywood on top. Long story short, any welder could tackle that job with ease.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Thanks Jim,
How did you seal it from the elements?

Are there any reputable welders out there locally, I'd rather choose someone with at least some experience with tanks over someone who has not.

 

[JimON]

Black spray paint. Easy peasey. Many routes you could probably take. This was a fresh water tank that I had with a colony of Frontosa. I can't speak to how a salt environment would have affected it, but was fine for what I had. As for welders, that is out of my wheelhouse, haven't needed one since I did this stand. Thinking that was 1999? Any pro shop you find on Google should do the trick. HTH!

Adding, now that I think about it, it did have an angle brace on all 4 sides, and the Frontosa were awesome!

 

[amccann]

Some of you may know that I'm putting together an in wall 300 gallon tank, and I'm struggling to figure out if I want to build the stand out of steel and have it powder coated, of if I should stick with a traditional wood stand.

The problem with the wood stand is the bulkiness of it. I wan't as much open space as possible from behind.

Here's my question, Does anyone know of a reputable builder that can fabricate a steel stand for me? if so, please put this person in contact withe me...

Thanks
Jimmy

Use T-Slot maybe? I built mine with just the 10 series. You can go much larger. It's very easy to order the sizes you need and you can cut if necessary. I ordered everything through Amazon.

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[Sisterlimonpot]

We're talking an 8 foot span has to hold about 2000 lbs. but those might be a good plan for the light rack.

 

[amccann]

I just have the smallest size, 10 series. They have sizes that are much bigger. You can Google search T-Slot and find their website I'm sure. They have huge industrial size frames they've built for all kinds of heavy equipment.

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