pfoxgrover
New member
Thanks for the feedback. Anyone else that can weigh in about drain holes in steel stands?
Lets see those steel stands!
- Thread starter MeuserReef
- Start date
Thanks for the feedback. Anyone else that can weigh in about drain holes in steel stands?
metasyntactic
New member
I'm looking at welding up a frame in a couple months for a 300 gallon and was wondering if anyone had made a frame out of stainless. I'm about 5 miles from a metal depot and they quoted me $630 for 60 feet of stainless 11 gauge 1.25 square bar stock and $270 for mild steel. Thing is, two powdercoat places quoted me in the $280 range. I could probably use marine paint or some other type of primer (does anyone have recommendations?) but I feel like it might be worth it to make it out of stainless. I welded up a stainless light stand a couple years ago and it has zero signs of corrosion.
Second question, has anyone looked at mounting the frame on wheels? I have my eye on some casters rated to 2200 lbs. I'm setting my stand in a book case and would like it if the whole stand could slide out for easy maintenance. I figure 6 of them should support a 300 gallon aquarium plus water and a 80 gallon sump. That's about 3500 lbs filled with rock and equipment? It'll be on a concrete slab so I'm not worried about moving weight on the foundation.
Second question, has anyone looked at mounting the frame on wheels? I have my eye on some casters rated to 2200 lbs. I'm setting my stand in a book case and would like it if the whole stand could slide out for easy maintenance. I figure 6 of them should support a 300 gallon aquarium plus water and a 80 gallon sump. That's about 3500 lbs filled with rock and equipment? It'll be on a concrete slab so I'm not worried about moving weight on the foundation.
I believe there is tremendous amount of force on the glass panes when the tank is moved. There was a tank on MR that I believe failed spectacularly due to this very reason.
In the end I decided on a stand that's 83" L x 32" wide and 46" tall,
There was no way to carry it down into the basement so I went with AL profiles. Ordered the stand last week. 2-3 weeks before I get it. I'll post pictures then for those who might consider an alternative.
scottwhitson
New member
Let's see if I can figure out this picture thing. Just built this stand for our new 120.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/159810014@N08/shares/oR573F
https://www.flickr.com/photos/159810014@N08/shares/oR573F
My 80/20 build for my 120.
From this:
To this:
From this:
To this:
My 80/20 build for my 120.
From this:
To this:
Very Nice!
If you don't mind me asking, did you do the design yourself or did you go through a company that built it per your specs and machined everything for you?
My design, then went on 80/20's web site https://www.8020.net/ and ordered all the pieces. I told them the shapes to use, what lengths I needed, and how I was going to connect the pieces together. I also had to figure out what fasteners and how many of each to buy. What's not shown is I have 2 black sliding doors (HDPE) on the front that I can easily lift off to gain full access to the sump area. Also on the right end is a black sheet of HDPE to mount all my Apex and Ecotech struff to.
Plus I also custom machined a few pieces myself that I needed for mounts and whatnot.
More pics here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2661614
Petesxl525reef
New member
Stand help
Stand help
That's the exact type of stand I've been looking for the past 4 months Member No.1! I'm not much of a DIY guy, any chance you would be willing to post your parts list? I went to their website but quite honestly I didn't even know where to begin. I think if somebody was smart they would market your stand for this hobby and offer to custom make them. Thanks, you really have done an amazing job on your build!
Stand help
That's the exact type of stand I've been looking for the past 4 months Member No.1! I'm not much of a DIY guy, any chance you would be willing to post your parts list? I went to their website but quite honestly I didn't even know where to begin. I think if somebody was smart they would market your stand for this hobby and offer to custom make them. Thanks, you really have done an amazing job on your build!
I went ahead with FramingTech for my ALU stand, it came in last week.
Havent had a chance to put it all together yet, but these aluminum members at 45 x 90mm looks super solid.
They drew the plans and measured stress based on weights I provided; I believe they do factor 2 to be safe.
Based on my ordering process, dealing with drafter and seeing the product I can recommend them without reservation. I'll post pictures in few days when its up.
Havent had a chance to put it all together yet, but these aluminum members at 45 x 90mm looks super solid.
They drew the plans and measured stress based on weights I provided; I believe they do factor 2 to be safe.
Based on my ordering process, dealing with drafter and seeing the product I can recommend them without reservation. I'll post pictures in few days when its up.
Cool! Same size I went with. I designed my stand myself, figured all the cuts, told 80/20 how I wanted everything machined, I figured all the fasteners. It went together quite nicely!
Curious what your stand looks like.
Thanks!
I could post, just need to download the invoices, scan, then attach.
I'll get them up in a day or two.
But be warned, you might be scared by the final cost!
scottwhitson
New member
Here is one I built for a 120. The stand is 6' long and we will use the area to the side for storage. Also it has two shelves under it as our sump is in the basement so no need for sump space under the stand.
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Crazyabouttanks
New member
Aluminum Stand Help
Aluminum Stand Help
I need some help again I have had these stand made and I am about to fill will water but am getting a little nervous because I don't think the weight will hold or at least there will be a little too much deflection. I have tried using the cad and fea programs but those things are crazy hard to use for me at least. I had someone on here help me once but I thought the stand were 1/4 thick not 1/8. The stand is made of 2x2 T6061 aluminum square tube with a thickness of .125. I would just like some feedback. I could always add legs or braces. Attached are some photos dimension 72.5 Length X 24.5 W X 36 Height and holding a 210 gallon tank. The welder has been doing this for decades and I trust the welds. Just not sure about the integrity.
Aluminum Stand Help
I need some help again I have had these stand made and I am about to fill will water but am getting a little nervous because I don't think the weight will hold or at least there will be a little too much deflection. I have tried using the cad and fea programs but those things are crazy hard to use for me at least. I had someone on here help me once but I thought the stand were 1/4 thick not 1/8. The stand is made of 2x2 T6061 aluminum square tube with a thickness of .125. I would just like some feedback. I could always add legs or braces. Attached are some photos dimension 72.5 Length X 24.5 W X 36 Height and holding a 210 gallon tank. The welder has been doing this for decades and I trust the welds. Just not sure about the integrity.
Attachments
It's a great looking stand.
I would appreciate if you also share the material costs and where you bought from. So others following interested have some ideas.
I will.be following along.
Thanks.
Sent from my SM-N950W using Tapatalk
Crazyabouttanks
New member
The material is about $300 for each stand based on online prices. (6) 8ft lengths of T6061 2 X 2 .125 Thick @ $45 each. I am sure that local supplier are cheaper cause I only paid 275 for each stand and that was with the welder making a little bit of money.
I will be adding a removable support to the front of the stand just so I could sleep easy at night.
I will be adding a removable support to the front of the stand just so I could sleep easy at night.
ratherbeflyen
New member
I have a 6' 220 gallon tank and my stand doesn't even have a center brace. You can slide a piece of paper between the tank and granite top completely from one end to the other, there is absolutely zero support in the middle of the tank. It doesn't need it. Most glass tanks don't need support in the middle of the tank, and if the center brace is too tall, it will break the tank. As long as your stand doesn't topple over side to side or front to back, it is probably over built. The compression strength of 2x2 aluminum is way more than what your tank weighs.
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Your tank will be about 2000lbs. Each corner will support that. Unless you tip the tank over your stand isn't going anywhere.
