Lets see those steel stands!

[Konadog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11962189#post11962189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MeuserReef
Im going to be welding this one . I have some welding experience and have gotten to the point where my welds look clean. Im going to be using a 220V Millermatic MIG welder with CO2/Argon gas.

With regards to "sealed", Im guessing that you are talking about the open ends of the tubing, right?

activecactus...
tonyf...

... awesome jobs on those stands.

Nice welder! Yep, thats what I'm talking about. I had all my corners cut at 45° and welded together.

Tonyf, nice stand, levelers are cool. What was it coated in?

 

[kcress]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11962189#post11962189 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MeuserReef

activecactus...
tonyf...

... awesome jobs on those stands.

Ditto.

activecactus; You can't beat that for cost! Those frames are often heat treated to eek even more out of the metal. Great for a small tank.


tonyf; Nice. Tank is interesting. What's it's height and glass thickness? I don't understand the corners. What are we seeing? The black.

MeuserReef; I'll be interested in the prices you get.

 

[tgunn]

Here is the stand for my 140g tank.

The legs are 2" tubular steel and have self leveling feet:

I ripped off the foam bits that the builder put there and replaced it with a 3/4" sheet of plywood:

... I did put foam on top of the ply as well.

The stand with skirting on:

 

[miwoodar]

I had all my corners cut at 45° and welded together.

Mine was done the same way to make sure it was water tight and it would stay salt creep free on the inside. I cut the sticks but a friend welded it up for me. 1x2 tube in 11 guage. It took about two and a half 24' sticks to make a 37x44x34 inch stand for my 140. The final 6 inches to the right of this pic will be a pass through for the plumbing.

It is very sturdy. I tested it last week and pushed and shoved from every direction to ensure it would hold. In hindsight, I might have added another angle support from the front but it is already way sturdier than any stand I've ever owned.

After a lot of prep work, we painted it with POR-15. Can anyone say 'orange'?

 

[Konadog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11965422#post11965422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by miwoodar
It is very sturdy. I tested it last week and pushed and shoved from every direction to ensure it would hold. In hindsight, I might have added another angle support from the front but it is already way sturdier than any stand I've ever owned.

Nice work!

Trust me, we way overbuild these steel stands, they just don't move.

 

[Pulp Fishin]

Anybody have RUST on their metal stand? lol

 

[miwoodar]

Pulp Fishin - why lol? I've heard a lot of speculation of rusty stands, but I've yet to see one. Salt water and steel definitely don't mix well, but if it is properly coated or painted, it will be fine.

BTW - the yellowing in my first pic came when I cleaned it with a metal cleaner that contained zinc phosphate.

 

[kcress]

tgunn; That top angle iron is a really nice deal! No tank sliding. I do wonder how you actually place a tank into one of those as you can't get your fingers under the tank. Ouch!



miwoodar; Those cans are a really bad idea for feet.



LOL


So you brush painted it??

 

[activecactus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11966007#post11966007 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pulp Fishin
Anybody have RUST on their metal stand? lol

I sprayed my stand with Rustoleum industrial paint, and after 2 years I only have a couple of rust stains about the size of the tip of a pencil.

 

[Konadog]

Going on two years and I don't see anything that rust could even start on, coating over everything still. I even had salt buildup on an edge of one leg

 

[Pulp Fishin]

miwoodar
I guess its just my experiance that most the metal stands I've seen have some rust on them. Well most of the metal stand that arn't in my LFS at least!
I bought a 2nd hand tank and its metal stand was so rusted it was going to stain any carpet it was on so I scraped it.
I also pointed out the start of rust on a metal stand a friend of mine uses.

I thought it would be more commen because of how often I've seen it.

 

[tgunn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11966752#post11966752 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kcress
tgunn; That top angle iron is a really nice deal! No tank sliding. I do wonder how you actually place a tank into one of those as you can't get your fingers under the tank. Ouch!

I thought it would be a nice side effect of the angle iron too, but in the end once I added the wood and foam here's what I got:

Once I put the tank on it ended up being only about a 1/8" of "lip" from the angle iron. So in the end not a big issue with pinching fingers when putting the tank on the stand.

Tyler

 

[miwoodar]

miwoodar; Those cans are a really bad idea for feet.



LOL


So you brush painted it??

If you get cans of different heights, you can sort of consider them to be a leveling option, right!? :lol:

Indeed, I just brush painted it with another local reefer. He had the equipment so we could spray it but the stand wouldn't fit through the door to the basement workshop and I didn't feel like cleaning the spray off of everything in my garage. Two coats of paint (the pic only had one coat) gave it a complete, thick finish without splotches. That was the first time I had ever used POR-15 (I got the idea from a post by jnarowe). It is pretty stout stuff. After researching it, I will be shocked if I ever see rust on my stand.

Pulp fishin - now that I think about it, you're right. I have seen plenty of rusty stands...but they were the types that are mass produced by tank manufacturers. I had one of the el cheapo $20 iron stands under one of my tanks when I was a kid. I'm sure it's a rusty heap these days.

 

[MeuserReef]

Wow this thread has grown!!!

I made some calls late this afternoon and was able to find one place locally that sells the 1.5" square tubing (1/8" wall). I can purchase a 24ft stick for $48 and I can have them cut it down for $1.50/cut. I have several other places that I need to try and will do so tomorrow or Monday.

There are some really nice stands on this thread so far.

miwoodar... I love the clean look of that orange paint! Well done! I bet the fumes from that paint made you feel REAL good, especially if chased with one of the fine spririts on the little table below the mirror in your picture.


tgunn... I really like the angle iron at the top and might consider trying to incorporate this into my design. I really like the fact that there would be a lip to keep the tank from sliding off of the stand (not that it would move once its filled... but it would be a nice "better safe than sorry" type features to have! ) Plywood would work too I suppose.

A bit of irony here... this was the banner at the top of the forum when I just checked my RC page.

http://gulfstreamcustoms.homestead.com/

Im pretty sure the price of their stand would make me consider building a wooden one!

 

[MeuserReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11965422#post11965422 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by miwoodar
I cut the sticks but a friend welded it up for me.

This might be a stupid question, but I will ask regardless .....

Can you cut the steel tubing on a standard mitre saw if a metal cutting blade is used? The shop that I found will cut the tubing, but only at a 90 degree angle. I want to have the sealed ends so I need the ends cut at a 45 degree angle. I can do this myself if theres no special "metal saw" needed.

 

[tonyf]

konadog / Kcress ...

The stand is 900mm high galvanised steel coated with 2-pak poyurethane coating (not a technically good coating spec) clad with recycled timber and finished with clear polyurethane paint. The internal platform is 100mm off the bottom and is sheeted with 12mm marine ply as is the tank platform.

The tank 10'x3'x2.5' is built from 12mm clear float glass including a full depth x 1' wide weir (takes flow of around 24,000L/hr including the closed loop). Eurobraced and has 3 cross-braces.

The ugly black things on the edges are edge protectors ... would have liked polished edges but was convinced to do the black things to protect the edges as the tank is in a 'high traffic area'.

Tone

 

[miwoodar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11969212#post11969212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MeuserReef
This might be a stupid question, but I will ask regardless .....

Can you cut the steel tubing on a standard mitre saw if a metal cutting blade is used? The shop that I found will cut the tubing, but only at a 90 degree angle. I want to have the sealed ends so I need the ends cut at a 45 degree angle. I can do this myself if theres no special "metal saw" needed.

One of my friends said I could use a regular mitre saw with a steel blade. The guy who welded my stand disagreed though. He said he tried it once and it killed the saw rather quickly. I used one like this...it's dirt cheap and fit the bill well. $60.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=261&pricetype=

 

[kcress]

tgunn; I see your point.. Looks like a nice base. Starting to think you have an acrylic tank too.

miwoodar; POR-15? Do tell. The result does look nice. Brush painting is way underrated these days. Especially on something like tubing.

MeuserReef; Angle iron.. Don't go there on your stand. The reasons are varied and many.

The price is looking pretty good actually. Maybe 150 bucks.

If you are going to skin the stand in wood you may not need to close the ends. There are also plastic plug caps that are nice you can buy and just plug in.

I think you can buy a composition metal cutoff blade for your average miter saw. Never tried it though. If you do do tell us how it works! I need to know as I am building a stand at the moment.

tonyf; Thanks for the detail info! Edge protectors.. Ok. Must have taken 10 men and a boy to move that sucka.

1" weir??? Not a plenum only one inch wide?!? How would you access the fittings? I'm working on a 6' x 2' x 3'T and am most interested in these type numbers.

 

[miwoodar]

miwoodar; POR-15? Do tell. The result does look nice. Brush painting is way underrated these days. Especially on something like tubing.

It wasn't my idea so I can't take credit for it. I believe I discovered it in a post by jnarowe. It is a paint used by car restorers to stop rust and by people who need to protect boating components from salt water. I was able to google it rather easily. Here's a good site: http://www.por15.com/

I paid $165 for my steel (including ~15 feet that went unused) and $60 for the paint.

 

[kcress]

Thanks.