Custom Stand Advice

[choss]

I'm looking for advice on getting a welded steel aquarium stand (or frame). I see lots of great stands that start with this skeleton and are then skinned with wood. Looking for advice on where to purchase.

[piscis]

Hey there, how do you like these?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7...lEtX3JwWk5WWXM

[FISHRIPROCK]

That's a great question. I called Midwest and got a price for a 300 gallon stand. $850.

Have called around my local town to welding shops. Most didn't seem interested and one even said it was to much liability for them. Which I can totally understand.

Still waiting on 2 other shops to get back to me.

You may want to just open a phone book and look for metal fab shops and call. The few people I low with metal stands had theirs built locally.

[choss]

Originally Posted by FISHRIPROCK

That's a great question. I called Midwest and got a price for a 300 gallon stand. $850.

Have called around my local town to welding shops. Most didn't seem interested and one even said it was to much liability for them. Which I can totally understand.

Still waiting on 2 other shops to get back to me.

You may want to just open a phone book and look for metal fab shops and call. The few people I low with metal stands had theirs built locally.

I'm starting to do a lot of searches through google. I see quite a few people who have welded their own which is a bit beyond my skill. My original intent was to build it using wood but the issue is that I have a very small footprint available for the sump so using 2X4s would take a few inches away from the sump space. I may revisit wood construction if I can't find a reasonably priced option.

[thewbell]

What size tank are you looking to get a stand for? Depending on the tank size you might want to take a look at some of the 80/20 aluminum stands people have made. I welded my own stand for a 5' 120 gallon and really like it but I probably would have gone the 80/20 route if I had needed to pay a shop to weld the stand for me. The materials I used were C4x5.4 channel and 2x2x.120 square tubing (way overkill but it is what I had for free) then I skinned it with wood using magnets set into the wood panels.

[FISHRIPROCK]

Aluminum excites me to no end. Have 2 quotes out for aluminum, waiting to hear back. I'll let you know what I come up with.

[ArmanS]

Originally Posted by piscis

Hey there, how do you like these?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7...lEtX3JwWk5WWXM

Those are beautiful, what is the extremely smooth material that most of them are made of called? And where can we order one like that!?

[choss]

Originally Posted by thewbell

What size tank are you looking to get a stand for? Depending on the tank size you might want to take a look at some of the 80/20 aluminum stands people have made. I welded my own stand for a 5' 120 gallon and really like it but I probably would have gone the 80/20 route if I had needed to pay a shop to weld the stand for me. The materials I used were C4x5.4 channel and 2x2x.120 square tubing (way overkill but it is what I had for free) then I skinned it with wood using magnets set into the wood panels.

Forgot to check back on this thread for awhile. I really like the aluminum 80/20 product but seems pricey and not sure how to order custom lengths for the bars. That said, it would be the perfect solution.

[mcgyvr]

Originally Posted by choss

Forgot to check back on this thread for awhile. I really like the aluminum 80/20 product but seems pricey and not sure how to order custom lengths for the bars. That said, it would be the perfect solution.

What size tank? There is no need to use 2x4 lumber for just about any stand..
One can fairly easily construct a stand with just 3/4" plywood for the whole thing..


as to 80/20 stuff you can just buy full bars and cut it yourself..
I've cut that many times on a miter saw with a carbide blade.. or in a table saw,etc...

[ericarenee]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

What size tank? There is no need to use 2x4 lumber for just about any stand..
One can fairly easily construct a stand with just 3/4" plywood for the whole thing..


as to 80/20 stuff you can just buy full bars and cut it yourself..
I've cut that many times on a miter saw with a carbide blade.. or in a table saw,etc...

This is what i would do......

build a 2x4 platform for the tank to sit on and a 2x4 platform for the sump Wrap it in 3/4 plywood then measure and cut the doors out after leaving 3 1/2 inch between the two openings in the front for a 2x4 to support the span where you cut the doors out... even with steel you will need a center support between door areas unless you use very heavy steel plywood is super strong standing on its end ..

[choss]

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

What size tank? There is no need to use 2x4 lumber for just about any stand..
One can fairly easily construct a stand with just 3/4" plywood for the whole thing..


as to 80/20 stuff you can just buy full bars and cut it yourself..
I've cut that many times on a miter saw with a carbide blade.. or in a table saw,etc...

This is for a 24X20X18 cube. How pricey is the 80/20 and where do you buy it?

[choss]

Originally Posted by ericarenee

This is what i would do......

build a 2x4 platform for the tank to sit on and a 2x4 platform for the sump Wrap it in 3/4 plywood then measure and cut the doors out after leaving 3 1/2 inch between the two openings in the front for a 2x4 to support the span where you cut the doors out... even with steel you will need a center support between door areas unless you use very heavy steel plywood is super strong standing on its end ..

ericarenee thanks for the suggestion. I've been digging through the DYI stand thread and I think the best solution is to build the stand out of 1X4s since its holding a relatively small tank. I can skin it with walnut which will match the bigger stand it is going next to. 1X4s seem to be strong enough and it will be just enough for me to squeeze in a 20x20 sump. I'm looking at the ruby trigger systems sump.