Tank Stand Design Help!!!

msayani2 · Apr 23, 2014

I need some help with a steel stand design.

Tank size - 150cm x 70cm x 50cm (LxWxH).

Stand size - 151cm x 71cm x 90cm (LxWxH) (Larger LxW to allow for overflow bulkheads and other items.)

1. Tank is to be centered on the stand such that there is 0.5cm excess on either side. [FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Any issues with this?[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]2. 2"x2"x1/8" Square tubing will be used. [/FONT][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]WHAT GRADE OF STEEL DO I USE TO MAKE THE STAND?[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]3. Prior to placing the tank on the stand, do I need to place 1" plywood and then 0.5" rubber/foam? Do I do both or just one (wood or rubber or foam)[/FONT]

[FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]4. I will be placing 6" Isoceles triangles as gussets (1/8" thick) on the front, LH side, RH Side and Rear of the tank symmetrically. [/FONT]Is this too big a gusset size?

Note - welding to be done by professional fabricators.

You will also notice that the sump will be in a tray on wheels to allow for quick removal if required. It also includes a 5 cm depth for containing water spills near the sump.

inkedsparkster · Apr 23, 2014

I like your idea of the pull out drawer for the
Sump. However, you must be doing all the plumbing in flex? Or have easy access to unions to be able to disconnect the plumbing and pull it out. Is the drawer also going to be able to handle the full weight if the sump filled with water? Look at my build thread. My stand was made from 1.5"x1.5" (not sure what gauge as my friend bought supplies and welded it for me. And for the size of my stand well the 1.5" was plenty beefy. But yeah, looking at my design might give ya some ideas and just kinda help ya refine your final design. Good luck man! Looking forward to seeing the final product!

inkedsparkster · Apr 23, 2014

Oh and I would see what the manufacturer of your tank recommends for placing under the tank. My LFS who built my tank said to use 3/4" foam insulation. Which I went 3/4" plywood (cabinet grade), 3/4" foam, then placed the tank. With using those 45's (gussets), on top of using 2x2" steel, I would think you can easily get away without needing a center support. It wold be so much cleaner looking without it. (My .02, but you could talk more with your welder. Your tank with just water is looking around 1330lbs so say 1500lbs with rock and sand give or take. In my opinion as much as that seems like a lot, I don't think 2x2" steel will sag a bit with those 45's.

msayani2 · Apr 24, 2014

Bump!

Thanks for the reply inkedsparkster.. The final aquarium will hold 130-135 gallons of water plus rock. I am using 2" square tubes as that is what was used for some similar tanks ~150gallons on other forums.

I am also thinking of reducing the gusset size to 3" sided isosceles triangles.

Hopefully some more reefers will chime in too!!!

msayani2 · Apr 24, 2014

BTW...What grade/material of steel did you use inkedsparkster?

inkedsparkster · Apr 24, 2014

When I get back home (traveling back from Australia today) I'll ask my welder and see what she used. Are you going for open design or you gonna put side panels on it?

msayani2 · Apr 26, 2014

Ill be putting 4 wooden (probably plywood or some inexpensive solid wood) doors 1/2" - 3/4" thick with PVC lining at the rear to prevent the wood from getting spoilt due to saltwater spray. Doors are to be attached to stand via small circular magnets on 4 corners. Will have to have some alignment pvc strips in place too.

Essentially I'll have :

Two 71 x 90 CM panels
Two 151 (+ 2x(thk of panel)) x 90 CM panels

inkedsparkster · Apr 26, 2014

Alright, well I'm very interested to see the finished product for sure man. Looking forward to it.

9balliw · Apr 26, 2014

Nice looking design! If you are worried about the span you could use a fairly beefy 2x2 angle iron on the bottoms of tube steel say maybe 1/4 inch or thicker would give a lot of support and an easier place to mount anything! Good luck looking forward to seeing the progress

msayani2 · Apr 28, 2014

Here is the design as it stands now.

As you can see I have beefed up the top rim from 2"x2" square section steel tubes to a rectangular 3"x2" (75x50mm).. This is to accommodate the longer unsupported spans (2.5 ft).

I still have to add some steel sheets in to accomodate for my "boxes" (i.e. tunze controller, 2x 120-220V electric transformers and 2x tunze transformer boxes.) This will be placed on a rack on the top right hand side of the stand, about 2 ft above the sump floor, to prevent any water to come near the electric stuff.

After the design modification, it will probably take a week for fabrication and paint. I'm thinking white paint (or powdercoating :tongue: ). Im targeting May 8th for the finished product. fingers crossed.

inkedsparkster · Apr 28, 2014

Hold on, so your still going with a middle support and your going to beef it up to 2x3 rectangular? Dude, overkill. I mean if it gives ya peace of mind then alright. You could use 2x3 and not use any middle support. But hey, it's your build. Just think it's way overkill after I built mine and saw how overkill it was just on its own. I coulda went 1x1 and still been plenty fine.

msayani2 · Apr 29, 2014

Thanks for the feedback.

Ill look into getting rid of the center support. Do you think I would be ok if i get rid of just the front center support (that should be enough to make accessibility easier).? or do I have to get rid of both front and back?

inkedsparkster · Apr 29, 2014

You can leave the back one for peace of mind. But yeah, you don't want that front support.

ReeferBob · Apr 29, 2014

Why are you building this out of metal? You could do a wood stand yourself for $100 in materials and be finished in 1 day.

inkedsparkster · Apr 29, 2014

At reeferbob, for some of us (at least I know for me) it's not about the money. I was going for a certain look that wood couldn't provide. I am a fan of metal powder coated stands.

ReeferBob · Apr 29, 2014

inkedsparkster said:
At reeferbob, for some of us (at least I know for me) it's not about the money. I was going for a certain look that wood couldn't provide. I am a fan of metal powder coated stands.

Ok I understand that but he said he was putting wooden doors on it.

msayani2 · Apr 30, 2014

^^ Putting wood or acrylic on it for the looks.. no strength. I prefer steel due to the strength, much less chance of water damage (with a powdercoated or epoxy painted on) and open space it can provide to work in.

ReeferBob · Apr 30, 2014

msayani2 said:
^^ Putting wood or acrylic on it for the looks.. no strength. I prefer steel due to the strength, much less chance of water damage (with a powdercoated or epoxy painted on) and open space it can provide to work in.

If money is no object but we are not talking a few bucks more. I would expect a custom metal stand to run $500 to $1000. For me, that extra would be a big part of my budget and could be used for better skimmers, lights, computers, etc. I would hate to see you throw money down the toilette because you mistakenly think you need a metal stand for strength. Really the only reason to go with metal is if you truly like that look.

The metal stand might technically be stronger but that is a weak argument since a wooden stand is more than capable of handling the weight and will NEVER fail if constructed properly. And it doesn't matter who puts together the wood stand as long as you use a traditional design. Are you sure about the welders fabrication skills? This isn't your brother's friend's uncle's cousin is it? It is a "real" welder with experience constructing aquarium stands? You can imagine the disaster if a weld should fail.

I have never seen water damage a 2x4 stand. I have only ever seen water damage particle board stands. Even plywood holds up well with water spills. On the other hand, untreated steel WILL rust.

The open space gains are very minimal, if anything. The size stand you need can be built out of wood with no center support.

Keep in mind the extra weight of the metal stand and the problems you could have getting it through doorways and stairs. Wood stands can be built where you need them and taken apart if there are space issues to move them.

Whichever way you choose, good luck!