Help with framing an Aluminum stand

[Ashish Patel]

I have the frame and sump.. Plywood will cover the top and the bottom. I plan on putting the surge protector, batteries, and controller on the wall to the right of the tank. I will still need some electric in the back of the sump for various things such as doser, ATO, skimmer, etc. I do not have any space in my sump so everything has to be high and away and hidden.

Currently, Iam thinking I will have to buy some bolt and anchors that slide into the T-slot so I can skrew some wood panel.. I've seen someone cover the front with a top hook (kind of like how they use for wood headboards".

Any pictures and suggestions - Please note I am a bit OCD =)

 

[SteveSTL]

I would use high grade stainless steel screws that will slide into the aluminum channels. Keep your top plywood back just a bit and have a piece of L shaped molding at the top that will cover the gap between the vertical and horizontal piece. The molding should only be attached to the vertical pieces so they can slide up and be removed. Do the same with either the right front or left side - a piece of L shaped molding attached to one piece only to cover the gap. You can then overlay moldings to give it some interest or just keep it flat.
My personal choice would be to keep it flat and paint it the same color as the walls so it "disappears" and the tank is the main focus.

 

[adhd_nerd]

Consider using magnets for side panels. IMO always nice to be able remove all the panels when you need to. Neodymium magnet with a hole and T-Slot nut.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I would use high grade stainless steel screws that will slide into the aluminum channels. Keep your top plywood back just a bit and have a piece of L shaped molding at the top that will cover the gap between the vertical and horizontal piece. The molding should only be attached to the vertical pieces so they can slide up and be removed. Do the same with either the right front or left side - a piece of L shaped molding attached to one piece only to cover the gap. You can then overlay moldings to give it some interest or just keep it flat.
My personal choice would be to keep it flat and paint it the same color as the walls so it "disappears" and the tank is the main focus.

Hey, thanks for the suggestions.. On my current 120gallon I build the stand of wood and did what you said with the molding. to cover the gap between vertical/horizontal. However, here I put a 4" ledge going around so was able to use thick crown molding. On this setup I do not have much space but would you recommend going 1" overhang and putting a 1" molding? I guess I should find the molding first then get the plywood cutt!. thanks

 

[Ashish Patel]

Consider using magnets for side panels. IMO always nice to be able remove all the panels when you need to. Neodymium magnet with a hole and T-Slot nut.

Magnets sounds like a great idea.. I have to check the pricing on these but I can see magnets being a good way to hide wires at the back of the sump area.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I still have to attach the front door panels to the frame and will use L brackets and some velcro. I am happy with the outcome - I re-did this few times to get to this finished product - I am happy it looks like a piece of furniture now.

 

[adroc718]

looks great!
where do you get the aluminum stand?

 

[scriptmonkey]

looks great!
where do you get the aluminum stand?

Believe he made it using something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/T-SLOT-ALUMINUM-EXTRUSION-SMOOTH-LONG/dp/B007HO8IBU

 

[adroc718]

Believe he made it using something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/T-SLOT-ALUMINUM-EXTRUSION-SMOOTH-LONG/dp/B007HO8IBU

ahh! gotcha...
wasnt sure if there was a whole ready to assemble kit being sold

 

[Ashish Patel]

Since my tank size is custom dimensions I used a local vendor (the knotts) who work with 80/20. They drew up diagram, factored in weight, and gave price. 80/20 mails the T -slot stand directly to your house within 1 week. I thought since it was local I could pick it up and save on shipping but you can go to any vendor. All you need to purchase is 1 tool for tightening the anchors.

The T-slot stand is very easy to put together, It takes a little bit of creativity to add shelving and paneling but the best part is I can upgrade for relatively cheap for future builds. I could probably covert the stand to a 220gallon under $100.

 

[DarkSky]

I was looking at the pictures of your stand and had to comment that it might fail catastrophically if the hardware you used to attach the horizontal bars to the vertical bars slips or fails. Whenever you build something that is going to support any amount of weight, you should rest the horizontal runs on top of the vertical supports.

 

[reefwiser]

With the way you have connected the t slot profiles. I would add a 4334
4 Hole - Tall Gusseted Inside Corner Bracket will give you extra strength in your corners.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I was looking at the pictures of your stand and had to comment that it might fail catastrophically if the hardware you used to attach the horizontal bars to the vertical bars slips or fails. Whenever you build something that is going to support any amount of weight, you should rest the horizontal runs on top of the vertical supports.

honestly I had someone design this so if I could go back I would have asked them to make sure the top frame was supported onto the legs. However, the weight of the top is evenly distributed onto the frame so the weight will never be a factor on the joints. The anchors can support the weight of the tank so I am not concerned about it failing unless they where lose. They are extremely tight and won't go anywhere....

 

[Ashish Patel]

Pretty much the legs are supported by the plywood directly to the floor. the cross bars are for additional support. I was going to add reinforcements but its not neccessary.
On my next build I'll make sure the top frame is supported by the legs completely as I would prefer it to be the way you stated.