Mas0n's "Longoon" IM40 Long Office Tank

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Thankfully the dimensions are very close to a normal 48x24 120gal, this one is a 47.26x23.62.

As stupid as this sounds considering my tantrum over this stand, I am likely going to get a different aluminum stand, but with proper corner bracing and beefier materials. Alufab and UNS make some nice ones with nearly the same footprint.

I wondered if you were considering Alufab!

 

[Mas0n]

Alufab has some awesome kits, aesthetically I don't like their use of mixed profiles. I have full faith that their stands are rigid and strong though!

I designed a stand, and priced out the cuts, machining, and hardware at Tnutz, and its nearly the same price as alufab's stand but with thicker material, additional feet and center supports.

This is 1530 extrusion, 47 3/4 X 23 1/2 x 36! (imperial and fractional, yuck...)

For the joints, I will be using anchor fasteners, which pull the pieces together instead of just holding them in place. I think this will be a pretty rigid design.

I don't think I need the middle support, but added it for peace of mind and it was reasonably cheap. it will also give me mounting options for panels / doors if I chose to go that route.

I'm looking at about $1000 shipped with this configuration.

Thoughts on the design?

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Alufab has some awesome kits, aesthetically I don't like their use of mixed profiles. I have full faith that their stands are rigid and strong though!

I designed a stand, and priced out the cuts, machining, and hardware at Tnutz, and its nearly the same price as alufab's stand but with thicker material, additional feet and center supports.

This is 1530 extrusion, 47 3/4 X 23 1/2 x 36! (imperial and fractional, yuck...)

For the joints, I will be using anchor fasteners, which pull the pieces together instead of just holding them in place. I think this will be a pretty rigid design.

I don't think I need the middle support, but added it for peace of mind and it was reasonably cheap. it will also give me mounting options for panels / doors if I chose to go that route.

I'm looking at about $1000 shipped with this configuration.

Thoughts on the design?

Looks good to me! Do you have a link to the anchor fasteners you mentioned? Interested to see if I could incorporate them into my build on my frag system!

 

[Mas0n]

Looks good to me! Do you have a link to the anchor fasteners you mentioned? Interested to see if I could incorporate them into my build on my frag system!

https://www.tnutz.com/product/afd-015-a/and
https://www.tnutz.com/product/afd-015-b/
Are what I'm going to use with this extrusion, these require some machining on one of the joint pieces.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

https://www.tnutz.com/product/afd-015-a/and
https://www.tnutz.com/product/afd-015-b/
Are what I'm going to use with this extrusion, these require some machining on one of the joint pieces.

Ah, yeah. I have seen those on some of the commercial offerings. I don't have the ability to machine my aluminum, so they aren't an option for me. I'll just stick with the plates and corner brackets I already have for my build.

 

[skey44]

Alufab has some awesome kits, aesthetically I don't like their use of mixed profiles. I have full faith that their stands are rigid and strong though!

I designed a stand, and priced out the cuts, machining, and hardware at Tnutz, and its nearly the same price as alufab's stand but with thicker material, additional feet and center supports.

This is 1530 extrusion, 47 3/4 X 23 1/2 x 36! (imperial and fractional, yuck...)

For the joints, I will be using anchor fasteners, which pull the pieces together instead of just holding them in place. I think this will be a pretty rigid design.

I don't think I need the middle support, but added it for peace of mind and it was reasonably cheap. it will also give me mounting options for panels / doors if I chose to go that route.

I'm looking at about $1000 shipped with this configuration.

Thoughts on the design?

Design looks good as long as the rigidity you are after is there. 1.5”x3” is pretty darn beefy so I’m guessing you factored that in with the lateral forces you’re combating against. I like the clean look of the anchor fasteners. Definitely shows some forethought compared to the external pieces as well. I’m not familiar enough with the materials to know if you are good without any additional bracing pieces. There are some threads around here about diy extruded aluminum stands that maybe you could post in for design critique.

 

[skey44]

I see you started a separate thread! I found another here as well

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/guide-to-diy-with-t-slot-aluminum.903885/page-10#post-13753512

 

[Mas0n]

Design looks good as long as the rigidity you are after is there. 1.5”x3” is pretty darn beefy so I’m guessing you factored that in with the lateral forces you’re combating against. I like the clean look of the anchor fasteners. Definitely shows some forethought compared to the external pieces as well. I’m not familiar enough with the materials to know if you are good without any additional bracing pieces. There are some threads around here about diy extruded aluminum stands that maybe you could post in for design critique.

Thanks! And good idea, I’ve been browsing some of those threads.

I may add some 45 degree corner bracing to really get this thing rigid.

 

[Mas0n]

Alrighty, made a few modifications to the stand and got everything ordered!

I removed some of the anchor fasteners and used large corner gussets on the shorter side spans. Additionally, I added some 12 inch knee bracing to long spans to hopefully eliminate all "racking".

Looking forward to building this! This was a fun design challenge.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Alrighty, made a few modifications to the stand and got everything ordered!

I removed some of the anchor fasteners and used large corner gussets on the shorter side spans. Additionally, I added some 12 inch knee bracing to long spans to hopefully eliminate all "racking".

Looking forward to building this! This was a fun design challenge.

How much did it end up costing you? (if you don't mind sharing)

 

[Mas0n]

Alrighty, made a few modifications to the stand and got everything ordered!

I removed some of the anchor fasteners and used large corner gussets on the shorter side spans. Additionally, I added some 12 inch knee bracing to long spans to hopefully eliminate all "racking".

Looking forward to building this! This was a fun design challenge.

How much did it end up costing you? (if you don't mind sharing)

$1020, including $180 shipping.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

$1020, including $180 shipping.

That actually isn't terrible! I was thinking $1750 or so!

 

[Mas0n]

That actually isn't terrible! I was thinking $1750 or so!

Right? Better than I was expecting too! I was shocked by how much the hardware/gussets cost compared to the extrusion though lol. That's where things start to add up fast!

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Right? Better than I was expecting too! I was shocked by how much the hardware/gussets cost compared to the extrusion though lol. That's where things start to add up fast!

Same! When I was piecing together my order for my frag system I was surprised how cheap the extrusion was. I double it's cost with the fasteners I needed.

How did it compare to the refund you got from the vendor for returning the other stand?

 

[Mas0n]

Same! When I was piecing together my order for my frag system I was surprised how cheap the extrusion was. I double it's cost with the fasteners I needed.

How did it compare to the refund you got from the vendor for returning the other stand?

Ha yep, pretty much doubled for me as well.

They are refunding me about $960~, so I'm paying an extra $60. Not too bad imo!

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Ha yep, pretty much doubled for me as well.

They are refunding me about $960~, so I'm paying an extra $60. Not too bad imo!

Not at all! This is a no brainer! The stand you are building looks to be far superior to what you were originally sent.

 

[Mas0n]

Just went on an Aptasia killing spree! Long over due, feels good to have most of them gone. I probably had 20ish medium-large ones that were starting to kill my Zoas.

Ugh. Also spotted a little bit of Bryopsis coming back, I may need to do a second dose of fluconazole when/if it gets bad again.

 

[08TRDOFFROAD]

Just went on an Aptasia killing spree! Long over due, feels good to have most of them gone. I probably had 20ish medium-large ones that were starting to kill my Zoas.

Ugh. Also spotted a little bit of Bryopsis coming back, I may need to do a second dose of fluconazole when/if it gets bad again.

How do you tell the difference between normal GHA and Bryopsis?

 

[skey44]

How do you tell the difference between normal GHA and Bryopsis?

Bryopsis looks more like a fern or feather. Also your typical reef CUC has a hard time eating it. Hair algae looks like… well hair. Single strands, typical CUC will eat it well.

 

[skey44]

Last time I killed a few big Aiptasia I got planulation.
Good luck. Improbably need to refresh in peppermint shrimp.
Also love the stand. That’s things gonna be rock solid!