Metal Stand

[spartanman22]

I’ve been working on my upgrade plans and want to go with an open concept steel stand, but have never worked with steel before and would love some advice. I’ve got coworkers who are welders by trade so they can assemble, but I’d like to run design by some of you guys first.

The Tank is 36”x20”x16” and the sumo is about the same dimensions. I absolutely love Elders design and would like to mirror it in certain ways:

I’d like to have the stand be really just the four corner legs and not have a center leg. My plan is to center the tank and sump on the stand with an electronics cabinet on one side and a reactor cabinet on the other. What size steel do I need to go with to accomplish this minimalist approach? 1”, 1.5”, 2”, 2”+? What thickness wall would you all recommend?

 

[TheHarold]

@Elder1945 has another build going too, with a similar steel design. I believe it was 4” 3/16”, with gussets, for a 100g?

Im no engineer, but it probably be less if you were willing to have those front-side posts.

 

[TheHarold]

I used laminated plywood 1.5x 4” beams to make my stand for a shallow 70g.

 

[Larry L]

My tank is about the size of yours (36x24x18) and my stand is built with 35mm (1 3/8") tubing all around the edges, no additional center supports or gussets so everything is open underneath. I don't know how thick the metal is though.

I'd make sure you get it built with some heavy duty leveling feet, and some tabs on the front and sides that you can attach your panels to, if you are going to use panels. (The tabs on mine have holes, so I use thumbscrews from the inside to screw into T-nuts on the back sides of the panels, makes the panels very easy to remove if needed.)

One thing I wish I had was a non-structural rail or two running side-to-side up near the top, just under the tank bottom - would be nice to have an attachment point for e.g. hanging pipe or for cord management.

Also highly recommend either DIYing or getting someone to make you an acrylic drip tray that matches the interior footprint, with sides maybe two inches tall - you *will* spill water at some point, and it's nice to have something to keep it contained. (Also makes a good place to put a leak sensor if you have one.)

 

[spartanman22]

I'm not so concerned about having no center post if I was building the stand to the dimensions of the tank, but the plan is have the stand much larger than the tank (longer) and I don't know if there are structural problems with doing that. I have seen Elders new build and that stand is pretty crazy!

 

[theatrus]

One thing I wish I had was a non-structural rail or two running side-to-side up near the top, just under the tank bottom - would be nice to have an attachment point for e.g. hanging pipe or for cord management.

Second this. Design it with supports that you don't mind modifying, or drilling into. Perhaps even mount an 8020 or T-slot aluminum pipe frame inside with brackets.

 

[theatrus]

...but the plan is have the stand much larger than the tank (longer) and I don't know if there are structural problems with doing that...

If you are doing calculations on it, note that you should make sure you're not assuming even weight distribution in a setup like that. You'll likely end up with a bit more deflection. However, you can cut down the material needs on the sides if you build the center correctly, or even do calculations with it independently.