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Unread 02/28/2008, 02:27 PM   #51
Pulp Fishin
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miwoodar
I guess its just my experiance that most the metal stands I've seen have some rust on them. Well most of the metal stand that arn't in my LFS at least!
I bought a 2nd hand tank and its metal stand was so rusted it was going to stain any carpet it was on so I scraped it.
I also pointed out the start of rust on a metal stand a friend of mine uses.

I thought it would be more commen because of how often I've seen it.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 02:30 PM   #52
tgunn
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Quote:
Originally posted by kcress
tgunn; That top angle iron is a really nice deal! No tank sliding. I do wonder how you actually place a tank into one of those as you can't get your fingers under the tank. Ouch!
I thought it would be a nice side effect of the angle iron too, but in the end once I added the wood and foam here's what I got:


Once I put the tank on it ended up being only about a 1/8" of "lip" from the angle iron. So in the end not a big issue with pinching fingers when putting the tank on the stand.

Tyler


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Unread 02/28/2008, 03:16 PM   #53
miwoodar
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Quote:
miwoodar; Those cans are a really bad idea for feet.



LOL


So you brush painted it??
If you get cans of different heights, you can sort of consider them to be a leveling option, right!?

Indeed, I just brush painted it with another local reefer. He had the equipment so we could spray it but the stand wouldn't fit through the door to the basement workshop and I didn't feel like cleaning the spray off of everything in my garage. Two coats of paint (the pic only had one coat) gave it a complete, thick finish without splotches. That was the first time I had ever used POR-15 (I got the idea from a post by jnarowe). It is pretty stout stuff. After researching it, I will be shocked if I ever see rust on my stand.

Pulp fishin - now that I think about it, you're right. I have seen plenty of rusty stands...but they were the types that are mass produced by tank manufacturers. I had one of the el cheapo $20 iron stands under one of my tanks when I was a kid. I'm sure it's a rusty heap these days.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 06:44 PM   #54
MeuserReef
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Wow this thread has grown!!!

I made some calls late this afternoon and was able to find one place locally that sells the 1.5" square tubing (1/8" wall). I can purchase a 24ft stick for $48 and I can have them cut it down for $1.50/cut. I have several other places that I need to try and will do so tomorrow or Monday.

There are some really nice stands on this thread so far.

miwoodar... I love the clean look of that orange paint! Well done! I bet the fumes from that paint made you feel REAL good, especially if chased with one of the fine spririts on the little table below the mirror in your picture.


tgunn... I really like the angle iron at the top and might consider trying to incorporate this into my design. I really like the fact that there would be a lip to keep the tank from sliding off of the stand (not that it would move once its filled... but it would be a nice "better safe than sorry" type features to have! ) Plywood would work too I suppose.

A bit of irony here... this was the banner at the top of the forum when I just checked my RC page.

http://gulfstreamcustoms.homestead.com/

Im pretty sure the price of their stand would make me consider building a wooden one!


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Unread 02/28/2008, 06:50 PM   #55
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Quote:
Originally posted by miwoodar
I cut the sticks but a friend welded it up for me.
This might be a stupid question, but I will ask regardless .....

Can you cut the steel tubing on a standard mitre saw if a metal cutting blade is used? The shop that I found will cut the tubing, but only at a 90 degree angle. I want to have the sealed ends so I need the ends cut at a 45 degree angle. I can do this myself if theres no special "metal saw" needed.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 07:17 PM   #56
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konadog / Kcress ...

The stand is 900mm high galvanised steel coated with 2-pak poyurethane coating (not a technically good coating spec) clad with recycled timber and finished with clear polyurethane paint. The internal platform is 100mm off the bottom and is sheeted with 12mm marine ply as is the tank platform.

The tank 10'x3'x2.5' is built from 12mm clear float glass including a full depth x 1' wide weir (takes flow of around 24,000L/hr including the closed loop). Eurobraced and has 3 cross-braces.

The ugly black things on the edges are edge protectors ... would have liked polished edges but was convinced to do the black things to protect the edges as the tank is in a 'high traffic area'.

Tone


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Unread 02/28/2008, 07:52 PM   #57
miwoodar
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Quote:
Originally posted by MeuserReef
This might be a stupid question, but I will ask regardless .....

Can you cut the steel tubing on a standard mitre saw if a metal cutting blade is used? The shop that I found will cut the tubing, but only at a 90 degree angle. I want to have the sealed ends so I need the ends cut at a 45 degree angle. I can do this myself if theres no special "metal saw" needed.
One of my friends said I could use a regular mitre saw with a steel blade. The guy who welded my stand disagreed though. He said he tried it once and it killed the saw rather quickly. I used one like this...it's dirt cheap and fit the bill well. $60.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...261&pricetype=




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Unread 02/28/2008, 08:04 PM   #58
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tgunn; I see your point.. Looks like a nice base. Starting to think you have an acrylic tank too.

miwoodar; POR-15? Do tell. The result does look nice. Brush painting is way underrated these days. Especially on something like tubing.

MeuserReef; Angle iron.. Don't go there on your stand. The reasons are varied and many.

The price is looking pretty good actually. Maybe 150 bucks.

If you are going to skin the stand in wood you may not need to close the ends. There are also plastic plug caps that are nice you can buy and just plug in.

I think you can buy a composition metal cutoff blade for your average miter saw. Never tried it though. If you do do tell us how it works! I need to know as I am building a stand at the moment.

tonyf; Thanks for the detail info! Edge protectors.. Ok. Must have taken 10 men and a boy to move that sucka.

1" weir??? Not a plenum only one inch wide?!? How would you access the fittings? I'm working on a 6' x 2' x 3'T and am most interested in these type numbers.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 08:13 PM   #59
miwoodar
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Quote:
miwoodar; POR-15? Do tell. The result does look nice. Brush painting is way underrated these days. Especially on something like tubing.
It wasn't my idea so I can't take credit for it. I believe I discovered it in a post by jnarowe. It is a paint used by car restorers to stop rust and by people who need to protect boating components from salt water. I was able to google it rather easily. Here's a good site: http://www.por15.com/

I paid $165 for my steel (including ~15 feet that went unused) and $60 for the paint.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 08:23 PM   #60
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Thanks.


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Unread 02/28/2008, 10:15 PM   #61
tonyf
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Quote:
Originally posted by kcress tonyf; Thanks for the detail info! Edge protectors.. Ok. Must have taken 10 men and a boy to move that sucka.

1" weir??? Not a plenum only one inch wide?!? How would you access the fittings? I'm working on a 6' x 2' x 3'T and am most interested in these type numbers. [/B]
Did I write 1" ... no 1'

Took a few to carry it



Cheers!


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Unread 02/28/2008, 11:54 PM   #62
ILLiDaN
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dang must have been heavy


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Unread 02/29/2008, 01:34 AM   #63
kcress
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DOH! Sorry bout that.


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Unread 02/29/2008, 06:04 AM   #64
Reef Dweller AU
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Here is mine:





Ply was put on the top then foam then the tank.


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Unread 02/29/2008, 09:42 AM   #65
MeuserReef
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Quote:
Originally posted by Reef Dweller AU
Here is mine:





Ply was put on the top then foam then the tank.
Very nice Reef Dweller! Are you at all concerned that you dont have any corner bracing?


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Unread 02/29/2008, 11:22 AM   #66
tgunn
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Quote:
Originally posted by kcress
tgunn; I see your point.. Looks like a nice base. Starting to think you have an acrylic tank too.
Thanks. I didn't even directly attach the base panels onto the stand; I built little "clamps" onto the panels that just clamp onto the 2x2 legs.

Actually, the tank itself is glass. 1/2" front, back and sides. The builder said I could get away without supporting the bottom of the tank except at the edges, but I went for the plywood in there just to be sure.

Tyler


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Unread 02/29/2008, 04:01 PM   #67
Reef Dweller AU
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Quote:
Originally posted by MeuserReef
Very nice Reef Dweller! Are you at all concerned that you dont have any corner bracing?
Not at all. The stand is rock solid. Its made from 1 1/4" RHS 3 mm thick.

I will be adding a wooden skin to it which will add more strength to it.




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Unread 02/29/2008, 04:37 PM   #68
8BALL_99
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Quote:
Originally posted by Konadog
Here's mine, sprayed with Line-x truck bed liner:
[

LoL anyone else find it funny that he paid to have his stand sprayed but not his truck Looks great btw.


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Unread 02/29/2008, 05:13 PM   #69
Konadog
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What can I say, company truck and priorities.

I don't have corner bracing either, but as I have said, these stands are way overbuilt. As long as the welding is done correctly, there is no movement in these stands!


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Unread 02/29/2008, 09:11 PM   #70
onetrickpony
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Quote:
Originally posted by kcress
tgunn;

MeuserReef; Angle iron.. Don't go there on your stand. The reasons are varied and many.
what are the problems with angle iron ,


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Unread 03/01/2008, 05:28 AM   #71
kcress
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Most angle iron is not um, ah, geezz I don't know what to call it. It tapers from the corner to the edges in thickness. This can make lay up more difficult. It would mean that without plywood the tank would actually be sitting on a very fine line all the way around unless you carefully angled it slightly.

A more major point is that angle iron is less strong than tubing for the same sizes. When you create a tube from a 'statics' point of view the tube acts somewhat like it is a solid bar the size of the tube. Angle iron works sort of the same but because it is only one sided it is nowhere near as stiff. U channel would be stiffer, then tubing is stiffer yet, for less material.

Steel ALL sells by weight. So for instance when you ask, "How much is this tubing a foot?" Someone looks up the price of the type steel the tubing is per pound. Then they check some table to see how much the tubing weighs per foot. Does some math and tells you X$/foot. You would need more steel per foot to do something with angle iron because of it's shape.

Another reason is that angle iron typically has a very rough finish you may need to deal with.

Also since it will be thicker it may mean you are welding a thinner tubing to a thicker angle iron which is a little harder to do, especially for a beginner.


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Unread 03/01/2008, 07:49 AM   #72
eznet2u
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Quote:
Originally posted by kcress
Most angle iron is not um, ah, geezz I don't know what to call it. It tapers from the corner to the edges in thickness. This can make lay up more difficult. It would mean that without plywood the tank would actually be sitting on a very fine line all the way around unless you carefully angled it slightly.
A little visual aid...



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Unread 03/01/2008, 10:22 AM   #73
avp
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8BALL_99,


Quick question or two about your stand. How does the liner finish affect the tank being level? Also, did you have it made locally (Toney,Al)? I'm going to be there for work for a few weeks and might check out the builder if he's close.


thanks,

-avp


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Unread 03/01/2008, 12:09 PM   #74
MeuserReef
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I made a few more calls and was only able to come up with $53 per 24' stick of the 1.5" square (1/8" wall) tubing. So far, the best I have found is $41 for a 24" stick (I mistakingly said $48 in an earlier post but the actual price is $41 or $1.71/ft for the 24' stick)

I made my cut lists and added an inch to each length and was able to determine that I can build my stand using only (2) 24' sticks. I would have to have each stick cut once at the mill ($1.50/cut) so they would be able to fit into my car. I have not yet priced the steel triangles that I will be using as my corner supports, but so far Im up to $92 total for my materials. Im really optimistic that I can build this thing for under $130.

Here's my cut list diagram (I have taken a liking to Google SketchUp if you havent noticed )




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Unread 03/01/2008, 02:28 PM   #75
chrisqueenz
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Sweet looking stands!


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