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02/28/2008, 02:27 PM | #51 |
Were all mad here.
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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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Reef Central Corner Club Aquarium Dumpster Diver Extraordinaire Money talks, mine says "Good-Bye" Current Tank Info: RIP:60g Pentagon Reef 100lbs LR 20g Sump Deltec Mce 600 Mag 750 250W Metal Halide & 2x39W T5's Phosban ReactorX2 5gal refugium 36xTO RIP:135G FOWLER /Agressive |
02/28/2008, 02:30 PM | #52 | |
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Quote:
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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02/28/2008, 03:16 PM | #53 | |
Likey the bikey
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Quote:
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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Mike On hiatus. I'm either out riding my bicycle, playing with my family, or throwing ferts in my planted tank. Or working. I hope I'm not doing that though. Current Tank Info: 140 DIY Cube |
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02/28/2008, 06:44 PM | #54 |
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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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"Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic." -Anonymous Current Tank Info: tankless |
02/28/2008, 06:50 PM | #55 | |
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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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"Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic." -Anonymous Current Tank Info: tankless |
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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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These are my Principles ... If you don't like them, I have others -- Graucho Marx http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1650727 Current Tank Info: 500 gal reef |
02/28/2008, 07:52 PM | #57 | |
Likey the bikey
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Quote:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...261&pricetype=
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Mike On hiatus. I'm either out riding my bicycle, playing with my family, or throwing ferts in my planted tank. Or working. I hope I'm not doing that though. Current Tank Info: 140 DIY Cube |
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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. |
02/28/2008, 08:13 PM | #59 | |
Likey the bikey
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Quote:
I paid $165 for my steel (including ~15 feet that went unused) and $60 for the paint.
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Mike On hiatus. I'm either out riding my bicycle, playing with my family, or throwing ferts in my planted tank. Or working. I hope I'm not doing that though. Current Tank Info: 140 DIY Cube |
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02/28/2008, 08:23 PM | #60 |
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Thanks.
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02/28/2008, 10:15 PM | #61 | |
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Took a few to carry it Cheers!
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These are my Principles ... If you don't like them, I have others -- Graucho Marx http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1650727 Current Tank Info: 500 gal reef |
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02/28/2008, 11:54 PM | #62 |
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dang must have been heavy
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02/29/2008, 01:34 AM | #63 |
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DOH! Sorry bout that.
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02/29/2008, 06:04 AM | #64 |
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Here is mine:
Ply was put on the top then foam then the tank. |
02/29/2008, 09:42 AM | #65 | |
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Quote:
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"Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic." -Anonymous Current Tank Info: tankless |
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02/29/2008, 11:22 AM | #66 | |
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Quote:
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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02/29/2008, 04:01 PM | #67 | |
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I will be adding a wooden skin to it which will add more strength to it. |
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02/29/2008, 04:37 PM | #68 | |
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The problem with political jokes is they get elected. OK, so what's the speed of dark? Why do we drive on the parkway and park in the driveway? Isn't is it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"? Current Tank Info: Custom Starfire 300,92Gallon,35 Gallon Hex,Two 40Gallons,125Gallon, |
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02/29/2008, 05:13 PM | #69 |
Master of the 16 hour day
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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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Save the Reefs................................................................Save the world! -Ken Current Tank Info: Currently tankless, and loving it! |
02/29/2008, 09:11 PM | #70 | |
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03/01/2008, 05:28 AM | #71 |
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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. |
03/01/2008, 07:49 AM | #72 | |
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03/01/2008, 10:22 AM | #73 |
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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 |
03/01/2008, 12:09 PM | #74 |
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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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"Never be afraid to do something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the titanic." -Anonymous Current Tank Info: tankless |
03/01/2008, 02:28 PM | #75 |
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Sweet looking stands!
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