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Unread 03/06/2008, 11:08 PM   #101
FEEDERFISH
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My stand holds the tank at a height of 48 inches, holds a sump below, and has an attached canopy, I had mine sprayed with a heavy epoxy primer, then sprayed with 2 coats of a gloss automotive white, it shines!



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Unread 03/07/2008, 12:47 AM   #102
BenjieC
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Here's my stand. The system is still under construction. [IMG][/IMG]


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Unread 03/07/2008, 01:45 PM   #103
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Al is way harder to weld as mentioned by Konadog. I have a high end TIG welder and I still haven't figured it out. I would guess it's 10X harder than steel welding.

The main reason though is that AL costs about 3X what steel costs and that premium is usually swallowed because of weight requirements. That's Al's forte. Obviously weight of a stand under a 1/2 ton of glass and water probably comes in pretty low on priorities. LOL


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Unread 03/07/2008, 01:46 PM   #104
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Nice FEEDERFISH.


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Unread 03/07/2008, 01:47 PM   #105
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Kinda hard to make out BenjieC. Looks stout from what I can see.


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Unread 03/18/2008, 05:45 PM   #106
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How do you like this for overkill? The tank is 450g.








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Unread 03/18/2008, 06:24 PM   #107
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Let me guess, it's a shipping crate for a (Military) tank that you converted to an aquarium stand.

One common thing I see with every metal stand is we over build them


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Unread 03/18/2008, 07:58 PM   #108
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That pretty much sums up my thoughts on Dudesters stand.....



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Unread 03/18/2008, 08:03 PM   #109
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Unread 03/18/2008, 08:15 PM   #110
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I definitely agree with both of the above posts. Yeah, you could comfortably rest an Abram's tank on the stand. That tank is located in my office reception room. When the building was constructed just over a year ago, we planned for a peninsula tank and equipment room in the waiting room. Since we're on the 4th floor a leak of 450g could be bad news for the tenants below, so we wanted the stand to be absolutely 100% level. The builders made the stand for us with the caveat that they would be responsible for any variance from level, and I guess they didn't want any room for error. The only problems with it are that it made plumbing below the tank difficult, and there's not much room between the stand and the sump to work.

My A.G.E. steel stand for my home tank is much more reasonable, I think.






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Unread 03/18/2008, 08:48 PM   #111
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Love the catch basin for the pump!


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Unread 03/18/2008, 09:45 PM   #112
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Thanks! It's kept that adjacent rug dry on several occasions. It's no good for a large leak but it sure does the trick on small drips, like while removing filter socks and disassembling a pump.


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Unread 03/19/2008, 04:39 AM   #113
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What about your tanks. Both seem sort of rimless. Braceless or eurobraced??

Very nice stands.


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Unread 03/19/2008, 07:26 AM   #114
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Both are A.G.E. tanks. The first one (office tank) is eurobraced, 96 x 36 x 30 (450g) and the 2nd is rimless, 60 x 30 x 26 (~200g). I'm moving to a new home in about a year and am planning a eurobraced 72 x 48 x 30 (450g) corner in-wall system.


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Unread 03/19/2008, 02:24 PM   #115
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Wow rimless and 26 inches tall.. !


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Unread 03/21/2008, 08:52 AM   #116
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UPDATE:

STRUCTURE:
Over the past 2 days I have made my way into work a few hours early to work on my stand. I was able to borrow a metal chop saw from our diesel mechanic and it made all the difference in the world! I had to make over 30 cuts (some 90°, some 45°) to get to where I am at now.

Here was my cut list that I followed:


This is what I ended up with:
(SketchUp view)


(Actual view)



I took the opportunity to play around with some of the scraps that I had left to get an idea of how the welder was going to behave. As posted earlier, Im not a professional welder so I was a little nervous that my welds would not be a.) Pretty , or (more importantly) b.) Strong.

Here are my results (these are practice welds on scrap material)

My "not-so-pretty" practice weld:


After grinding smooth:


I probably wont be able to weld all of the pieces into a stand until next Saturday (at the earliest). Im still a good 4-6 months away from my upgrade so I have some time

EXTERIOR COATING:
I have also been looking around quite a bit at the options that I have for the Truck Bed Liner that I want to use as the outer coating. I have not yet gotten pricing for the LINE-X spray on liner, but the price of THIS STUFF is forcing me to consider it as an option.


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Unread 03/21/2008, 11:24 AM   #117
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Looks good to me, but I'm no welder so....


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Unread 03/21/2008, 02:27 PM   #118
kcress
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Those welds look more than adequate. Heck, they look pretty good.

MeuserReef; You are a SketchUp maniac! lol


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Unread 03/21/2008, 02:32 PM   #119
MeuserReef
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Quote:
Originally posted by makolonj
Looks good to me, but I'm no welder so....
Thanks. Im not one either so....


Quote:
Originally posted by kcress
Those welds look more than adequate. Heck, they look pretty good.

MeuserReef; You are a SketchUp maniac! lol
Thank you kind sir! I've gotten some pretty good advice from some folks along the way.

As far as SketchUp... yeah, Im hooked. It is to me now what the Nintendo was in 1985! (well.... not quite, but its almost as equally addictive!!!)


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Unread 03/21/2008, 04:31 PM   #120
Konadog
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I'm no welder either but, you may want to tak everything together before your final welding. Things tend to warp and pull when you weld. After each weld, check that everything is still square and level.

BTW, your practice welds look very good!


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Unread 03/21/2008, 09:38 PM   #121
MeuserReef
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Quote:
Originally posted by Konadog
I'm no welder either but, you may want to tak everything together before your final welding. Things tend to warp and pull when you weld. After each weld, check that everything is still square and level.

BTW, your practice welds look very good!
Thanks Konadog. When I first began to practice welding the 1.5" tubing, I caught myself trying to weld an entire bead in one stroke along each side and it did warp quite a bit out of square. The last few welds that I made were done by making tak welds first, then welding the seams and it turned out completely square. I purchased one of those magnetic "squares" that has the on/off switch on the magent to assist me with holding the material square while I make the tak welds. One other thing that I think made a huge difference was using an auto-darkening welding helmet. This allowed me to concentrate on the welding, not the helmet. Ive always had the toughest time beginning the weld and this type of helmet greatly reduced my startup trouble.

What are your thoughts on the DIY truck bed liner? I know it wont even compare to what you have, but it should at least allow me to have a sealed coating to prevent rusting. Im going to be building a (hopefully) Brazilian Cherry cabinet around the stand so it wont really be visible. The money I can save on the liner could go directly torward the lumber.

This thread has really helped me out! I will definetly be reporting back as I continue to make more progress on this project!


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Unread 03/21/2008, 10:17 PM   #122
Konadog
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I actually looked at that roll on bed liner before I went with the Line-x. I think it will work just fine. Maybe not as thick as Line-x, but it's not doing the work that a truck bed does
My main requirement, and the reason I went with a truck bed liner, was to put a coating on the steel that won't chip like paint or powder coating, I think any truck bed liner fits the bill.


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Unread 03/21/2008, 10:53 PM   #123
MeuserReef
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Quote:
Originally posted by Konadog
"I actually looked at that roll on bed liner" ... "I think it will work just fine."
I was hoping to get feedback like this! If I wasnt going to cover the stand with a wooden cabinet, I would most definetly go for the Line-X as it looks awesome and would resist more day-to-day abuse (accidental bumps, dings, etc). My main purpose is to provide a sealed barrier to prevent water from creeping in over time. The only time that the steel would be visible in my setup is when I pull the cabinet away from it to do "Major" maintenance (the cabinet will be a seperate structure and will, for the most part, remain independent from the stand. Im still designing a way to have the outside wood cabinet "clip" onto the steel in several places to hold it in place, yet allow it to be removed. This is all pending me sticking to my current plan ).

Should I plan on priming the stand (as you did) prior to rolling on the liner or should this go directly on the steel?


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Unread 03/21/2008, 11:07 PM   #124
Konadog
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I would prime it, that will insure a clean surface for the liner to stick to. The coating needs a clean and oil free surface to stick to properly. I did it under the advice of the Line-x shop. As for "clipping" your cabinet to the stand, look into quick disconnect clips that are used on race car bodies. They have some that are push button release that will work great (my plan anyways).


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Unread 03/22/2008, 06:52 AM   #125
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MeuserReef-

Are you still going to use the steel triangles at the corners? If so, you could mount the panels to those with magnets for a recessed panel look.

-avp


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