Steel Tank-Stand Builders? - Page 4

rlxwcapt · #76 04/16/2007, 02:36 PM

over kill - over kill- over kill. Go look at the wood stands that AGA makes. don't build it like a tank. It is only 180 gallons. disperse the weight over 12 square feet. after rock and water you will be about 200 lbs per square feet. that is less then me standing. no different then a water bed. look at the frames that they sit on. Save your money and put it in to fish or corals.

tbone28 · #77 04/16/2007, 02:52 PM

That's a very good point, and a good perspective. I'll end up toning it down a bit, but will leave just a little bit of "overkill" so my wife doesn't lie awake all night worrying

Konadog · #78 04/16/2007, 03:09 PM

Tell your wife to look at a water bed frame/pedestal. Partical board square with a few X's in the middle to hold up the entire bed!!

tbone28 · #79 04/16/2007, 11:48 PM

Ok, so now that I've found a fabricator, I can focus on details.

My tank's going to be an AGA 180g with CORNER overflows (not the Megaflows).

My tentative stand dimensions:

73" x 25" x 32" using 1/8" x 2" x 2"

External Tank Dimensions:

72.5" x 24.5" x 25.625"

Will I have enough room in the corner of the stand for my overflow and return bulkheads?

Does anyone know the offset of the pre-drilled holes?

Will I need to notch out the rear corners (e.g. Konadog's stand)? If i notch out the corners, will that be enough support for the tank?

Konadog · #80 04/16/2007, 11:52 PM

tbone28, I would call the manufacturer about where the holes are. This is one thing you don't want to make a mistake on. My hole was 1/4 away from the brace, but with a bulkhead fitting, it was over by 1/2 an inch. The cutout is larger than needed, but I just made sure I cleared the entire overflow box.

tbone28 · #81 04/16/2007, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Konadog
tbone28, I would call the manufacturer about where the holes are. This is one thing you don't want to make a mistake on. My hole was 1/4 away from the brace, but with a bulkhead fitting, it was over by 1/2 an inch. The cutout is larger than needed, but I just made sure I cleared the entire overflow box.

Totally. So if I need to notch out the corners, those corners on my tank aren't sitting on anything...that seems bad?

Konadog · #82 04/17/2007, 12:07 AM

I would think it depends on how much of an overhang it would be.

Just be sure you know how big the bulkhead is, and how close to the edge of the tank it will be, and measure back. You already know the size of your box steel so you'll know if it will clear the stand.

My tank has a very small overflow box, that is one of the reasons I had the problem.

tbone28 · #83 04/17/2007, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Konadog
I would think it depends on how much of an overhang it would be.

Just be sure you know how big the bulkhead is, and how close to the edge of the tank it will be, and measure back. You already know the size of your box steel so you'll know if it will clear the stand.

My tank has a very small overflow box, that is one of the reasons I had the problem.

Excuse me for the ignorant question, but are bulkhead sizes pretty universal? I've read that the AGA overflow kit is not good, and thinking of doing the CJ standpipes, purchasing my own bulkheads. For example, would a 1" bulkhead from AGA have the same overall diamter as another manufactuer's BH?

Konadog · #84 04/17/2007, 08:12 AM

I'm not 100% sure, but I think they differ in total size. Some are larger, thicker, and have a different size lock nut. You may want to get them ahead of time and check.

The problem if you have to notch out the corners is going to be your vertical support. Can you call the manufacturer about the hole placement?

tbone28 · #85 04/17/2007, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Konadog
I'm not 100% sure, but I think they differ in total size. Some are larger, thicker, and have a different size lock nut. You may want to get them ahead of time and check.

The problem if you have to notch out the corners is going to be your vertical support. Can you call the manufacturer about the hole placement?

That's what I'm afraid of by notching out the corners. I may have to do the Megaflow placement, which I'm not crazy about. My preference is a 3-sided overflow on the middle of the back pane of glass, but I can't justify paying 2K for a custom tank just to get that type of placement when the tank size I want (6x2x2) is standard.

I left a message for AGA's customer service. I also called Perfecto, since they do corner overflows. They have 2 holes, each 1.75" (whereas AGA has, correct me if I'm wrong, a 1.75" and 1.5" hole).

Perfecto faxed me their "hole-drilling" diagram for reference. The CS rep did warn me that holes are hand-drilled, and actual hole placement may differ upon arrival.

So, of the 2 holes in the Perfecto tank, the outer edge of one hole is 4.06" inches from the side glass - no issues there.

The hole drilled close to the back pain of glass has its outer edge located 1.4375" from the back glass. This seems to be cutting it close. Here's the breakdown:

Hole is 1.75" predrilled
Diagram shows the center of hole is 2 & 5/16" from the back pane
Since hole is 1.75", half of that is 7/8"
Subtract 7/8" from 2 & 5/16", and that leaves me with 1.4375"
Is that correct?

So, can some of you guys who have 1" bulkheads measure your diameters for me? Thanks!

Toolguy942 · #86 04/17/2007, 01:08 PM

Why not buy the tank first then modify your stand design to ensure that the holes are accessable?

Or maybe this is why my garage is full of stuff that isn't in it's rightful place yet?!?

tbone28 · #87 04/17/2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Toolguy942
Why not buy the tank first then modify your stand design to ensure that the holes are accessable?

Or maybe this is why my garage is full of stuff that isn't in it's rightful place yet?!?

Makes sense, and something I would normally do...

but in my application this time, space is TIGHT! meaning within a couple of inches, so I don't have much room on the stand size to change around.

I don't want to buy a tank, and THEN realize I can't build a stand around it.

chaffey · #88 04/19/2007, 12:32 PM

I got my steel stand today, but no power coating, just regular white paint...is there anything I can buy at HD and spray on the stand to prevent it from rusting ? 3" steel, not the tube.

I will post picture of the stand later.

hahnmeister · #89 04/20/2007, 01:54 AM

Tom Hudson is making my steel stand...
http://acrylicandglassexhibits.com/

Then I get to pay for shipping from down there to up here!

Konadog · #90 04/20/2007, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chaffey
I got my steel stand today, but no power coating, just regular white paint...is there anything I can buy at HD and spray on the stand to prevent it from rusting ? 3" steel, not the tube.

I will post picture of the stand later.

HD has a roll on bed liner, or you can just go with Rustoleum spray paint. Sooner or later you will get some rust, just keep up on the paint if you chip it.

chaffey · #91 04/20/2007, 10:44 AM

ken thank you.

tbone28 · #92 05/13/2007, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hsvtoolfool
If you must cut and re-weld the stand, I recommend making it
less than 35" tall so that it will fit through a standard-width door.

If you want a taller stand (as I did), the best solution is to make
the stand 34-inches tall, but then weld 1/2-inch plates to the
bottom of each leg. These plates are then drilled and tapped for
1-inch stainless steel bolts. Remove the bolts to get the stand
through doors, then screw them when you set up the tank. The
bolts are intended as leveling devices, but it's also a nice trick to
get a tall stand through a door. To protect my concrete slab by
spreading the point-pressure of each a bolt, I placed 1/4-inch
steel plate 6"x6" squares on the floor under each bolt.

My stand was designed by a mech-eng friend, who came up with
this clever bolt solution. He assured me that the threads on the
bolt are plenty stong for my 250 gallon tank.

Can you post a close-up picture of the levelling bolt and steel plate you place underneath?

Thanks

hsvtoolfool · #93 05/13/2007, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tbone28
Can you post a close-up picture of the levelling bolt and steel plate you place underneath?

Thanks

Well, that photo was pretty close up. The stand was on its side
because I had just screwed the bolt in place.

I regret that I don't have a photo of the plate under each bolt.
I'll post a photo when I get a chance. In the meantime, here's a
photo of a 1-inch bolt in my hand for scale (I'm 6-feet tall, BTW)...

And here's a photo of the stand with the bolts installed...

tbone28 · #94 05/13/2007, 09:33 PM

Thanks for the pic and your PM! Those are huge bolts! Would love to see pics with the steel plate underneath.

gws294 · #95 05/13/2007, 10:27 PM

Terry,
Per your PM, I have posted the home page to the company that I ordered the levelers form. You can see an illustration on the web site. Also, the attached .pdf file is a listing of the various sizes of levelers available. I'll attach a picture of mine tomorrow night.

http://www.levelingmounts.com/

Although I haven't loaded them yet, I mounted them by drilling and tapping a threaded hole in the bottom of the 1/8th inch thick tube steel of the stand. I inserted the leveler, then after adjusting them, I tightened the nut on the threads to support the stand. In other words, the weight of the stand and tank will be on the nut, not the threads of the leveler rod. I hope this makes sense.

hahnmeister · #96 05/13/2007, 10:27 PM

Christ... thats one overbuilt stand... you could park a tank on that thing...

hsvtoolfool · #97 05/13/2007, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
Christ... thats one overbuilt stand... you could park a tank on that thing...

You mean mine I guess. I told the mech-eng that I wanted a very
rigid platform. I got it.

Obviously, this is an oddball tank which presented some special
challenges. The dual 2-inch overflows in the back corner forced
that unusual diagonal bracing. The levelers and the overhang for
the front curve both demanded lots of rigidity from the top.

You also don't get a sense of scale from the photo, which makes
it look overbuilt. It's a 250G 4-foot radius tank. I was standing on
a 6-foot ladder when I took that photo.

The total height is 40-inches with the bolts installed and 3/4-inch
plywood on top. Those are 2x3 main tubes with some 1x1 supports
here and there.

tbone28 · #98 05/14/2007, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gws294
Terry,
Per your PM, I have posted the home page to the company that I ordered the levelers form. You can see an illustration on the web site. Also, the attached .pdf file is a listing of the various sizes of levelers available. I'll attach a picture of mine tomorrow night.

http://www.levelingmounts.com/

Although I haven't loaded them yet, I mounted them by drilling and tapping a threaded hole in the bottom of the 1/8th inch thick tube steel of the stand. I inserted the leveler, then after adjusting them, I tightened the nut on the threads to support the stand. In other words, the weight of the stand and tank will be on the nut, not the threads of the leveler rod. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the link. I'm not quite understanding what you did. It will probably make more sense when I see your pic.

cbui2 · #99 05/15/2007, 12:36 AM

tank, stand, and sump was all custom built from the aquarium company in winthrop, mn. i had self leveling legs installed on my stand and you can be precise on your measurement also alot of time will be saved not having to ridge anything up.

tbone28 · #**100** 05/24/2007, 03:24 AM

So I ended up having A.G.E build my stand. Positives across the board - it was an easy decision:

Cheaper than having it built locally, And it comes with levelling feet and powdercoat
Will be delivered with my tank
I now have a 5-year warranty on the tank (versus 1 year)

1.5"x1.5"x1/8"
Wide opening has additional 1.5"x3" support

Here's a progress pic. Should be ready for powdercoating soon: