Aqurium stand question..??

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My daughters long time boyfriend wants me to make him an aquarium stand for 2 55 gallon tanks. The weight with water an accessories will weigh well over 900 pounds. He wants me to reuse bed frames. Is this going to be sturdy enough to hold this weight? I've read on here that bed frame angle iron is crappy steel. I concerned that it might not be good enough. Any suggestions? I told him 1-1/2"x1-1/2x1/8" angle would a better idea. He's a good kid and on a budget. I don't think it would be over $100.00 for the amount of angle iron needed.
Reply:One thing I know about fish tanks from a friend of mine who  services aquariums is that the frames need to be straight and fully support the tanks or they can leak or crack.There have been several threads here in the past on aquarium stands. You might get some ideas from them..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:As you can see, we too have aquariums. Both are salt water and both are 250 gallon with one on a stand in the foyer entry and one mounted in-wall in the family room and supported from the back. The family room one is just starting to have it's lighting cycle on. Sorry! Anyway, I say this so you'll believe that I know from where I speak and while, as always, it truly is my humble opinion I have to offer and I don't pretend to know everything there is to know about anything, after 15 years of living with and maintaining them and the countless true experts we have as friends who design and maintain both large and small systems professionally, three of whom are on "Tanked", I can tell you, metal in general and bed frames specifically are just a really bad idea. Water corrodes everything and saltwater will literally eat you out of house and home. If you've never lived through a collapsed aquarium system, "well you just haven't lived" as my mother used to say. I built both of these systems for my wife because she loves her fish almost as much as her horses and I can tell you, your system needs to be logically engineered to sustain the weight and made out of wood for durability... and screwed and glued together. 4X4 posts and 2X4 cross-members with decorative oak facia, panels and doors and solid brass (not plated) hardware should, again, in my opinion, be on your shopping list.  I am more than happy to help you along in this endeavor in the evening hours or, like now, lunch time when I'm in from the ranch because I know what it's like to get into a project like this alone. It's how I made so many friends in the fish world but please rethink you bed frame idea. Most commercial tanks are supported with steel framing, that's true however the people who have those metal-framed systems that are 250gal and up can afford the powder coat and plasticote covering that protects and provides for the long-term integrity of the structure metal. Water is notorious for finding it's way in to anything for which it has an affinity and metal is on the top of that affinity scale. Wood just absorbs the water, whole and humidified both, and lives with it. Our systems would have never lasted 15 years had we gone metal and thanks be to Jim Henderson of Henderson Water Systems for that advice along time ago.  Ok, they would have had we put the money into using properly coated and sealed structural systems but they were simply cost-prohibitive compared to good old-fashioned wood. Also, one final thing; the proliferation of tanks and their popularity has led insurance companies to exclude them and damage done to residential structures as a result of their failure. Whether you and she own or especially if you rent, please take this into consideration.Last edited by jlames; 12-02-2013 at 02:06 PM.Reason: Sorry, forgot the pics!
Reply:We built a stand for my son's 500 gallon tank (turtles of all things).  Tank alone probably weighs at least 300 lbs or more.  I've got a machine shop, steel stock in racks, and a decent array of fabrication equipment.  The tank stand is all wood.  And for what it's worth, I doubt I would ever use bed frame for a stand like that.  Most of it you don't know what it is, or how it will respond to HAZ.  Not to mention bow and flex supporting the tank, plus the corrosion issues.  I do have a steel stand with 2 x 55 gallon tanks, but those are for snakes, no water...
Reply:I have built a lot of aquarium stands for different pet stores and for something like that I would use 1 1/4" .125 wall sq tubing. Make sure there is a piece of styrofoam between the tank and the stand.The wood ones are a lot nicer to look at, but are more costly as well.Miller 252Miller Bobcat 225Lincoln MigPak 1801959 Hyster forkliftHarris OA torch
Reply:I did a search and found this on e bay.  $50.00 free shipping. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Petco-Brookl...item2a33f7396cFound some designs ideas too.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...tand&FORM=IGRE
Reply:Don't ever mention bed frames here again! Got it!  Only kidding  Or am I. I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:I can ruin a bed frame in one night  and I'm far from 900lbs.Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeDon't ever mention bed frames here again! Got it!  Only kidding  Or am I.
Reply:I made my 55 tank stand out of oak. I built a 2x4 frame designed to take the weight of the tank and than added 3/4" oak sheets to the sides and trimmed them in. It could hold up a truck.The tank came with a metal stand that scared the crap out of me.