Fish tank stand for the wife

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Built my wife this stand for her 225 gallon tank. Its 7 foot long and stands 30 inches high. 1.5" x 3" .083 wall tube A premade stand would have cost her about $600.00. I have about 100 bucks into it including the diamond plate! I learned a few things design wise for what not to do next time. Don't mind the paint job - I used oil based enamel and I suck with a brush! I'm going to spray the next ones. 1 down - 50 to go. She has a lot of tanks. Attached Images
Reply:Looks good. 50 to do! I take it she runs a pet store or is in marine bio. if you are serious. If you are I'd say work out a good design and then set up for production. Set a good stop and just start cutting chunks all the same size and roll.You know now might be the time to suggest a nice upgrade on machines toys for yourself. She can probably write it off as a business expense for the "maintenance" worker on staff..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:She has about 35 tanks running right now, ranging from 10 gallons to the 225, most are 20g - 75g. I am going to build a 3 tiered rack setup for about 50 tanks, that way I have time for something else before she outgrows it. She imports and sells freshwater type stuff, mostly shrimp, snails, smaller "micro fish" and plants for resale at conventions and through the internet on another forum called Monster Fish Keepers where she is a moderator - hence the "M" logos on the front of the stand. She just bought me a Maxstar 140 - I just need to do a little troubleshooting to get it working. She's pretty fair about the toys. Maybe after the rack setup I can suggest a sweet plasma!
Reply:Dayum I thought we had a big tank! (75 gallon).  That stand looks really good, maybe she could sell the tank stands to, sounds like a sweet profit to me.
Reply:Great looking Stand !I have a friend who is in Dire Straits for a Tank stand and I told him that I'd try and make him one.  Do you have any photos, suggestions or similar in order to support a similar tank (around 150 gallon I think..) ?Thanks for any help...Cheers,/Jman..Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:Since she is doing it as a business, then she can defiantly write the machine off on taxes as a business expense as well as all the materials and so on..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:It is getting to the point that she NEEDS to get her license. We live in a backwards little town near York Pa, she's afraid of getting denied due to the home based deal. I support, but keep my nose out, only offer advice. Thanks for the comments guys. When I do up the rack system I will try to take some build pics. I'm a little intimidated though - you guys welds = pretty slick! I'm just learning!
Reply:It is getting to the point that she NEEDS to get her license. We live in a backwards little town near York Pa, she's afraid of getting denied due to the home based deal. I support, but keep my nose out, only offer advice. Thanks for the comments guys. When I do up the rack system I will try to take some build pics. I'm a little intimidated though - you guys welds = pretty slick! I'm just learning!
Reply:The diamond plate is coolIf it withstands the weight of 250 gallons, it's stout"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I'll have to ask a dive buddy of mine if he's familiar with that site. He's big on aquariums and ponds. He's does a lot of maintenance on ponds and aquariums for a ton of people in the West Chester Pa area, setting up equipment, stocking tanks, cleanings and so on..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:That's very nice!  Do you have any pics of how you did the 'door jambs'?MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Heh - that's one the "I learned some things" areas! At first I had a plan to make the panels affixed by neo magnets. After I had spaced , welded, cut the diamond, ordered the mags, she said she didn't like that idea. I went with hinges, and honestly, I don't want to show pics! Totally not my idea of "nice". I cut everything to be a nice tight fit and then having to modify for swing and clearance.......... totally screwed it up. I'll post some pics of the next one - built with a little bit of magic I like to call "experience"!Just another clown trying to be cool
Reply:One thing about making aquarium stands (and I'm sure Jinkzd's wife made sure he knew this) is that they have to be perfectly flat throughout.  Any slight raise in one area can cause stress on the glass and the silicone joints- which sooner or later (usually later, when you're away from home on vacation) the tank starts to leak.   Jinkzd- did you do any "engineering" or calculations to make sure the structure you built will hold all that weight (especially over time) or did you just eyeball it and build it extra beefy?Lincoln AC225 & MigPak 140, Lincoln Magnum SpoolGun, Miller Spectrum 375-X Plasma, Syncrowave 200 TIG, Millermatic 252 MIG, Miller Digital Elite, General 7x12" horiz/vert bandsaw, 3' box/pan brake, 20 ton press, milling machine, 12x28 lathe, etc.
Reply:I hear you on the flat part. I was stressed out trying to make sure it was right on. 220 gallons of h20 on my basement floor in tidal wave fashion would really make me happy. As far as engineering - uh, no. I asked our structural engineer at work for a few pointers and he looked at me funny and said "with what your doing it doesn't really matter". Makes me wonder about all those catwalks I am piling tons of equipment on! I looked at some other designs and went a lot bigger on the material, and added corner gussets (1/8" x 4") to every corner. Maybe I'm foolish, but I think think it's a bit overbuilt. (?) Do you know of anywhere that I can find beam span ratings and such? I am trying to come up with a safe design for a rack to hold 4 75g tanks on the bottom, 4 55g tanks above that, and a row of 20g above that, stepped so that acees from the top isn't hindered too bad. Most I see are made of 2x4s and I want to run away.Just another clown trying to be cool
Reply:With 220 gal you are looking at about almost 1800 lbs of weight. Some thing to keep in mind if you build one to set on a wood floor. Water is about 8lbs to the gallon.Denrep posted up a good reference for steel sizing in Fat Bastards thread yesterday. For angle iron you'll most likely have to work thru the calculations to get a size however. If you have an engineer at work you might try and see if he's got a copy you can look at if you are really interested. Some of the calculations are a bit difficult to understand if you can't understand the abbreviations and plug in the correct values. You may need to do 4 or 5 calculations to get the values you need to get the answer. (It's why engineers get paid good money to do all this)A few general thoughts that might help. Usually taller thinner materials tend to be stronger than short fat ones in bending. If you have a 2x4 for example, 4' long spanning 2 chairs and turn it so the 2" side is up and stand on it it will easily bend and possibly break. On the other hand it's fairly stable. If you turn the 2x so the 4" side is now vertical the board will easily hold your weight and probably that of at least one other person. However now it is a bit unstable side to side and needs bracing. Same material, different orientation to resist bending. This is also why trusses can hold huge loads, yet be made of very thin materials in comparison to a beam that would hold a similar weight.I'll PM you a link that may be a bit helpful..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:Real nice!
Reply:50 to go really? Dig a pond.Very nice look.Dave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:Yeah guys I'm serious! This was taken about 4 months ago - there's way more now - total fish chaos in the basement. See why I need to get crakalackin on some fish tank stands!Just another clown trying to be cool
Reply:Very nice!I like the diamond plate.I built a stand for a 60 gallon years ago, only it was out of wood.  I couldn't believe how cheap the store bought stands were.  I built it out of 4x4s with a leveling system and veneer paneling all around.  It was a regular piece of furniture when it was finished.  It weighed so much that when we moved, the movers thought it was bolted down!America Needs AMERICA'S Oil!!!"Global warming is the greatest scam in history ...There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril."--John Coleman, Founder of The Weather Channel
Reply:Crap!  Double post 'cause the website locked up and I resubmitted.America Needs AMERICA'S Oil!!!"Global warming is the greatest scam in history ...There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril."--John Coleman, Founder of The Weather Channel