1.8 meter stand - build

Wow, what are you going to put in the tanks? Mercury? That stand is going to be heavy!
To make it cost effective, I will only use the cross brace behind the middle 2 shelves.
Yes, you can cut the 10/12mm facia board with a standard masonary blade, or a smooth diamond grinder blade.

 

The fibre boards cut nicely with a masonry grinding blade... but yes, as gert has said, a diamond blade would cut it even better. But the cost of a diamond blade (+-R149.00) compared to 3 masonry blades (+-R20.00 each) would make it more economical to use the normal blades.

The K bracing that Stormer showed in the first picture is perfect. However in the second picture he has the bracing crossing each other, which I think may be a bit overkill, and Gert may have a point there, putting it everywhere might be a bit overkill. But then again, I would also have a stand that's a little heavy and over kill than take a chance.

I would also add this type of bracing under each shelf.

Now all you need Stormer to do is give you the list of material's required, and you then just take that list to your steel supplier and ask them to cut everything to the spec. Heehee.

Oh, and the K-bracing I would be tempted to do in the 25 x 25 as well, however if you want to go "cheaper" you could also do this in angle iron (25 x 25 x 3mm wall thickness) and it will give you the same strength.

 

Thanks for all the help and insight ... and the awesome rendering stomer did. So here is the plan of action. I first need to replace the large desk that I am sitting at (A) with something that is capable of carrying two tanks and my monitor with some keyboard space. This gives me the needed space to put the 1.8 meter stand against the wall - but will still allow me easy use of the door. (B)

So the plan is to do A this week - pending work and then see if I can get the other bits needed to do B over the weekend. Well that is the current plan.

 

What a plan! I like it, but have concerns about that 10 - 12cm above the tanks to work in. Is that really going to be enough to get your arms in and move around?

Oh, and maybe consider some sort of solution to run your wires in. Maybe something as simple as 25mm long pieces of 25mm tube with one side cut away and a hole on either end for cable ties. But maybe more complex than that even. It could make using ths setup a much nicer experience in the long run.

Also, you could use sliding rails and shelves for the small tanks so you can pull them out to work on or to move around?

And looking at the number of tanks you have, what about some central heating/cooling for the room?

 

Funny how these things draw you into the realm of anything is possible ... Whipme you are 100% correct the 10 cm is a bit small (have it on the 3ft tanks on the right), with some additional input from Gareth - based on his 1.8x45x45 I am considering a few extra options.

Quick update: Built 80% of the A replacement last night it is a 1.45x45x70 (LxBxH), the 25x25 tubing is a bit oxidized so it will need to be lightly sanded and then painted. I need to stock up on some more welding rods, paint and a wooden deck - hope to have this all done by Wednesday night.

"Also, you could use sliding rails and shelves for the small tanks so you can pull them out to work on or to move around?" I like that idea ... I would need to consider HOBs and the like but totally doable.

" what about some central heating/cooling for the room" - now this will get the other 1/4's backup against the wall (I can hear it now - your fish get an air conditioner but I need to sit with a fan and a gas heater) One day when she gets the dinning room back, I've built my fish den - yeha that would need to be sorted.

 

f-fish
I will email you my plans of what I have done for my 3 ft tanks.
Not the same but, might give you additional ideas.

 

Perfect - tanks khalidmanack ...

Build update:
Long day at work .. never the less - A's replacement stand is all welded etc and has its first coat of unti-rust ... will leave it for a few hours then do the last coat. The enamel will only be done tomorrow evening if work allows.

 

Done with the painting and all .. actually waiting for paint to dry. Below a quick cell snap of the wet stand - this is the 1.45 that is replacing my current desk to make space for the 1.8.

Also ought some potential shelving today. Will use them as templates on the floor to get a feel for the 1.8m stand and the room fit. Got 1.8mx..33, 45,. 50,.60 will stack them and see what it feels like to move in the room.

 

All done -
Empty stand next to the 4ft wall - perfect typing height.


Sigh .. then I added some bricks to spread the load on the floor ... moved all the tanks back. Now the table is 40 mm to high for typing. Also wonder about the wisdom of putting a 600 wide stand to might left ... lets see how the next few days go.

 

Take the bricks out and use some sheet metal instead?

 

@zoom - lol - yes next water change ..

 

Use sheet metal that is about 5mm think to spread the weight, make them about 100mm x 100mm square and 5 or 6mm thick that should work and then paint them black as well
If you have NS4 that would be good so as to prevent rust in future with water spillage.

 

Yeah - I think you are correct Donny, I should just weld it - over and done as part of the fabrication. Got some NS4 - not loving it - had better results with RB10 - I think it was called.

Anyway - below the current new revised improved plan .. well maybe.





And the lesson learned from this - when MTS sets in - be sure that you have a standard tank and stand design and not a mix of anything you could buy on an impulse buy no matter how good the price was.

 

OK bit of a rethink on the stand design .. I'll be using this as my guide and see what extra support needs to be added.

The thinking is simple, I'll be building one 1,8m stand for this room might as well make it large enough for future tank dreams.

 

What will you use as paint on the metal frames?
Do you think NS4 black only will be good enough? 1 or 2 coats?
Remember us at the coast need something for the rust!

 

One coat NS4 and one NS8 ... But the NS4 is dark green and the NS8 black so that I can see the difference .. Have a slight colour perception problem :bigsmile:

But I have always wondered - the only true way would be epoxy or galvanize since I can not paint the inside of the tube obviously.

 

If I recall Gert, NS4 has anti rust properties to it... and is WIDELY used in coastal regions.

F-fish... there is no need to have to paint the inside of the frame. If everything is welded closed, then no moisture will get in. Wherever there is an open end, silicon an end cap onto it.

 

"Wherever there is an open end, silicon an end cap onto it." Actually never thought of doing the silicon thing ... thanks will do.

Below the cutting list for the steel .. I am adding a side table so the leg count and a few other peaces are extra.

No clue what the cost is going to be.

 

2 to 3 coats of NS4 on the coast is good enough