New Steel Stand for 185 Gallon
- Thread starter MHenrichs48
- Start date
If it were me I would not worry about the plywood for a glass tank on that stand. I would probably look at strips of solid rubber of very dense closed cell foam. There is no use putting a mat under the entire tank if only the edges are being supported.
Neoprene foam (or other closed cell foam) would not be "MY" first choice for perimeter tank cushion. I don't think it would be as effective under the high point load when just supporting the rim of the tank. "I" would consider a solid rubber strip instead. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Material-Pro...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
If you do decide to go with a closed cell foam (or neoprene foam) I would recommend looking for one with a high density so it doesn't flatten to paper thin and fall apart. Of course all you really need to do is smooth out the minor imperfections... so I am probably over engineering the solution... as usual!
P.S. You could also consider using strips of solid wood that match your fronts/doors to line the top rim of the stand. You wouldn't have that ugly plywood edge showing this way.
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Excellent point! A light in the stand does make things so much easier to maintain!
I am thinking of trying the stick on LED strip lights for the inside of my stand. I am hoping a multi-point light source will give a better spread of light and eliminate the shadows.
That's a great call. I was struggling to see how a soft yoga mat would have any ability to help level. I ordered the rubber strips from your Amazon link -- those look way more beneficial. Thanks for the suggestion!
One other type of material to use for between the tank and plywood is a horse mat. They are 3/4" thick and can handle 2 tons of pressure on a single point ie a horse.
I picked up mine from an ag store to use as a buffer on concrete. They work wonderfully once you get past the rubber smell.
I picked up mine from an ag store to use as a buffer on concrete. They work wonderfully once you get past the rubber smell.
Just to close this out, got the stand FINISHED this weekend. Here are some of the final pics. I'm excited with how it turned out.
You did such a nice job, creative too. Why not paint the inside to give a more finished look? I know, no one will see. But you will ;-)
The steel tubing was close to $150 for the materials (not including whatever welding wire, etc. my buddy used). I think I probably spent another $100 or so adding the doors and sides. Building it out of wood is most definitely cheaper (and easier), but I'm pretty excited about how mine turned out.
Now I just need to get some folks over to help me get the tank on the stand. It's cleaned up and ready now...
