anyone weld their own metal tank stands

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R

rnocera

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 1, 2008
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New Castle, Pennsylvania
www.herpfamily.com
I'm just wondering if anyone has welded their own stands for aquariums, and if they could give me any advice. My boss has offered to let me use the welder & other supplies at work if I'll buy my own metal. He's also offered to give me a crash-course in welding, although I've never welded anything myself.

I'm thinking I'd like to build a stand or two to hold tanks. First and foremost, I have 3 20-gallon tanks that would be nice to get on a stand together. Anybody have any info on what I'd need to do to build a stand tall enough to hold 3 20-gallon tanks and be secure?

Thanks,
Ronnie
 
make sure that you can bolt the stand to the wall 3 x 20 gallons could end up pulling away from the wall i have a metal stand with 2 x 20 gallons on it and i dont trust it at all
be careful in your design and you should be fine
 
That's definitely part of the plan. Everything will be bolted right to the wall. The stand is going to end up being pretty tall, so it'll definitely be a tip-hazard.

If this works, I may weld stands for all of my aquariums & reptile cages. Right now I have stuff sprawled all over the place on mix-matched stands. It could be nice to have a nice uniform look to everything.
 
Just make sure it's square and flat and that you get decent penetration on your welds. What sort of welder are you going to use?
 
I'm sure your boss won't let you walk out of the shop with ****ty welds done if he's a welder. 60 total gal isn't TOO much weight so you can get away with a not so great welding job. I'd say your biggest problem is a design to hold 3 small tanks. good luck
 
im the man you need if you are trying to weld a stand. let me know what you are looking for, send some sizes and material choice, you can make it out of steel tubing, angle iron, round tubin, or even aluminum. let me know
 
just make sure the metal is clean, and the welds pentrate, also i would advise using steel the only down side is weight, but you can get away with a little thinner matiaral, its much easier for a first time welder to weld, and also much cheaper than alluiunm. you would need some pretty beefy alluiuium to hold 60 gal of water you figure thats about 500 pounds of just water, not including filters fish subtrate exc, let me know if you need any help
 
hi,
are u using angle iron? i tig weld some times when i need to thats 1 of strongest welds.. .. if like a nice stand i would go to some sheet metal shops an ask for some rectangle shage stainless thick walled .
 
I suppose that would work. I think generally people use square tube becuase it looks a little nicer and I'm pretty sure it's stronger than angle (for a given weight).
 
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