New Steel Stand for 185 Gallon

[MHenrichs48]

Hey Y'all,

I'm building a new stand for the 185 gallon, and looking for feedback. I have a friend that offered to do the welding (he does a lot of auto body work and has a well equipped shop). His recommendation was to go with 1.25" steel tubing at 1/8" wall size. To me, this seems WAY stronger than some of the wood stands you get with tanks, but I'm curious if you all have any thoughts. With a 180g tank including water, rocks, sand, etc. I'm anticipating this needing to hold 2000 lbs. I'm not sure if it's needed or not, but I also included 8 diagonal struts to prevent shearing.

I plan to get this powder coated, then put a sheet of plywood on the top and bottom to prevent the tank from sitting directly on the metal. I also plan to wrap the stand in a more decorative wood. (My wife likes barn wood).

Definitely open to feedback if you have it. I'll share some pictures once we start the project. Also, apologies on the design -- my Sketchup skills are super rudimentary

Front View of the Stand

Back View of the Stand

Side View (To show Diagonal Struts)

Stand Dimensions

 

[DN328]

I've personally have not welded a stand, but I do have one for my tank that's also powder coated..

I think for a 180gallon the material you stated is what most material I've seen used and are of solid quality. I have also seen designs that the to cross bars are staggered to that of the vertical support. No numbers as proof, but I would imagine if you had good welds with that material, I would not think the struts are required. It certainly would not hurt and over built isn't a bad thing - I just don't think it would be necessary - especially for 180gallons.

 

[Oughtsix]

1 1/4" x 1/8" wall tubing should make a very nice strong stand. You could probably go with a bit thinner wall if you are worried about weight.

If he is any kind of a decent welder at all the diagonal struts should not be necessary. If you feel you must have some reinforcements gussets would be much more appropriate. (A gusset is just a triangular piece of sheet metal welded into an interior corner).

You might want to consider having the top and bottom frames welded together then putting some flanges for the upright pieces to bolt the top to the bottom. This would make moving the stand much easier!

 

[MHenrichs48]

The new stand is coming together! Went with 2” steel and we are still planning to add some gussets and posts in the middle. Thanks for the feedback y’all!

 

[MHenrichs48]

Finished result. He also set the gussets back half an inch so I can side it with stained finish plywood and leave some exposed metal. I’m pretty happy with it.

 

[Oughtsix]

Very nicely done! He did a great job welding and smoothing all the welds!

If you decide to leave the metal exposed and this will be a show tank (I think that would look very nice) a few minutes with some Bondo and sanding on each of the joints will give you absolutely perfectly glass smooth joints without any divets or even grinding marks. Bondo cures no quick and sands so easily it takes hardly anytime at all to do this smoothing. I have smoothed joints with bondo like this a lot and it works very well and lasts forever.

Bondo even does an excellent job smoothing joints in wood stands that are going to be painted. Of course I would never use bondo on wood that will be stained or left natural.

Are you going to sink and glue some rare earth magnets flush into the back side of the wooden panels to hold them to the metal frame while still making them easy to remove when you want to?

Are you going to use 3/8" plywood so the panels are set back into the steel frames a bit?

 

[Oughtsix]

... or you could use 1/2" plywood for the panels and route out the corners 1/8" where they cover the gussets which would also set them back into the metal frames a 1/8".

You would have to figure out how to put some kind of nice looking handle to pull the panels off if you decide to go with the rare earth magnetic. You could route finger pockets into the panels (not all the way through the panel of course) for a handle that won't protrude from the front of the panel.

 

[MHenrichs48]

Thanks for the feedback! Helpful stuff. I'll be sure to share more with y'all as I progress. This is a fun project.

Quick question for folks here - Do I need to put anything between the stand and the tank? I was thinking it may be nice to have some kind of plywood or mat in there to cover for any imperfections in how level the stand is. Is that necessary?

I also know that the average wooden stand has trim around the edges, but if I inset the plywood I won't have any rim to "hold" the tank in place. I don't imagine there's a lot of risk that it will slide around once it's full of water and weighs > 1800lbs. Do you all typically do something to prevent shifting on steel stands?

 

[Oughtsix]

On my 185g build I am using a piece of 3/4" plywood with a piece of closed cell camping mat from walmart (the closed cell yoga mats were not long enough) to support the entire tank and help eleviate any pressure points. For your stand I would want 1 continous piece of plywood on the top instead of 2 pieces inset into the metal frame.

Acrylic tanks generally need full level support under the tank. Glass tanks generally need level support around the perimeter.

If you have an acrylic tank I would turn the stand as you are showing it upside down and put a piece of 3/4" plywood on top, then a piece of closed cell foam on top of the plywood.

I don't think there will be any chance of the tank shifting once it is filled.

 

[MHenrichs48]

On my 185g build I am using a piece of 3/4" plywood with a piece of closed cell camping mat from walmart (the closed cell yoga mats were not long enough) to support the entire tank and help eleviate any pressure points. For your stand I would want 1 continous piece of plywood on the top instead of 2 pieces inset into the metal frame.

I don't think there will be any chance of the tank shifting once it is filled.

The tank is glass, so it only needs support around the edge. I was originally going to cover the top with a piece of plywood, but if I leave the exposed metal that would make the edge visible, which isn't ideal. I like the idea of a yoga / camping mat, but I'm curious if the plywood is necessary if the metal is on plane. Does the wood serve more than that?