Fabricating steel stand - which steel do I buy?
 

Ok, so steel is definitely not my forte. I used to be a carpenter by trade, now I'm a true reef junkie. :lol: Anyway, it suddenly dawned on me that hubby has a welder and knows how to weld. :redface: I'm pretty sure 1" square steel tube is plenty for my 36" long 69-gallon tank, but before I go buy the wrong thing, is there a wall thickness or a gauge or a particular name-type I'm looking for? Or is it just a standard thing?

I sent Grizz a PM yesterday. He hasn't replied yet, and I'd like to go get this stuff today.

I used inch and a half with a 3/16th wall thickness on my 65. Overkill to be sure. The thing could hold a tank. My stand however, does not have a centre brace on the front, so I wanted to be sure. Check my build for pics if you're interested. Too bad the Grizz hasn't chimed in. I would recommend no thinner than 3/16.

IMO 1.25" x .100 or .125 wall is ideal, no big ugly radius on the corners yet strong enough to hold up a car

Ok thanks. I don't want it to be overkill. :lol: I want as much room under the sump as possible, even 1/2" would make a difference for me. There really should be no need for a center post along a 36" length, and I'm certainly not game for that.

Hmm, maybe the stands I've been looking at aren't 1" like I thought. I suppose maybe they are bigger than that now that I think of it. Thank you.

stand
 

1-1.5" square tube with at least two braces width-wise at the back for support. an open front should be fine. I took a piece of flat bare as well and drilled a hole in the centre of a piece. then welded a Nut on the one side so a bolt could be put through the other repeated for all the legs on the bottoms as a self levelling idea....
A quick emery cloth rubdown and a primer/blackcoat finish did the trick. A rust sealant primer is better....
my two cents...

I have a 120 sitting on 1.5x1.5x .125w its a very simple design, basically two 4x2 frames one under the tank and one as a base on the floor with the obvious four legs one in each corner. No cross braces or other reinforcement. No deflection that I can see.

to bad you're not in bc, i have a stand for that size tank sitting in my garage

My 6' tank is built on 1" square tubing with a centre brace and 2 diagonal cross braces at each end. This tank has been my project tank for a few years. I'd take a pic but it has been stuffed in the corner and now has so much clutter around it it will take a month to pull out.

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll see what I can find...steel store was closed today anyway. *sigh*
36 x 21"?? Really?

Mines 36x18 but I could extend it pretty easily

yes steel shops don't typically work weekends :wink:

1-1/2" x 1/8" wall is just the minimum I'd go - just looks nice IMO

anything less is like using a 2x2 piece of wood - sure it will hold.... but doesn't look like it would :wink:

Sorry Mindy I hadn't replied yet, I am on my first holiday in 9 yrs in South Africa for 14 days.

You can get away with 1" tube with a minimum of a 1/8" wall thickness. If you are putting any kind of covering on the stand it will help to support it from any movement. If you are concerned about it 1 1/2" x .100 wall tube is the best choice, keeps the stand light but still has more then enough support.

True enough, too bad you're there and I'm here. :lol:

It'll be covered, I don't care it will look like. :D I kind of like the "that won't work" look anyway. HA!

Awesome Greg!!! Have enough fun for me too! Oh, and take pics so you can share them with us! :p

The covering will be attached with magnets, so it will provide no support. I guess I should have mentioned that. :redface:

From everyone's input, I think I'll go with the 1" and get one size up from the 1/8" thickness (whatever that is). Maybe I will put some 45 degree braces in most of the corners too just for poops and giggles. Now I just need to rent a steel chop saw (whatever that's called).

If you have a mitre saw just get a 10" cut off blade.

True. I was thinking the clamp on the steel saws would come in handy while I'm trying to cut 45s. Is there not a lot of pull on the steel when doing 45s? I'll be able to hang onto it ok?

Not sure but I suspect it would be the same as cutting wood. Could always use a c clamp on the fence.

Smrt. I have no steel smrts.

Just think of steel like it's Ironwood. ;) Then your wood smrts will kick in. :)

Ha!

Of course it turns out "the next size up" isn't a common size. So I'm going with 1" with 1.125 thickness. I'll use some bracing. Hopefully it will be ok.

1/8th thickness will be fine. Just tell your hubby not to weld the corners as hot. He'll know what that means.

I think this might be turning into a "me" job. You know, "Let me show you how to do it, honey." In the meantime, I'll show him how to cook dinner. Ya...right. :lol:

These blades are CHEAP, like $8-10 each. They do have a drawback though (unless I'm doing something wrong lol), in that you can't make cut after cut after cut since the blade heats up and then it won't cut - it just stops cutting. I could only make 2-3 cuts through the 1" 0.125 thickness steel and then had to let the blade cool for a bit. I thought it was a crappy blade, so I went and bought another one, and same thing.

Lucky for me, hubby is doing it all. We thought he was done last night, but then we realized that we forgot about the bar we were going to put along the bottom to help support the sump. So, one more piece this morning, and then I can clean it up and paint it. :D