another thing i wanted to do before i got this tank up and running was complete the stand the a presentable level for viewing in my house.
before
basic simple 1" tube frame supported in all corners by little gussets. I wanted to add an additional vertical support on each side in the center. I aslo wanted to add a horizontal brace around where the holes are drilled through the tank.
I am not sure if this was necessary but felt like doing it anyway.
now Due to the fact that i have 22 foot high ceiling about the tank , i did not have the option of hangin my light from the roof .
So I came up with my own light stand based on ideas i have found online .
I went to the local metal shop and bought 9 feet of 1 1/4 inch stainless steel boat hand rail .
Then i took this to a metal fab shop and hand them bend a perfect 90 degree bend on one end.
what i did next was find some seamless steel pipe with basically the exact inside diameter of 1 1/4 inch . My plan was to weld a bracket onto the back of my tank what would except my stainless light holder into it . this would then give me the option to rotate the light stand 360 degrees if i needed .
some pics
with light stand
after then stand was welded up I screwed 3/4 plywood to the top and bottom of the stand. and proceeded to try and figure out how to wrap this metal contraption in wood lol