# NEED IDEAS: improving the good ol' iron stand



## minos64 (Sep 28, 2005)

I have a slightly rusty iron stand(standard issue) for my 75 gal. I've just moved into the new condo, which I renovated and decorated in modern, minimalist style(I'm European, sorry  ). 
All the stands I see at the shops either don't fit into my interior or cost a fortune and still are cheaply made in China(Hagen Osaka 320 for example). So I was wondering if anybody tried to build something around the standard iron stand, like ... cover sides and front with some plastic, or wood/formica or metal sheets. How to handle the details in this case - the front access,hardware,materials, etc. If anyone has done it or just may have some good ideas on how to do it, PLEASE share !!! If you have pictures it would be totally awesome.
Thank you !


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I paid good money (even if it was all from selling Tropheus juvies) for what must have been the first metal stand imported from China. It was so crappy, it didn't even quite fit under the tank it was designed for (150 gallon). I used narrow oak bullnose (board that is used to transition from an oak floor to the top of an oak stairs) to cover horizontals and it could have been used on the legs if they had been ugly, but they looked OK.


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## minos64 (Sep 28, 2005)

C'mon, guys! No ideas at all? :-?


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

maybe u could give us an idea of what ure thinking and we can go from that...im drawing a complete blank...also a picture of ure stand would help for a better perspective.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

minos64 said:


> C'mon, guys! No ideas at all? :-?


 You mentioned minimalist modern style. The oak bullnose has a slot in it that the metal fits into. It is probably the simplest way to convert the metal stand to a wood appearance without converting it to a cabinet style. If you don't mind a cabinet look, you can attach three pieces of plywood together so that they cover the front and ends of the stand. If you cut miters, it will look like a solid block of wood. To access the bottom area, you just tip the plywood over or pull it away.


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## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Why not sand down the stand slightly and spray paint it black or silver, that might fit in more with a "minimalist" look that wood.


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## vaypourus (May 20, 2008)

I considered building a wood frame around the wrought iron stand I had...I gave up on the idea as there really was not a good way to attach the wood to the stand securely as I had hoped. I ended up ditching the metal stand and buying a cheap pine all glass stand.

If I could do it over again, I would definitely build a stand using oak veneer plywood. It can be done at a good price if you are handy with woodworking.


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## Maxima308 (Jun 6, 2009)

What if you ran some 2x4 around the stand top and bottom attach by drilling and running a bolt through, make sure to counter sink the 2x4. That would basically give you horizontal studs that you could attach plywood. Of course this is going to increase the overall dimensions of the stand so i would also run some trim along the top, thus giving you a 2" ledge at the top of the stand.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Maxima308 said:


> What if you ran some 2x4 around the stand top and bottom attach by drilling and running a bolt through, make sure to counter sink the 2x4. That would basically give you horizontal studs that you could attach plywood. Of course this is going to increase the overall dimensions of the stand so i would also run some trim along the top, thus giving you a 2" ledge at the top of the stand.


I think he said he ditched the metal stand and bought one he didn't have to modify. Kind of intersting he couldn't attach wood to the metal, since the oak bullnose I used just snapped in place over the metal.


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## minos64 (Sep 28, 2005)

Thank you very much everybody for your input !

Mcdaphnia: First, I'm sorry I'm not really a very handy type of guy. I've googled "bullnose" and now at least know what it is. Still don't clearly understand why would I cover the metal with wood? The 3 pieces of plywood idea would probably work, but details are important to make it practical and elegant. I wouldn't want to pull away this thing every time I needed access to my filter or other equipment/tank at the bottom...

football mom: It is painted black. My goal is to make the filter,hoses,wires,small tank on the bottom shelf invisible but easily accessible and get all the attention on the 75 gal showtank on top.

BRANT13: Please re-read my original post. 
Here are the esthetics I'm after - http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/ 
Please check out their galleries, I think these guys are awesome. (Wish they were closer from my city ... and my budget )
My stand is a standard L-shaped(1"x1") wrought iron. Looks like this one http://www.animalatlanta.com/fishpa7.jpg

Again, thanks to EVERYONE who's answered. Please throw any more ideas you may have at me. Maybe some plastic materials or metal or metallic finish or any combination of the above?? Hardware,details,etc.

Cheers,

Greg


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Greg, the oak bullnose has a modern, sort of Scandinavian look to it once it's snapped onto the metal frame, especially since I left the wood natural. I mentioned a couple ideas, but they were not the one you had in mind. Maybe they'll work for someone else.


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## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

I have 3 black iron stands. I wanted my fishroom to be Carribbean colors so I had painted the walls a very bright blue and got a bright royal blue spraypaint at home depot. Then bought a small vial of blue glitter at Hobby Lobby for about $3. I laid the stand on the ground on its back. Then as I was spraying it, i sprinkled the glitter (pretty heavily cuz some falls off) on the wet spraypaint. Super cheap and it looks GREAT!!! Turned out better than expected. and I only needed the one vial of glitter for all 3 stands. Used 4 cans of spraypaint (two coats) -glitter only after second coat and you gotta be fast cuz it dries quick.

oh- and once the paint dries, the glitter stays put.


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## minos64 (Sep 28, 2005)

Awesome!!!  :thumb: Got any pictures??


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## BigFish77 (Feb 1, 2009)

I found a cheap easy fix, I would usually sand and prep the stand and simply spray paint it. Then, what I did to hide everything was to use a velcro that has tape on either side and attach the velcro around the top lip of the stand and attach the other piece of velcro to any given fabric. You can then run fabric around the stand while providing easy access in and out of the stand. It can be washed etc or even changed for color preferences. Does that help?


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## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

I had rust and sticky tape stuff on my stands (they were free used ones) and I didnt prep them at all. I got lucky I guess. Finished all 3 in the garage in about 45 min and they were dry a few hours later.


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## Chrispy (Apr 8, 2006)

That extra space means you can put more tanks on it!


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## minos64 (Sep 28, 2005)

BigFish77 - yeah, this was always my Plan B. Welcro + fabric or welcro + some light plastic panels. Since I have no patience, I've already got my tank setup on my metal stand and will have to cover it up later on. Any suggestions on where to get the fabric and how to deal with it?
I'd have to take it to the seemstress to cut it to the sizes?


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## beachtan (Sep 25, 2008)

Hobby lobby and even Walmart have cheap fabric now - and you can buy special stuff in that department that is "sew-free hemline" type glue. I've even seen a type of tape that will work so you dont have to sew at all. just cut as straight as you can and fold it over about an inch and iron the fold , then tape or glue it in place.

I used paint and glitter so I could but two tanks on my stands.

Good luck!


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