# Steel Tubing Stand for 185 Gallon Tank



## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

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*


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I can't advise on the build but definitely looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

Check out This topic from the MFK forum for a guy that builds most of his stands out of 2x2x 1/8" box tubing for some additional ideas. You may even be able to lose one of the front and rear vertical supports using his methods.

If you ever have a plan for a sump, the end struts will block access to installation.


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Deeda said:


> I can't advise on the build but definitely looking forward to seeing what you end up with.
> 
> Check out This topic from the MFK forum for a guy that builds most of his stands out of 2x2x 1/8" box tubing for some additional ideas. You may even be able to lose one of the front and rear vertical supports using his methods.
> 
> If you ever have a plan for a sump, the end struts will block access to installation.


Awesome reference, thanks! That stand builder is impressive. I posted a question there too, we'll see what he says.

I do plan on having a sump, and I think my 40 breeder sump would fit just fine under there. I honestly think I could even get a full 4ft 55 gallon if I wanted. Definitely something to be careful of when planning it out though!


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Ended up getting some great feedback from the MFK community, but I thought I'd follow up with y'all here to show you where I ended up.










The stand is built from 2" steel tubing with 1/8" walls. It's solid as can be. I had a friend do the welding, and he's pretty amazing at it. It's set up with the bars on the bottom so I can lay a piece of plywood on the base to hold my sump. He also put the corner gussets back 1/2" so I can inset finish plywood there when I finish it. I think it looks cool enough that I'd like to leave the metal exposed for the final product. I'll keep some updates coming as this progresses. I'm pretty excited with the results so far.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the update here as well, I do love the look of the stand and am looking forward to more updates on both forums.


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## jcover (Apr 18, 2014)

That looks great! I'd paint it just because of the possibility of rust forming.


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## Welder (Oct 27, 2019)

Looks good. Have you thought about cleaning off the metal and just lacquer it? This should give you a nice finish without the need to powder coat. It's what I plan to do with mine but you are ahead of me build wise.

Meaty framework btw. I say that, mine is going for a smaller tank. Flex was less than 1mm without corner braces when all calculated. Free software online but cannot remember the program name


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Welder said:


> Looks good. Have you thought about cleaning off the metal and just lacquer it? This should give you a nice finish without the need to powder coat. It's what I plan to do with mine but you are ahead of me build wise.
> 
> Meaty framework btw. I say that, mine is going for a smaller tank. Flex was less than 1mm without corner braces when all calculated. Free software online but cannot remember the program name


I actually did what you were suggesting Welder -- I used a "hammered" rustoleum and hand painted the whole frame. The next step is to build doors and sides for it. I'm doing those out of some old barnwood my wife got. More to come after that. I was holding off on sending the next picture because of the terrible mess behind the tank, but I'm probably due for an update.


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## Welder (Oct 27, 2019)

Great minds. Mine is going to be a lacquered bit of bright steel. 
At least you have space in your garage. If I could actually step foot in mine it would be nice. All my work will be done on the patio.


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Built some doors for the stand this weekend out of some barn wood we had leftover from a bar project. I think this is going to look really nice when it's finished


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Looking great!


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Finished the stand this weekend!

*Side View*









*Inside View*









*Front View*









Need to do a bit more work on the tank itself before I can get it on the stand, but I'm pretty happy with this milestone.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I really love the look of the finished stand and the way the doors swing wide for access!! Are you considering painting the inside wood to lighten up the interior once the tank is on the stand?


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

Deeda said:


> I really love the look of the finished stand and the way the doors swing wide for access!! Are you considering painting the inside wood to lighten up the interior once the tank is on the stand?


I honestly haven't put much thought into what's next yet since it was quite a bit of work to get here.  That's a good call though -- A coat of white paint on those would lighten up the interior and would also help prevent moisture from causing problems with the wood. I should probably do that before getting the sump in there.


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## Rockfella (Aug 4, 2021)

Boy what finish!!! Stunning!


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## Trademark (Dec 31, 2016)

WOW, that’s nice, and it will be one of a kind!!!


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