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DIY Extruded Aluminum Stand & 150 Tank Build


pjmattford

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So I wanted to share my experience building a stand for a new 150 gallon tank I'm working on. I used the same method to build the one for my 80 gallon tank as well!

First step was to measure the new tank and decide what I wanted the dimensions of the stand to be. From here it was just a matter of playing around in Google SketchUp to design the new stand. Great tool that's free and easy to learn, make your mistakes in there before ordering anything! 

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In my experience 45 series 10mm slot extrusion is a great fit for stands from a price to performance standpoint. The website https://www.tnutz.com/ is where I have sourced the aluminum and accessories for my different projects. They cut everything to your specs exactly and ship in a timely manner.  

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It's somewhat time consuming to used the "inside corner gussets" and hammer bolts to connect everything, but it gives the stand great rigidity! I recommend buying additional hammer nuts and bolts off Amazon for attaching other accessories like the power strip pictured as they will be less expensive.

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I'll update this post as I make progress on the build, and feel free to share any questions or feedback if you have experience building with aluminum extrusions as well!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have seen other frames built this way online.   Looks great.  

Thanks for sharing as this gives me an idea for a light mount to hold an 8 bulb ati t5 unit.  It weighs about 40 lbs and not fond of suspending from the ceiling.  The company will cut product to order which is less work for me.   Thought about conduit but i refuse to buy a bender for 45.00.   I like the looks of their product better.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • pjmattford changed the title to DIY Extruded Aluminum Stand & 150 Tank Build
  • 2 weeks later...
17 hours ago, tanknovice said:

Very nice design and layout

I had the aluminum extrusion on a frag tank and never felt comfortable with it seeing your design would have made it more stable

Thank you! I think if I were to go any larger than 150 gallons, the 45 degree corner braces like Tidal Gardens used on their new tank stands would be worth while for extra rigidity. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Tank is cycled and I've moved my "Nemo" inhabitants from their old 80 gallon over so far and a few frags from the other systems. 

Need to pick up a blue light filter that will work with my new phone so sorry if things are a bit washed out!

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