Another stand question

[mj1333]

Looks like I am going to be setting up my 240 again, FINALLY, and I have some questons about the stand. The tank is 8'x2' and the stand is about an inch wider and made of steel tubing. It has levelers on the bottom but I want to take them off. I put laminate flooring in, (the reason for breaking it down). It was on carpet with concrete flooring underneath before. I am going to skin the stand am thinking about taking the levelers off and filling in the space around the bottom of the stand with 2x4's and a 5/8" or 3/4" piece of plywood on the bottom. The reason being is to distribute the weight more evenly instead of having all the weight (there will be well over 2,000 lbs on it) on the 6 feet and making holes in my floor.
The question I have is that my floor is about 3/16"-1/4 out of level width wise. Think that will cause any issues with the tank or stand? Here is a pic of the stand to give an idea of what I am working with. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww265/mjones1333/DSC_0196.jpg

[davocean]

If it were me I would remove those levelers like you mentioned, and I'd also add the 2x's and ply bottom, and I'd line it w/ pond liner or even linoleum just to keep spills off floor.
I'd use shims to level the tank underneath the new wood bottom.
Make sure to keep some extra laminant flooring stashed in case they stop making it and you need to repair down the road when selling the house or whatever.

[mj1333]

Thanks Dave. I'm way ahead of ya on the extra flooring. I purchased about 3 extra boxes just for that. How would i apply the pond liner? There will also be a piece of 3/4" ply on the top of that bottom shelf. I am gonna caulk that when I skin the stand and put about a 2"-3" lip around the bottom to catch any spills. Shouldn't be a problem though. All my equipment is going to be in the garage. The stand will mostly be just for storage....Unless I decide to incorperate a couple of viewing windows in the doors or side of the stand and throw a couple 40g's down there. :rolleyes:. Too many options.

EDIT: Just wish I woulda thought of leveling at least that part of the floor when i put the flooring in. :)

[davocean]

If you're going to do it that way maybe no need for liner then, maybe just caulk and maybe prime for small spills.
I think I would at least do a small frag tank down below, but maybe that is going in garage too.
After you shim it level, just base board or trim it to hide the shims.

[mj1333]

I'm not sure if the shim thing is gonna work. The tank will be going between a wall and a step up to my entrance. It just barely fits in between. It will be pretty hard to get into position to lift/shim the stand when it is in it's spot. i may just have to try to scribe the
2x's to mach th floor as close as I can. Otherwise it will just be
1/4" out of level. top will be flat though so it should be ok??

[davocean]

I would definitely do what you can to make it as close to level as you can now before you get it in place and fill it.

[mj1333]

I'm sure I'll be able to get within 1/8 at 8' across.

[N2REEFS]

How about cutting the feet off and have the lower frame sit directly on the ground. If you are worried it will lower the stand too much you can add another 1 1/2" square tubing frame below (I'm assuming that 1 1/2' frame base in the picture). There are more options beyond that. PM me if you want to discuss more. I can help you out with the metal fab and will probably take a few hours to knock out. Pretty straight forward.

[mj1333]

How about cutting the feet off and have the lower frame sit directly on the ground. If you are worried it will lower the stand too much you can add another 1 1/2" square tubing frame below (I'm assuming that 1 1/2' frame base in the picture). There are more options beyond that. PM me if you want to discuss more. I can help you out with the metal fab and will probably take a few hours to knock out. Pretty straight forward.

I thought about just cutting off the legs and just putting plywood on the bottom, but as you stated, I do like the height. I figured it would be easier and more economical to just use the 2x4's or even 2x3's around the base. I am on a budget for this also. (I know, budget is not a good word in this hobby :) ) Thanks for the tip though. If I decide to go that route I will let you know.
One other thing. I am going to paint the stand again. i used that plasticoat spray from Home depot the first time I painted it. I am just going to use rustoleum this time and apply it with a roller or brush. They told me at HD that I need to use oil based rather than water based to paint over the plasticoat because it is enamel. Should this make a differance and If I do put a tank under the stand will the oil based paint affect it in any way?

[jaysonsd]

can't stay away huh :) glad you're back into it!

[N2REEFS]

I thought about just cutting off the legs and just putting plywood on the bottom, but as you stated, I do like the height. I figured it would be easier and more economical to just use the 2x4's or even 2x3's around the base. I am on a budget for this also. (I know, budget is not a good word in this hobby :) ) Thanks for the tip though. If I decide to go that route I will let you know.
One other thing. I am going to paint the stand again. i used that plasticoat spray from Home depot the first time I painted it. I am just going to use rustoleum this time and apply it with a roller or brush. They told me at HD that I need to use oil based rather than water based to paint over the plasticoat because it is enamel. Should this make a differance and If I do put a tank under the stand will the oil based paint affect it in any way?

One thing to consider when using the 2x4 is it may compress under the weight a little. Metal won't compress. Not sure what you consider cheap but you can call IMS (Industrial Metal Supply) and get a quote for size metal currently used on the tank. You'll need the square tubing size (1 1/2"?) and the guage (thickness). They usually come in 10 or 20 foot lengths. It may be cheaper than you think.

Not sure about the paint but I know some paints don't adhere to other types of paint that well. Just can't remember which ones. Could you use more plasticoat instead of the rustoleum?

[mj1333]

can't stay away huh :) glad you're back into it!

Yeah, tough to stay away. Wasn't really all by choice though. Woulda been tough to put in laminate flooring without breaking down the tank. (I know, coulda just left the carpet under the tank, but I think that woulda been cheesy) I look at this as an opportunity to redesign it the way I want, but thanks for the welcome back!



One thing to consider when using the 2x4 is it may compress under the weight a little. Metal won't compress. Not sure what you consider cheap but you can call IMS (Industrial Metal Supply) and get a quote for size metal currently used on the tank. You'll need the square tubing size (1 1/2"?) and the guage (thickness). They usually come in 10 or 20 foot lengths. It may be cheaper than you think.

Not sure about the paint but I know some paints don't adhere to other types of paint that well. Just can't remember which ones. Could you use more plasticoat instead of the rustoleum?

First thing I wanna do is take the levelers out, put it on a piece of plywood and set it in position, see how level/out of level it is and go from there. The biggest problem now is moving it by myself. Basically, I can't. When I do, I'll let you know and in the meantime I'll give IMS a call and get a price on the tubing. As far as the paint, I have already ground off alot of water stains/rust from spills and splash under the stand. There was quite a bit, and I'm still working on it, but it doesn't seem to have penetrated the steel. The plasti-dip (it wasn't plasti-coat) did a pretty good job. I would love to use it again, but it's like $8 a spraycan and I think I recall using 4-5 cans and the fumes from the overspray was horrible. I'm surprised none of my neaighbors complained. I'm looking around for the brush on type, but it will probably be just as much if not more. BTW i found out it's latex based so the rustoleum should be ok and like I said before, there should be nothing under there except a frag tank like Dave suggested.
What i would really love to do is get it powder coated.

EDIT: I just called RW Little in San Diego and they said they could sandblast and powder coat it for around $200!! I might wait a week or 2 and just do that. It would save me any more grinding (I spent around 2 hours on it yesterday), paint, time, etc..

[N2REEFS]

Ys, stripping paint is no fun. I was going to suggest the powder coating. Did you talk to Randy down there? If you decide to go the metal route, do all the welding before you get it powder coated.

EDIT: I just called RW Little in San Diego and they said they could sandblast and powder coat it for around $200!! I might wait a week or 2 and just do that. It would save me any more grinding (I spent around 2 hours on it yesterday), paint, time, etc..[/QUOTE]

[JohnnyAirtime]

Let me know if you need some modifications done to your stand...

I'm certified in MIG/TIG and Oxy welding... and own a Plasma Cutter and other "shop" tools to get the job done. I don't do "shady" cheap work... but, you'll never have to worry about it failing on ya. No overhead either as I'd do it at my house for ya.

There's several powder coaters here in SD that can blast it for you. Call around, as prices VARY greatly. And I too use IMS for all my metal needs.

[N2REEFS]

Hey Mark,

How's the stand coming along?

[mj1333]

Haven't really had a chance to work on it since I was at your place. Been busy with work and had some other unexpected expenses. Thanks for all your help btw. I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'l be able to get something done on it soon. Just waiting for a little more cash and a few less expenses. I did find a place online for the panels for it at a pretty good price. I'm also thinkink of getting a bigger tank. Same footprint just a little taller.