PlanetCatfish.com

There's apparently no commercially available metal stand that will accommodate two 40 gal breeders. Does anyone have any alternative DIY solutions?

Thanks.

Dinyar,
I had several wrought iron stands custom made in Colombia for very little money. You might be surprised how little a welder will charge you to make a nice stand.
-Shane

You will have to make the stand yourself out of 2x4's. Come take a look at my stands.

Mark

If you're keen enough, you could DIY with Angle-iron without the need of a welder. You can bolt Angle-iron together just as easy as timber, but you do need a decent drill.

And personally I'd be going for an Angle-Grinder rather than a hacksaw for cutting lengths (or better still - have everything cut to length at the supplier!).

And wear goggles if angle-grinding, even if you wear specs - the hot flecs will melt into your len's.

Remember to get some flat iron lengths for cross-bracing. I'm not sure about your Hardware Stores, but you should be able to get shaped plastic feet that fit onto the end of Angle-iron (so you don't scratch your floor).

Don't know if Rusty's school has a welding shop, but you might even get a high school kid to build/weld it as a project if you pick up the cost of materials. 2 X 4s certainly work, but angle iron takes up a lot less space, weighs almost nothing, and lasts forever. I have a 7 plus foot long three shelf angle iron stand and, when there are no tanks on it, can easily move it about by myself. Because of the (relatively) short lengths needed for the sort of tank stand you need, many welding shops will have the lengths laying around as scrap.
-Shane

Thanks guys... Angle iron and 2x4s both sound acceptable, though perhaps the former is a neater solution. My main problem is that I need it ASAP, and don't have the time to search for welders etc right now. I may just have to put the tanks on the floor for the time being.

(I hate having to move tanks, even 40 gals. Mine are full of lots of gravel and plants, and I'm afraid of moving them without tearing them down first.)

I find it worth the extra effort to break down the tank. I keep an unopened silicone sealant (the size that fits in a caulking gun) around at all times. I'm such a klutz! I am enjoying the iron stands, though. Easy to clean around them and easy on the wallet. The mega-petstore chains usually keep them in stock, but take please care with the bottom shelf size. It isn't always as listed on the box. There's sometimes crossbracing in the back and it pushes the lower tank forward. I have one iron stand that I can use both levels. The other (2) I can't. So, I put a wood shelf under for storage.
Amanda

It's a VERY minor point, but I love welded stands because you can stick algae magnets onto them to dry. Have had welding jobs done in the past and it was not very expensive.

Breeze blocks with wood across the top are the cheapest super fast and nasty impromptu stands IMHO.

Jools

Jools wrote:[...]Breeze blocks[...]

Is that what we call "cinder blocks" in the US?

Yup, you can get various different grades though, the dozen or so aquaria in my garage are all sat on 3x2 wood run across these blocks, total cost a few quid even with the better quality blocks.
Pete

And stack 2 tanks on "breeze blocks" and 2x4s like this?
______________
| |
| |
| |
+++++++++++
X______________X
X| |X
X| |X
X| |X
+++++++++++
X X

PS: That shows differently from what it should (spaces disappear), but maybe you get the point.

Yup. That's about right. Cinder blocks for vert, wood for the horizontal.

Jools