# How can I dress up a tube steel stand



## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

I am about to place an order for a tube steel stand for a five foot wide aquarium.
I do not want to wrap the the stand in in wood. and use typical wood cabinet doors.
I want to be able to have full access below the aquarium. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions that would look good and allow full access. The only thing I have thought of is some type of lightweight panel that could be drill to hang onto some type of anchor. I not sure how to pull this off & I am looking for ideas. Maybe you have been down this road or have seen something that would fit my requirements. Thanks for your thoughts.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Have you considered putting a cloth skirt around the stand? I vaguely recall doing that many years ago, with a black steel stand. Or, think of some rare earth magnets on wood panels. The magnets can be extremely powerful.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

You could always just use cloth.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

A picture of the stand would help.


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## vtran86 (Mar 4, 2016)

Cloth would be the easiest. You could use some plastic panels with strong magnets to hold it in place


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Thank you for your thoughts. I appreciate it. Have a great week


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

Michael said:


> A picture of the stand would help.


The stand has not been built yet Michael. I wanted to get some ideas before ordering. The stand will be36 inches high, with a foot print of 5' x 2'. &#128526;it's a rectangle


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

When you say tube steel I'm thinking about round tubes like pipes. If they are using square channels that are thick enough you can easily put wood paneling over it. 

Have you thought about making a stand from wood?


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

TropTrea said:


> When you say tube steel I'm thinking about round tubes like pipes. If they are using square channels that are thick enough you can easily put wood paneling over it.
> 
> Have you thought about making a stand from wood?


JHi,
Thanks for your reply :-0
Tube steel is either square or rectangular steel but not tubular (that would be a pipe). It is very strong material and if you know your load you can build a very sturdy stand. This stand will be around for years and I know water and wood do not mix. This is why it will be powder coated. I want to have plenty of access without a face frame. Additionally a wood fish will not look good where I am putting it.

I will post the stand once it is built.

A BIG Thanks for some great ideas from the community.


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## asad_200113 (Aug 24, 2017)

You could use some Formica which is found at hardware stores in order to wrap the stand. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Functional (Jan 24, 2018)

Go take a look at my tank journal. I built some wood panels that attach with magnets. All in all I think it cost $30-40 and could be knocked out in a morning.


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