# ADA Tank Stand



## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Here are a couple pics of my almost complete stand for my ADA tank. I still have to drill a hole for the custom stand that will suspend the light, a hole in the back for the Coralife timer/surge protector and probably paint the inside. Considering I have never built a piece of furniture or worked with laminate before I am very pleased with the way it turned out. I was able to complete it in about 10 hours. The last picture is one of my over curious cats inspecting the fish house to make sure it will be suitable


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

That turned out looking really nice there Ajax. Any chance you documented the whole process? I've seen a few others on here hoping to build their own ADA style stand as well.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Looks very nice I have one question though, did you use palstic laminate, the kind that goes on with contact adhesive? If so, it does not look like you laminated the inside. This may lead to trouble later as the parts will be very unstable and may lead to warping or cupping in the future. Be careful of having a flat bottomed tank on the top if it cups as it could create pressure points. Adding laminate to the inside or sealing it really, really, really well would solve the issue.

Sorry to sound discouraging, but I would hate to see something bad happen later becasue no one said anything. It looks very sharp though and I woudl say you did a great job for your first time.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

AaronT said:


> That turned out looking really nice there Ajax. Any chance you documented the whole process? I've seen a few others on here hoping to build their own ADA style stand as well.


Thanks....I'm pretty proud of it. I didn't take any in progress shots, but I did draw all the pieces up on Autocad and made an instruction sheet that I followed.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Can you post the drawings and instruction sheet? A lot of us would be very interested, I'm sure. I second what Dennis posted about warping. I have made tool jigs with laminated surfaces on only one side, and no matter what I tried, they warped. So, I switched to laminating the bad sides with cheap laminate, even pieces. You could cut some cheap laminate a bit smaller than the inside surfaces and should be able to contact cement them on close enough to perfect fit to stop the warping. The computer desk I am working at is made that way - no warping at all.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

dennis said:


> Looks very nice I have one question though, did you use palstic laminate, the kind that goes on with contact adhesive? If so, it does not look like you laminated the inside. This may lead to trouble later as the parts will be very unstable and may lead to warping or cupping in the future. Be careful of having a flat bottomed tank on the top if it cups as it could create pressure points. Adding laminate to the inside or sealing it really, really, really well would solve the issue.
> 
> Sorry to sound discouraging, but I would hate to see something bad happen later becasue no one said anything. It looks very sharp though and I woudl say you did a great job for your first time.


Hmmmm....OK now you got me worried [smilie=l: I did some calculations (before I built it) using a programming software I have, and it should be able to hold a little more than 300lbs. right in the center. I have the weight of my tank with water, gravel & hardscape calculated to 187lbs. I guess my biggest concerns with my design is that the back of the tank will not be sitting directly over the back board, and I only used screws to fasten it together. Do you think paint alone will be enough to seal it? I figured with that small of a tank the weight issue really wouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the advice!


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> Can you post the drawings and instruction sheet? A lot of us would be very interested, I'm sure. I second what Dennis posted about warping. I have made tool jigs with laminated surfaces on only one side, and no matter what I tried, they warped. So, I switched to laminating the bad sides with cheap laminate, even pieces. You could cut some cheap laminate a bit smaller than the inside surfaces and should be able to contact cement them on close enough to perfect fit to stop the warping. The computer desk I am working at is made that way - no warping at all.


I'll have to take the drawings home & scan them, so I can post them as a .jpg file, and I'll included the instructions as well. I have a few pieces of laminate left, but not enough to do the back. I had planned to laminate the inside if I had enough left just for asthetic reasons. I don't think I could slap just any ol' piece in there either because I'm a machinist [smilie=l: Thanks for all the help guys!


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

I would not worry about it holding the wieght of the tank, it should do that fine. My concern was that if the stand top warps, pressure points can be created that stress the bottom panel of glass. That is the reason most rimless glass tank manufacturers specify the styrofoam be placed under the tank.

Idealy, I would take hoppy's suggestion and laminate the inside. If you are a machinist, I know you can cut the inner peices to a perfect size and the contact them on with no problem I am a professional furniture maker so I understand not being able to just "piece" something in; but I would recommend you add laminate to the inside. The other option would be to seal with an epoxy finish or many coats of spar varnish, but laminate would be easier and cheaper in the end


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

That really looks great. One suggestion, don't use the Coralife timers. Alot of times people have complained that they have either melted or have even caught fire. Just use a GFCI to be safe.

Such as in the following thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/e...timer-hazardous.html?highlight=Coralife+Timer


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Raul-7 said:


> That really looks great. One suggestion, don't use the Coralife timers. Alot of times people have complained that they have either melted or have even caught fire. Just use a GFCI to be safe.
> 
> Such as in the following thread: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/e...timer-hazardous.html?highlight=Coralife+Timer


I heard about that fire from a guy at the LFS. He told me that with the new digital timers that most of the problems were solved. Have you heard of any of those going bad/catching fire? I always change my wall outlet to a GFCI for my tanks just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the info!


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## chrisl (May 24, 2004)

Nice job Ajax! Clean and it matches the tank nicely.


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

I really like the look of ADA stands, I wanted to make one myself but never had the time to plan things out, it was all about setting up the tank  ... maybe in the future I will learn from my past and start with something like you have. It looks like you are starting out just like a pro!


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Thanks guys! Appreciate the comments. Here are some pics of the light stand. It is raw metal in the pics, but was bead blasted & is being clear coated tonight. I made it so that I can swing it out of the way when I am doing maintenance 8)


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

Man thats freaking looking nice John, how awesome does that look dude! ... How were you able to attach the light fixture to the metal bar? This is coming along very nicely, I can't wait until you start planting this sucka up!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Before you fill the tank with water I suggest a simple test of the stand: Your tank looks like about a 20 gallon tank, which would weigh around 175 pounds with water in it. If your weight is about that, take a piece of plywood or MDF the size of your tank bottom, put it on the stand and sit on it. Watch to see if the top deflects in the middle. If it does your tank will only be supported by the ends, and I don't think that is what you want. You can correct that by adding a couple of strips of plywood (preferable) or MDF (not so good) vertically under the top from end to end to brace it. If they are 3-4" wide they should be adequate, and they will only be slightly visible with the door open.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Jdinh04 said:


> Man thats freaking looking nice John, how awesome does that look dude! ... How were you able to attach the light fixture to the metal bar? This is coming along very nicely, I can't wait until you start planting this sucka up!


Thanks man! I'm really liking it too. If you look real close at the 1st 2 pics you can see what looks like buttons. I took 4 hex head bolts, and turned the heads down to 0.380 dia. x 0.062 thk., so that they would slide into the slots on the light fixture that were made for the legs. I drilled & tapped the holes in the bar, so they would screw right in. I prolly could've gone with fewer bolts, but I have cats that I KNOW will be on top of that thing!


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

hoppycalif said:


> Before you fill the tank with water I suggest a simple test of the stand: Your tank looks like about a 20 gallon tank, which would weigh around 175 pounds with water in it. If your weight is about that, take a piece of plywood or MDF the size of your tank bottom, put it on the stand and sit on it. Watch to see if the top deflects in the middle. If it does your tank will only be supported by the ends, and I don't think that is what you want. You can correct that by adding a couple of strips of plywood (preferable) or MDF (not so good) vertically under the top from end to end to brace it. If they are 3-4" wide they should be adequate, and they will only be slightly visible with the door open.


I calculated the total weight with water, gravel & hardscape @ 187lbs. I weigh 176. I put the stand up on our granite block, sat on it & measured the difference with a digital height gage. It deflected 0.047, so I built a little leg (out of 1"x2" lumber) that will go in the middle to support the center.


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## anthonysquire (Mar 15, 2006)

that stand looks great. i especially like how you can swing the light out of the way. is there any way you could run the light cord through the light stand? that would be super clean looking. looks great as is though!


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

anthonysquire said:


> that stand looks great. i especially like how you can swing the light out of the way. is there any way you could run the light cord through the light stand? that would be super clean looking. looks great as is though!


If I were to copy his arm, I'd use hollow aluminum and run the cord within.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

John P. said:


> If I were to copy his arm, I'd use hollow aluminum and run the cord within.


You'd have to have 1-1/2" I.D. tubing minimum to do it because of the plug. Which would be way to big for me. I checked  The size would also depend on how much the tubing collapsed when you bend it. I took a ball nose end mill, and milled a slot down the back side that the cord fits into. That 4th pic only has a twist tie holding the cord so that I could check the fit. The cord is only visible along the very top.


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## jsenske (Mar 15, 2004)

You could cut the plug, route just the cord, then attach a new plug. Void your warranty? YES, but do-able. We have to do that sometimes on custom install situations.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

jsenske said:


> You could cut the plug, route just the cord, then attach a new plug. Void your warranty? YES, but do-able. We have to do that sometimes on custom install situations.


True, I probably could've pulled it apart and detatched the wire too, now that you mention it. I guess my main concern was the "cat factor". I wanted to make sure that when (not if :lol: ) they jump up on it, it wouldn't budge. Probably went a little over board with the solid steel, but I know that thing ain't breaking or bending  They haven't payed too much attention to it yet. I'm putting fish in there this weekend, and I know they are going to be curious about the fish!


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## ianiwane (May 6, 2005)

Have you sealed the inside at all? If you get any water in the inside it will warp/deform if it is not sealed.


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

Here is some more info. on the Light fixture support for those that are interested in making one. I made it from a piece of 3/4" dia. 4140 carbon steel bar. I drew the stand and tank up on an auto cad program to figure out the angle of the bends. I centered the bulbs over the center of the tank instead of the fixture being centered over the tank like the Coralife legs do. I used a torch, protractor and a vise to bend the bar at the right angles. After that I drilled & tapped (4) 7mm holes along the length of the bar. I took (4) 7mm hex head bolts and turned the heads down to 0.380 dia. x 0.065 thick. The reason for using 7mm bolts is because it is 0.265 dia., and the slot in the Coralife fixture is 0.29. It was the closest I could get to that. A 1/4-20 bolt would probably work fine, but it would be a little more sloppy. This is the perfect size to slide in the slots on the back side (or front side) of the Coralife fixture. Screw the bolts in so that they are all the same height from the bar, and then slide the fixture over them. The fixture is very sturdy, and haven't had it budge yet.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Nice job! Machinists are some of my favorite people!


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## diepvan (Aug 31, 2006)

update pix?


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## Ajax (Apr 3, 2006)

diepvan said:


> update pix?


On the tank or the stand? The stand is complete. The tank should be done with the current scape in about 2 months I believe. Maybe less if the HC covers quickly. This is the link to the thread in the aquascaping forum: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/27579-60cm-scape.html


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