Questions about 80/20 stands

lacrosseboss18 · Jun 17, 2017

I'm thinking about ordering an 80/20 stand for my 225 tank.
1. Anyone have a company they recommend?
2. Anyone ever try and make one themselves? If so where did you order your materials from?
3. Most important: is there a way to skin these stands and if so how is it done? Any how tos?
Thanks a lot

Shaddow_wolf169 · Jun 17, 2017

Are you talking metal / wood

reefwiser · Jun 17, 2017

You can order 80/20 off Amazon. 80/20 is a company[emoji3] I just use their tools on their website to get the parts needed. I used industrial Velcro to secure a plastic to the stand easy to pull off.

Txdragonslayer · Jun 18, 2017

reefwiser said:
You can order 80/20 off Amazon. 80/20 is a company[emoji3] I just use their tools on their website to get the parts needed. I used industrial Velcro to secure a plastic to the stand easy to pull off.

I was gonna say this same thing,. I am ordering lil by lil off Amazon and plan on skinning it with wood either with magnets, or they also have some corner mounts to screw in the wood for a good finish

clsanchez77 · Jun 18, 2017

I ordered directly from 8020.net to build a removable light rack and I have four Hydra 26's and two 48" HO tubes all mounted on it. I did think about doing a stand but thought that was too much money and used 3/4" plywood instead.

Yes, you definitely can skin it. There are several official options to install veneer tabs and/or brackets that then allow you to install whatever veneer your want, or you can go with typical 8020 skins, which I believe are aluminum or HDPE (colored).

https://www.8020.net
https://8020.net/catalog/category/view/s/shop/id/837/?cat=708
https://8020.net/catalog/category/view/s/shop/id/837/?cat=731
https://8020.net/catalog/category/view/s/shop/id/837/?cat=1797

I have thought about using 8020 to building a rolling water changing station. This would include a pump, convenance outlet, a 20 gallon salt reservoir, 20 gallon waste reservoir and a sediment/carbon filter for recycling and also have internal plumbing and valves so I could suck from either reservoir or an external hose and then discharge similar.

BZOFIQ · Apr 3, 2018

Did you ever build this stand?

lacrosseboss18 · Apr 3, 2018

No I didn’t. Wish I had. Maybe I’ll make one for another project

Picesduh · Jul 15, 2018

I ended up just the t slot aluminum for my build. Check it out and get some inspiration

BZOFIQ · Jul 17, 2018

Picesduh said:
I ended up just the t slot aluminum for my build. Check it out and get some inspiration

Where can I check it? Is there a picture in your post that I am not seeing?

BZOFIQ · Jul 17, 2018

xoomercom said:
Where can I check it? Is there a picture in your post that I am not seeing?

Never mind, i found your build thread through a link in your sig

Picesduh · Jul 17, 2018

xoomercom said:
Where can I check it? Is there a picture in your post that I am not seeing?

My build thread is in my signature
Here are some pictures:

BZOFIQ · Jul 17, 2018

Picesduh said:
My build thread is in my signature
Here are some pictures:

Just wanted to see what people build and how it was engineered. I too ordered an ALU stand from FramingTech about 2 weeks ago. Can't wait to receive it!

BZOFIQ · Jul 17, 2018

Picesduh said:
My build thread is in my signature
Here are some pictures:

BTW that looks great, These stands look so clean.

Picesduh · Jul 19, 2018

Thanks! All the profiles and screws and fasteners add up thou to a pretty heafty price. I’m almost 1.5K in on this stand and its not complete yet.

BZOFIQ · Jul 19, 2018

Picesduh said:
Thanks! All the profiles and screws and fasteners add up thou to a pretty heafty price. I’m almost 1.5K in on this stand and its not complete yet.

What size are your profiles? $1500 seems excessive; are you doing everything yourself or did you go through a service?

Picesduh · Jul 23, 2018

There is a lot of stuff you don’t see. Each leveled leg and leg bracket costs 45$. I have seven legs. I’m using 1530 for most of it but each leg is 3030. I’m building it all myself with help from family

LBReefer · Jul 23, 2018

Anyone have a good design for light mounts?

MaddyP · Jul 23, 2018

I order all my extruded aluminum from Misumi US. Much more affordable with many more choices of profiles/hardware.

https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/mech/M1500000000/

BZOFIQ · Jul 23, 2018

Picesduh said:
There is a lot of stuff you don’t see. Each leveled leg and leg bracket costs 45$. I have seven legs. I’m using 1530 for most of it but each leg is 3030. I’m building it all myself with help from family

I too looked at DIY but the hardware turned out to be insanely expensive; it's all those little screws etc that quickly add up. I looked on ebay and craigslist for some used or left-over profiles; but its the hardware that kills.

I ordered from FramingTech, provided my weights for the 250-Gallon DP and 110-Gallon Sump, which I overestimated, they calculated everything with a factor of 2.0 plus and they machine it for internal fasteners.

My stand is going to be 46" tall (finally some proper height for viewing!), I have 8 Legs, Top Frame, Bottom Frame and top cross braces all from 45x90! profile, bottom cross braces are 45x45, I paid less than you've spent so far.

I am NOT telling you this to upset you; like you I though DIY is cheaper; not always the case. Probably another week and the stand should be here, I'll post pics once assembled.

Needless to say, as already stated; you've built a great looking stand!