Should I replace my stand?

[MuralReef]

Here is the background information. I currently have a 360 gallon reef tank in my classroom. The tank is acrylic. The dimensions are 4' X 6' X 2' deep. It has been set up for about 5 years. I bought the tank used. At that time the seams were all solid with no indications of any imperfections. About two years ago one of the back seams began to separate. It was in the overflow so I drained the tank below the level of the overflow cleaned it and put in a 1" X 1" piece of acrylic that ran from the top to the bottom and this fixed the problem. Until January of this year when the seam on the front of the tank on the same side began to fail. When I set up the tank I made sure it was level from about every angle you could think of since I had friends that had failed to do so with catastrophic results. I am currently planning on replacing the tank with a glass tank because this is the second time I have had an acrylic tank fail and I am over it. The current stand is a welded steel stand with a plywood top which is covered by a sheet of foam insulation. Which leads me to my question, should I replace my stand? If you were replacing the tank would you replace the stand?

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

I wish the Marine Biology Club I sponsor had a tank that big.

If you are getting the same tank dimensions and the stand shows no signs of degradation I would keep the stand, might give it a face lift if it need one while it is sans tank.

 

[MuralReef]

I wish the Marine Biology Club I sponsor had a tank that big.

If you are getting the same tank dimensions and the stand shows no signs of degradation I would keep the stand, might give it a face lift if it need one while it is sans tank.

It is nice! The PTA, CORAL, and my local club has been very supportive. I am planning on sanding and repainting it or getting it powder coated.

 

[Greybeard]

Welded steel stand, as long as it's not corroded, should be sufficient. If it is a bit corroded, as long as it's only surface damage, a trip to a powder coater for a quick sand blast and re-coating would probably be reasonably inexpensive, and resolve the problem for a good number of years.

Provided, of course, you're planning a tank with the same footprint as your current acrylic system.

I'm unaware of any 'standard' tank with those dimensions. The 300DD is 72 x 36. 72 x 48 would be entirely custom, I believe.

 

[Greybeard]

I am planning on sanding and repainting it or getting it powder coated.

When I had my new steel stand built, I was planning to sand and paint it myself. The local powder coating company quoted me a price to sand blast and powder coat that was less than what I'd have spent on materials to sand and paint it myself. Worth checking into, anyway.

 

[MuralReef]

Welded steel stand, as long as it's not corroded, should be sufficient. If it is a bit corroded, as long as it's only surface damage, a trip to a powder coater for a quick sand blast and re-coating would probably be reasonably inexpensive, and resolve the problem for a good number of years.

Provided, of course, you're planning a tank with the same footprint as your current acrylic system.

I'm unaware of any 'standard' tank with those dimensions. The 300DD is 72 x 36. 72 x 48 would be entirely custom, I believe.

I am planning on ordering a new tank. I have to do it soon though since the wait time will take me through most of summer break when I plan on swapping them out.

 

[Greybeard]

When I ordered my custom tank, it was either Planet Aquariums, or CustomAquariums.com. CA was a bit cheaper, PA used thicker glass... since I wanted a rimless, I like the look of thick, beveled glass edges, and the strength it adds to the system. Both were reasonable as to delivery time. Nobody else I contacted, and I talked to a whole bunch of aquarium builders, none came close on cost or delivery time.

I bought from Planet Aquarium, and I have no complaints. Edge polish and bevel is excellent, silicone work was very good, holes were drilled exactly where I wanted them, delivery was on time... I'm very happy with my choice of vendor.

 

[MuralReef]

When I ordered my custom tank, it was either Planet Aquariums, or CustomAquariums.com. CA was a bit cheaper, PA used thicker glass... since I wanted a rimless, I like the look of thick, beveled glass edges, and the strength it adds to the system. Both were reasonable as to delivery time. Nobody else I contacted, and I talked to a whole bunch of aquarium builders, none came close on cost or delivery time.

I bought from Planet Aquarium, and I have no complaints. Edge polish and bevel is excellent, silicone work was very good, holes were drilled exactly where I wanted them, delivery was on time... I'm very happy with my choice of vendor.

I was reading through your posts the other day. I am looking at those two as well. I already have a quote from CA and they have been very helpful. I have not heard anything from Planet yet. I do need to get this thing ordered though so I get it before summer break is over.

 

[Greybeard]

Planet Aquarium doesn't deal with the public. You'll need to contact a local fish store that's willing to play middleman. That was the one negative in dealing with Planet Aquariums... it made everything more difficult, having to work through a 3rd party. In my case, it was a friend that owned the LFS, so it wasn't as bad as it might be, but still, that part was a pain.

CustomAquariums.com, on the other hand, were a pleasure to deal with. I didn't end up going that way, but their sales person was knowledgeable, easy to reach, and made every effort to secure my business. If it hadn't been for the 1/2" glass they wanted to use in a 5' long rimless tank... If it'd been rimmed, I would have been fine with it, but rimless? Just didn't seem like it'd be very strong. Planet Aquarium came in at virtually the same price, with 3/4" glass.

I did buy CA's H2Overflows and Siphon Stopper returns. The Overflows are excellent. Work as expected, quiet, sturdy... I really like them. The returns? not so much. I had to re-work them to be able to use them at all, and honestly, I could have assembled something that worked at least as well, and would have been more compact, out of black PVC and Locline, and saved myself some money.

 

[MuralReef]

Thanks for the feedback. Decided to go ahead an order a new stand too. I don't want to risk the existing stand causing more problems. Still need to order, but hopefully I will have all of the info in hand soon.

 

[mtraylor]

Ok. WEll the first thing I was going to ask was how high is the stand? You want to make sure you have enough height underneath for your equipment. This is very important.

Also allot of aquarium builders will not warranty the aquarium if its not on their stand. Since you bought a new one, you should be all good. Just make sure you stand is at proper height.

 

[mtraylor]

What dimensions of the new aquarium are you having built?