Wood Vs Steel

[Basile]

I was going to buy my stand for my tank as everybody does in wood, you know black panel we see everywhere, but then someone told me they had steel one as good and cheaper.

Mine in wood was $ 499 for my 150g and the steel one is $289 black finish and they say it will out last the wood one and its not galvanized i asked. Anybody have a steel one can verify that they're as good as wood and outlast them?

I would think they would rust , wood don't rust. Its certainly sturdy now but in 5-10 years.... can i paint it while the tank is runing?? Any comment or advice on that choice.

 

[jerry26]

wood rots. a powder coated steel frame will last forever.

 

[Basile]

wood rots. a powder coated steel frame will last forever.

What is that powder, you mean galvanized? or is it a paint, never heard of that before. Can i do it myself?

 

[jerry26]

you could do it yourself if you had a giant oven. powder coating is sprayed on like a paint then baked on in an oven. if it doesnt come powder coated its not really an option. there are alternatives like epoxy paints thatll seal out the saltwater just as good. probably even easier ways.

 

[new2reefing]

powder coat is a plastic that is charged with static to stick to the metal. it is then placed in an oven to bake. once baked it dont chip or flake very easy. if the metal is just painted it will rust over time.

 

[reefer gladness]

For me it wouldn't matter in the least. The $210 difference in price is so negligible when considering the cost of ownership for an aquarium (especially over 5-10 years) that I would buy whatever matches the decor of the room better.

Wood can be sealed and protected from water too.

 

[Basile]

For me it wouldn't matter in the least. The $210 difference in price is so negligible when considering the cost of ownership for an aquarium (especially over 5-10 years) that I would buy whatever matches the decor of the room better.

Wood can be sealed and protected from water too.

Actually the look as no importance its in my pc room , my cat play room , its for my eyes only. I had a tank once in my living room ; it was a living hell. Always a bit of water on the carpet , a bit of this and that after a while i had to change the whole dam thing... never again , if they want to see my tank ;they can walk down the hall way and lurk for a few minutes. This baby is mine ,all mine, to enjoy when i'm on the Pc and to cater for, the mad scientist look appeals too me, lol

 

[kyle4201]

they hook up the metal with a positive charged wire lead,,, then they blow on plastic powder witch they charge with a positive charge. The powder actually sticks to the metal, and it get attracted to the entire piece, nooks and cranny's and everything. Then they bake it and it actually bonds with the metal. Way better than any paint you could ever buy. However, wood cab's can be alot more beautiful. if you are looking at 5 to 7 years, get the one that best suits your decor.

 

[kyle4201]

^^^ u posted while i was typing, lol. then by all means, go with galvanized or powder coated, or whatever you want. lol. btw,, STAINLESS will give you the mad scientist look & wont rust ever, but prob $$$

 

[jerry26]

they hook up the metal with a positive charged wire lead,,, then they blow on plastic powder witch they charge with a positive charge. The powder actually sticks to the metal, and it get attracted to the entire piece, nooks and cranny's and everything. Then they bake it and it actually bonds with the metal. Way better than any paint you could ever buy. However, wood cab's can be alot more beautiful. if you are looking at 5 to 7 years, get the one that best suits your decor.

i think you have a typo. the part being sprayed is positively charged and the powder is negatively charged. conventional flow say power flows from pos to neg but actual electron flow is neg to pos. as you said the neg to pos flows causes a highly even distribution on every surface.

 

[Basile]

The mad scientist room

Thats the room i just renovated for the tanks and my new cats.




Terracotta from Italy $60 a box i'm doing my whole condo. They're hand made and not at all even so don't point out its crooked, the store are liquidating the stock for that reason, too many complaints, too hard to put in, never even.I took it off their hands.

Its also the cats room

The second tank is going in front of those steps, you think they'll go in???

 

[jerry26]

i just read that you can use heat guns to bond the powder. i know harbor freight sells the gun kit for like 100 bucks. if you read about it dont be fooled when they say the part should be grounded. one of the first things i learned in computer and electronics engineering courses was that its backwards. back in the day before the us made cars the brits labeled the ground a "positive ground" and its been backwards ever since.

 

[Akshay]

Oh man your cats are adorable!
I have both, a steel stand & a wooden cabinet, so far both are good. That said however, the steel stand is much more sturdy. If your gonna go with steel ensure it's powder coated properly, even a bit, specially around joints can lead to rust. Mine is epoxy painted, it's outside in the balcony so gets a lot of rain scattering in the wet months. But with the epoxy, there is a problem of the paint chipping eventually, so I need to scrape and repaint the stand annually, which is easier said than done. That said it has lasted for more than 6 yrs now.
Honestly though, if budget is not an issue, I would suggest going with a SS frame.
A good quality SS316 would be ideal. All you have to do is wipe it clean & it will stay for years.

 

[Basile]

Oh man your cats are adorable!
I have both, a steel stand & a wooden cabinet, so far both are good. That said however, the steel stand is much more sturdy. If your gonna go with steel ensure it's powder coated properly, even a bit, specially around joints can lead to rust. Mine is epoxy painted, it's outside in the balcony so gets a lot of rain scattering in the wet months. But with the epoxy, there is a problem of the paint chipping eventually, so I need to scrape and repaint the stand annually, which is easier said than done. That said it has lasted for more than 6 yrs now.
Honestly though, if budget is not an issue, I would suggest going with a SS frame.
A good quality SS316 would be ideal. All you have to do is wipe it clean & it will stay for years.

I wish i could get that SS but they only offer the black rust resistant paint finish . I could ask not to paint it and have it powder coated here i guess. got to find that here or in TO where they do the stand. Thanks for your input man. And yes they're cute, even more so now they're teenagers now got fixed last week, they didn't even blink after the procedure, just started to play and jump around. You and i would probably be in a different mood after that one lol. Thanks.

 

[kyle4201]

It would b cheaper to get the black rust resustant frame & paint over it whatever color you want. That's just like having a good base coat and then whatever color makes you happy.

 

[Basile]

It would b cheaper to get the black rust resustant frame & paint over it whatever color you want. That's just like having a good base coat and then whatever color makes you happy.

Actually the mad scientist like the black colors lol. Actually black is a good non reflective tone i don't want the lights shining on it, the flat black is perfect. But i'm going to be vigilent about the back and spils and so on. Thanks.

 

[DaveK]

I was going to buy my stand for my tank as everybody does in wood, you know black panel we see everywhere, but then someone told me they had steel one as good and cheaper.

Mine in wood was $ 499 for my 150g and the steel one is $289 black finish and they say it will out last the wood one and its not galvanized i asked. Anybody have a steel one can verify that they're as good as wood and outlast them?

I would think they would rust , wood don't rust. Its certainly sturdy now but in 5-10 years.... can i paint it while the tank is runing?? Any comment or advice on that choice.

Getting back to the original post.

"Mine in wood was $ 499 for my 150g and the steel one is $289 black finish...". This is why you see a lot of people build their own DIY stands for a lot less money.

As far as how long the stand will last. Years ago I had an old angle iron, just painted stand, for a 55 gal tank that lasted me over 20 years. It had some rust on the legs, at the base, so I didn't trust it any longer, but it was far from failing. I have also used wood stands for similar periods, and while you can see some water damage in the form of discoloration, they will last many more years also. In some cases the stands were in the basement on concrete. The bottom line is I don't think it really matters what material you use. As long as it's painted or has some other type of finish, the stand has a good chance of outliving you.

Rather than worry about it, pick the stand you like based upon budget and appearance. It's not going to make much difference as far as supporting the tank goes.

 

[Basile]

Getting back to the original post.

"Mine in wood was $ 499 for my 150g and the steel one is $289 black finish...". This is why you see a lot of people build their own DIY stands for a lot less money.

As far as how long the stand will last. Years ago I had an old angle iron, just painted stand, for a 55 gal tank that lasted me over 20 years. It had some rust on the legs, at the base, so I didn't trust it any longer, but it was far from failing. I have also used wood stands for similar periods, and while you can see some water damage in the form of discoloration, they will last many more years also. In some cases the stands were in the basement on concrete. The bottom line is I don't think it really matters what material you use. As long as it's painted or has some other type of finish, the stand has a good chance of outliving you.

Rather than worry about it, pick the stand you like based upon budget and appearance. It's not going to make much difference as far as supporting the tank goes.

Ya i think your right. I'm a bit preocupied these days. This project i'm doing is the firs since my last ; where the tank exploded on me when i was gone for a few weeks. When i came bach everything had been removed so i couldn't identify the problem and the people who handled this while i was gone had their phaser's on kill when i came back, i live in a condo, a several where flooded. So it could of been the stand, the tank a number of things but none of them were intellegent enough to look for clues at the time of the occurence. So the insurances, courts blah ... law suit you get the picture. I may be overthinking this but i have good reasons too lol. Specially this project is bigger than the last about 3 times. But this time i'll be working home, its my semi-retirement gift to myself. Me my cats, my fishes, and my new business. Thanks to all for your time . We learn good stuff here, just with a few post.