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.

[sphelps]

The wood stands you typically buy at LFSs aren't really wood at all being that they are made from MDF which has no business near water. It'll swell and bow over time. Metal stands will likely rust but it's pretty superficial surface rust and it won't effect strength. So typically metal out lasts wood but metal stands can be harder and more expensive to dress so price wise I wouldn't say metal is cheaper.

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by sphelps

The wood stands you typically buy at LFSs aren't really wood at all being that they are made from MDF which has no business near water. It'll swell and bow over time. Metal stands will likely rust but it's pretty superficial surface rust and it won't effect strength. So typically metal out lasts wood but metal stands can be harder and more expensive to dress so price wise I wouldn't say metal is cheaper.

Couldn't agree more, tore my previous 65g down because a mini flood inside the stand caused the MDF to swell, crack and bulge out. I've used metal on ever stand since then with great results.

[kien]

Originally Posted by Basile

I would think they would rust , wood don't rust.

The steel stand should not rust if it is sufficiently coated with an appropriate water resistant paint. Wood does not rust but is susceptible to water/moisture damage.

[spit.fire]

Originally Posted by kien

The steel stand should not rust if it is sufficiently coated with an appropriate water resistant paint. Wood does not rust but is susceptible to water/moisture damage.

agreed

[MarkoD]

Originally Posted by kien

The steel stand should not rust if it is sufficiently coated with an appropriate water resistant paint. Wood does not rust but is susceptible to water/moisture damage.

True but if you paint wood with water resistant paint it won't water damage either.

[kien]

True. I think the moral of this thread is that no matter what material you choose, so long as it is sufficiently coated with a water resistant paint, the stand will likly out last ones interest in the hobby :-)

[Basile]

Originally Posted by kien

True. I think the moral of this thread is that no matter what material you choose, so long as it is sufficiently coated with a water resistant paint, the stand will likly out last ones interest in the hobby :-)

Please don't tell me that i'm putting a few thousand into this project lol ; its my semi retirement gift to myself, something to tinker , and old passion of my youths...lol

[ScubaSteve]

Originally Posted by Basile

Please don't tell me that i'm putting a few thousand into this project lol ; its my semi retirement gift to myself, something to tinker , and old passion of my youths...lol

Ha, ok, we'll tell you you aren't going to put anew thousand into the tank... You'll come back to us later and tell us you did. It's inevitable I've learned to just stop counting (and I'm a poor, frugal student). It's a hobby that I really enjoy, so I've stopped caring about the cost as much.

I'll echo what others have said: as long as you've coated the stand with a decent waterproof paint, you're good to good for a long time. At work I conduct experiments with fairly caustic solution (2.2M sodium carbonate) that pretty much insta-rusts steel and I get spills constantly. My whole experimental apparatus is mounted to a steel frame stand. I painted it with blue Krylon paint and 4.5 years later, no rust.

[The Grizz]

STEEL all the way!!!