Aluminum Stands and Stainless Steel Screws

[izzyinkorea]

Alright so I might be paranoid but I remember when trying to get some steps welded to my aluminum boat trailer (the part that doesnt do in the water), they specifically said I would have to use aluminum steps not Stainless Steel as having steel and aluminum touch is guaranteed to cause something called Galvanic Corrosion...... sounds scary right. Didn't want that to happen with the stand im trying to build out of 3030...

Judging how these fasteners and t bolts are all steel, seems like a disaster waiting to happen.. Especially around an enclosed base that will surely have dripping from going in and out the sump and at the very least high humidity...

In fact I remember looking at some of the CADE aquariums at my LFS and when opening the doors to the sump I could see rust in a lot of the corners on the bolts.

Makes me really nervous and need some vets out there to tell me its going to be alright. Let me know what you think about this or if there is any special hardware I need to be looking for instead of steel.

 

[betareef]

Disimilar metals will react electrolytically and cause corrosion. For example, a steel fish hook in the bottom of an aluminium boat, will corrode through it. The presence of saltwater greatly increases the corrosion.

 

[Paul B]

I was a construction electrician in Manhattan for 45 years and built dozens of stands for equipment on roofs of office buildings, factories and things on the Empire State Building. I also built all my aquarium stands for decades. I would only use "Hot Dipped Galvanized" bolts on tank stands.

They will last longer than you. Boat trailers for salt water are also built out of that. But it has to be "Hot Dipped Galvanized", not just galvanized which is a very thin coating.
Home Depot and any hardware store has them

 

[izzyinkorea]

I was a construction electrician in Manhattan for 45 years and built dozens of stands for equipment on roofs of office buildings, factories and things on the Empire State Building. I also built all my aquarium stands for decades. I would only use "Hot Dipped Galvanized" bolts on tank stands.

They will last longer than you. Boat trailers for salt water are also built out of that. But it has to be "Hot Dipped Galvanized", not just galvanized which is a very thin coating.
Home Depot and any hardware store has them

Thanks I’m on a mission now! Thanks for
the well informed information!

 

[izzyinkorea]

Disimilar metals will react electrolytically and cause corrosion. For example, a steel fish hook in the bottom of an aluminium boat, will corrode through it. The presence of saltwater greatly increases the corrosion.

That’s what scared me. Almost learned it the hard way on my trailer