Looking for custom-shaped stainless steel, or alternatives

Baughn

I'll do something a little out of the ordinary. I'm going to tell you what I think I need, and then I'll tell you why I need it, in case anyone has a better idea.

I'm turning my 240L (120x40x50cm) fish tank into a mixed terrarium/aquarium. To do this I need some stainless steel bars, welded together and shaped into something roughly like a dome, as well as a bunch of stainless steel netting. And a metric ton of Sugru, but I know where to get that.

I haven't figured out where to get properly shaped steel. I could conceivably buy straight bars and bend them into shape, but then I'd need to weld them myself; a possibility I'd rather avoid, due to the risk to life, limb, and city.

What kind of workshop still does this kind of bespoke work? Traditionally it'd be a blacksmith, but there doesn't seem to be any in Dublin, and traditionally those do not work with stainless steel anyhow.

I also need to find someone who'll sell netting, but I feel confident I'll manage that much.


So, as to the why.. I'm going to put a sloping shoreline in the tank, starting at about 2/3rds height at the extreme left and ending in a vertical cliff at roughly 1/3rds height, maybe a little past halfway horizontally, and slightly underwater in order to allow any unfortunate lizards to climb back up.

This is not going to be a solid block, however. The plan is to make it a (negative-pressure, so as to maximize underwater space) cave, with a few blue LEDs embedded in the roof, along with an air pump. Lizards will be walking on top.

Using sugru should take care of making it airtight, but it isn't nearly strong enough to keep it structurally intact; at the very least, I'm unlikely to get a tight seal. As a matter of fact, sugru is about as strong as rubber.

Using stainless steel is probably overkill, but it should do the job without issues, and I can probably afford it easily enough - if I can find someone who'll do the job.

Any options I'm overlooking?

fergal.b

Give this guy a call he should be able to help you out at a good price. http://www.eweengineering.com/ he is also a nice guy and easy to deal with.



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