DIY Tank Holders - Cheap, Easy, Quick

[JDostal]

Last night, I built three tank holders that hold two tanks each. It took me about a half hour and I spent a total of $11.59 on supplies for the three tank holders.

Heres the materials you will need, for each tank holder:

1 Water Noodle (Those styrofoam things kids play w/ at the lake) Make sure they are solid (no hole in the middle) and around 2 1/2" to 3" in diameter.

7' of 3/8" (or thicker) rope

At Wal-Mart last night, I bought three water noodles for $1.44 each and one bag of 50' of 3/8" synthetic rope for $11.59.

Instructions

Cut the noodle into thirds - mine made three 20" pieces.
Cut two 42" pieces of rope
Melt ends of rope, or take other appropriate measure to prevent fraying

Take each noodle piece and measure in from each end 3". Drill a 3/8" hole through the noodle on each end - the rope will pass through this hole.

Take your rope and tie a knot in one end. Pass the other end through the noodle. Do this for each side of the noodle. You should now have one noodle w/ two pieces of rope passing through it.

Now lay it on the floor, and lay your tank lenghtwise against the noodle. Lay another noodle on the other side of the tank. Where the second noodle presses against the tank, you will want to tie a knot in the rope right next to the tank. Do this for both ropes, and now put the rope pieces through the 2nd noodle piece and slide it up until it hits the knots. Now tie knots against the other side of the noodle so that the noodle is stationary.

Now lay your tank down against the 2nd noodle piece again. Feed the rope through the third noodle piece and snug the third piece up against the tank. Tie knots in the rope wher appropriate and trim off the excess rope.

Complete!! Your finished tank holder should look somewhat like a rope ladder - see the attached image, which is nothing more than a screenshot of an ascii illustration for a better look at the idea. I don't have a digital camera available to me at the moment.

Good luck!!

 

[mad1]

sounds great! I made a set out of 2" PVC the same way but mine
probably slide around a little more than yours.

 

[SA-Diver]

Just put large O-rings around the ends of the PVC to stop the sliding.

 

[JDostal]

The PVC is probably a lot more durable than the water noodles - if I drop a tank on mine, they get a little damaged. Not a bad idea to use PVC at all...

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I got cheap and copied the noodle and rope idea 3 years ago and made at set for 3 tanks and a set for 4 tanks. Both are still holding up well after 3 seasons of hard use. Using large diameter 1/2 rope and cutting smooth holes is a key factor in durability I think.

 

[JDostal]

What did you use to cut the holes?

 

[bigz]

I did the noodle and rope thing last summer. Then, I found a type of thin, non-skid floor mat at a local dollar store. I glued the noodles to the mat, with shoe goo and now, my tank "rack" lies nicely on the floor of my SUV and DOES NOT move with the tanks placed in the noodles. No ropes, no hassles.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Omicron once bubbled...
What did you use to cut the holes?

I used a very sharp thin bladed fillet knife my wife has in the kitchen. I didn't tell her about it though

You could also use an exacto knife with one of the longer carving blades or prhaps a regular fishing fillet knife if it tapers enough on th end.

I have found that you can stack another row of tanks on top of the ones in the rack as long as they are secured from sliding. The rubbery nonskid pads made to keep plates from sliding on boat table tops works really well. You can get it in large sheets for little money and a layer of it bewteen the two rows of tanks keeps everything from sliding. A dive bag or wet suit stacked on top of the last row of tanks also seems to provide enough weight/resistace to keep them from sliding around the back of our vehicles.

 

[ABQdiver]

I made mine from a combination of the noodles with the holes and CPVC pipe in the center.
Drilled holes through the pipe and the noodle and then threaded 3/16" nylon rope through knotted at both sides of the pipe to hold in place.

The thing rolls up and ties together when not in use. I felt the pipe in the center gave it more rigidity and helped hold the whole unit together....

 

[nkw5]

ABQdiver, thanks for a great tip. Now I no longer have tanks rolling around in the trunk! I like how cheap your device is, too.