new tank stand - kinda long, sorry...

[Kerbchek]

I just purchased two used tanks and want to incorporate the 55 gallon that is already in the location I'm planning to build this stand.

The two new/used tanks are a 29 gallon and a 46 gallon bow front. I did some crawling around in the crawl space below the room this will be located. There seems to be plenty of support (an I beam going one direction and a 3-thick 2X10 girter that runs the length of the house directly below the load bearing wall this stand will be up against... the girter is supported by concrete block supports... the house is 50 years old and has 2X8 floor joists. I hope it can support the weight of all this water - I'm estimating 1500 pounds??

The stand will be built out of 4X4's and the two top tanks will sit on 2X6 supports... I will use 2X4's for some support and bracing... face it with 1X's and paint it all a nice chocolate brown. I will build a portion of the stand to fit the "bow" front using thin plywood bent around the curve I'll trace and cut out of a 2X10 or 2X12 layed on its side... I think this will work.

The sketches are a bit blury and still need some modifying... most of the needed wood will be found tucked away in my garage - I never get rid of anything.

** sorry for the bluriness of the attached diagrams, I had a friend scan my pencil drawn plans and that is the best he came up with...

Anyone ever made a stand holding three tanks like this? I figured it'd weigh no more than a 150 gallon tank...

I'm hoping to put cichlids in these new tanks... something I have no experience with - it'll take a while before I get this project done, so I have plenty of time to read up on how to care for them...

I built a great stand in the kitchen that holds a 55 gallon, I'll follow some of the same design ideas I used on that stand...

Think this'll work???

 

[ccCapt]

That looks like it should be plenty strong enough.
The 1st doc...that was tuff to read. Had to rotate it, landscape the page and zoom.

 

[Kerbchek]

Sorry about the poor quality of the sketches... I always draw a pencil sketch out before building something - I'm by no means a carpenter, but I do build a lot of small project type things... I had a guy at work scan it for me since I don't have a scanner... that's the best he came up with.

I'm glad to hear you say the stand should be strong enough. The span of 4 feet where the bottom 55 will be kind of freaked me out, but I think it'll be ok too. I also worried some about the floor holding it up well... but it's along a load bearing wall and close to the front of the house near an outside wall - not over a long span or anything... I'd hate to have the house cave in...

Thanks again, I can't wait to start building. I'm already picking out cichlids I want and how I'll layout the rock etc. for the aqua-scape...

 

[ccCapt]

Yeah, that 4' span was the first thing that caught my eye, but I think if you're using 2x6's it should be fine.

Your setup sounds similar to mine as far as location and floor support. I put up a 4x4 with floor jacks in the basement just to be on the safe side. You don't have to worry about the floor caving in, but without support it can sag a little.

 

[porksnorkel]

floor should be fine as long as set the tank up "perpindicular" to the floor joists. [assuming the wood is still in good shape. check for rot and termite damage]

 

[Kerbchek]

so far here is what I have...

Well, This is my busiest time of the year at work, so my project is moving forward slowly. I've already got the tanks, and even the decorations, and most of the filtration equipment, heaters, light, etc... I even know what species of fish will go into each tank... but the stand is not yet finished. It's about ready to be brought into the house, but must be painted first.

the construction came along nicely, just as planned, for the most part. I think it'll hold the load. I did use 4 4x4's on each side and 2x6 vertical supports...

 

[porksnorkel]

looks nice so far mon. i wasn't able to view ur schemats, so i can't vouch for structural support.

 

[JeffreyL]

Kerbchek,

One thing you might want to do is check your floor for "bounce". That is put the tanks on the floor in close to the location you want them, and fill them up. Then walk, bounce on your toes, etc, around the room and see what happens.

I did this with a 75 and DIY stand. The location was against an outside wall & perpindicular to the floor joists. Despite this, there was enough movement in the tank to really concern me. Bottom line, I also did some crawling and my bottom floor joists are 2X6s. Even with a pier and cross beam not 8 feet from the tank location I could see the floor move up & down more than 1/4 inch when my g/f bounced on her toes near the tank.

Now this might not be a cause for worry structurally, but that tank is not gonna be set up till I address this. Even if it is not a support issue, it drives me crazy. Never seen a house with a 2X6 floor. The funny part is, the upstairs seems to have 2X8 joists. And the floor is much less 'bouncy'.

Your floor sounds much more solid than mine, and you have a good location picked. Still, it can't hurt. Consider it a dry run for later water changes.

Good Luck with the project, and we want more pics!!

Jeff

 

[Ziggy953]

Looking good!

 

[Kerbchek]

Thanks!

Thanks for the positive comments ! ! !

It has been a fun project. I got it painted yesterday - the tanks fit on it just fine - the bow part matches up perfect to the tank - which it should, I used the tank to trace it directly on the wood.

My biggest worry is getting up the front steps of our house and through the door... I'm glad I have two strong teenage sons and they have friends who can help - it is HEAVY.

My new thoughts about a DIY project involve building a 300 or 400 gallon plywood tank with a homemade sump in the basement... I've been reading and reading and reading about them - I want to stock Frontosa I think... The earliest I'd start would be next fall, but that'll be an entirely different thread and I no idea how I'll finance it - anyone know where I can get a cheap 6 foot piece of 1/2 thick glass about 24 or so inches wide?

Thanks again,
Kerby

 

[Kerbchek]

More Progress

Getting the tank stand into the house wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be... but finding money to get these tanks up and running seems to be the biggest complication. Most everything in the bow front tank was purchased from Menards or Home Depot - sand blasting sand and landscaping stones - cleaned really well of course. It's just hard to pay $20 for a 20 pound bag of tank sand at the pet shop when I can buy a 50 pound bag of silica/blasting sand for $2.89 at the home improvement store.

The tank with the white sand will be Lake Tanganikan Cichlids (hopefully Calvus) - the 29 gal to the left will house some of my current tetras & mollies, and the bottom 55 gallon will have black moon sand ($$$ arg!!), black flag stone rocks stacked, and lake Malwai cichlids (yellow labs, demasoni, & acei's - maybe)...

Thanks for looking - I can't wait to get the other two tanks up and running -

 

[porksnorkel]

looks sweet mon!!!

 

[meegosh]

Very nice! What type of paint did you use on the exterior? Is that brown or black? I'm currently building a stand for my 30 long and 10 gallon. I think you might have went overkill on the 4x4's

The plan that I am using for my stand held a 120g with no center supports... and that is all made up of 2x4's

 

[Kerbchek]

Overkill...

Thanks, I'm known for "overkill" - I build things 10 times stronger than they need to be - you should see the supports I put under our deck - that deck could survive any hurricane, tornado, or earthquake all at the same time

After seeing more of people's plans on line I know I could have used fewer 4x4's or even 2x4's and probably saved some money & weight - it is really heavy... I just feared the 4 foot span over the lower 55 gallon tank.

The paint was some chocolate brown I picked up at K-Mart - nothing special, but it matches other stands I've built and looks good with the living room decor...

I may have a change for the Tanganikan tank / Calvus - I've been looking at Peacocks... I'm leaning toward a species only tank of some bright colored malwai fish... we'll see.

 

[Kerbchek]

a couple more...

Progress is slow but sure - I finally purchased my first African Cichlids - Electric Yellow Labs from a local breeder - so there's 8 fish on that whole stand... almost 100 gallons of water - I think I want to put a few Peacocks in the 46 bow front - I keep changing my mind... but the Labs will be joined by Demasoni and Acei's before too long...

Thanks for looking,
Kerby

 

[neilanh]

Looks good, I love the sand.

 

[porksnorkel]

tank is lookin awesome mon. if i may suggest, and just my personal take...ditch the colored plants, and stick w/ green only. the colored ones distract from the fish. and get some taller ones that rech close to the surface. ditch the colored rocks in the front also. just my 2 cents, but otherwise A+ work!

 

[Kerbchek]

tank is lookin awesome mon. if i may suggest, and just my personal take...ditch the colored plants, and stick w/ green only. the colored ones distract from the fish. and get some taller ones that rech close to the surface. ditch the colored rocks in the front also. just my 2 cents, but otherwise A+ work!

Thanks!! I somewhat threw that tank together, as the guy with the labs was coming to town the next few days and was going to deliver them to me - and those are just some plants I had laying around - i had every intention of just leaving them in there - but I think I'll go pick up some longer green ones. I have to agree that would look better.

On another note, that was the quickest cycle I've ever tried - It's testing pretty good right now - I've had amonia level of 0.25 once - but I just thew in old filter cartriges from my other 55 gallon into that filter, those plastic plants out of an established tank and some Seachem bacteria stabalizer stuff I picked up - so far, so good...