Aquarium column build

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jlbfish

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Feb 21, 2012
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Hubby and I just acquired to 55 gallon corner bow front glass aquariums (aquaria?) anyway we want to build cabinets around them and stack them so in the corner of our living room we have a column of 2.

He is a wood worker I am a newbie fish lover and learning. Any advice or warnings are welcome! Thanks :)
 
I can't offer any advice but the idea sounds awesome, So two corner tanks stacked up, is that the idea? Things I'd think about would be cleaning, exp the bottom tank, including Genral maintenance like water changes. Just make sure there's room to get into the tank. Another would be the weight, and stability, making sure they are both level etc, but I'm assuming you have thought about all the usual and want the unexpected problems? As I said sounds cool.
 
Yup that's the idea (for now). Lol. So far we think there would be removable panels to allow access. Luckily hubby understands physics better than I do so he hopefully will think of the obvious but he may not :) and I am a newbie so I may not think of the obvious either.

He is thinking of putting the bottom tank + stand on casters so we can slide it out for maintenance. So far that's it just brainstorming.
 

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jlbfish said:
Yup that's the idea (for now). Lol. So far we think there would be removable panels to allow access. Luckily hubby understands physics better than I do so he hopefully will think of the obvious but he may not :) and I am a newbie so I may not think of the obvious either.

He is thinking of putting the bottom tank + stand on casters so we can slide it out for maintenance. So far that's it just brainstorming.

Sounds like a cool project. Although putting the bottom tank on casters sounds good on paper and it's easy to slide the tank when it's empty, it would be a bear to move when full of water, fish ect. Keep us posted on the progress.
 
corner tanks

why not make them tilt so it looks like a half round tank and then you wouldnt have to worry about cleaning or feeding problems then build a cabniet above and below and maybe have a few open shelves on the side for what nots or books or any tank decorations you could put 2 different types of fish or the same ones and use it as a mirror image type just my thoughts
 
Sounds like a cool project. Although putting the bottom tank on casters sounds good on paper and it's easy to slide the tank when it's empty, it would be a bear to move when full of water, fish ect. Keep us posted on the progress.

I too am a newb to aquariums, but putting the tank on wheels is not a real good idea in practice. when you go to move it the water will slosh around for some time, the reason tanker trucks have baffles in them to prevent this, not to mention if a wheel locks up or eek comes off, then you could have a big mess on your hands.

Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon + the weight of the substrate, so that would be a handfull just to move. so 459 pounds just in water for a 55 gallon tank.

it is a cool idea and will look great.
 
Get Tanked!

If I was watching the series Tanked, they would probably build/weld a steel frame for the corner (bolted to studs) to hold both tanks. Then build something (cabinets) around them to hide filtration. Maybe even put filtration on the other side of the wall for easy access (if you have the room).

We added a nice chest w/seating cushion in front of our tank so people could sit and enjoy it.

You could also use a wet/dry sump and filtrate all of the water together. OR... separate filtration so if one tank gets contaminated, it would be isolated.
Don't be afraid to be creative. Themes are cool too and you could also paint on the walls around the tanks. Good luck. Would like to see build pictures. :)
 
Yup I was thinking steel frame for the corner and the cabinets or whatever front we put on would have hidden hinges so I could access everything inside. Hubby said that some woods were better at holding weight than a steel frame not sure what he meant but we are still researching.

Thanks all for the points on the casters. I think the scariest one was a broken caster YIKES! Casters are out.

So far we have it down to wooden corner frame. 2 doors that allow access to aquarium and filters (seperate filters for each tank thinking eheim or rena) etc.... Cheap LED lights from IKEA or something and a plexi hood that hubby can cut to fit the top. We won't get started until July/August for now it is just dreaming and brainstorming.

I will definitely start posting pics when we start. I want all the warnings before then though! LOL

Thanks all!
 
This was an accidental find. She want 100 for each aquarium downside it didn't come with anything no tops/lights/filters/stand etc. upside is they are 300$ brand new (we think). She had a 75 gallon bow front just sitting in her garage too! I'm jealous of her! Lol
 
We are ramping up on our build. Drawing designs and trying to make sure stacking them IS possible with our ceilings. They may be too low. As of now if we stack them I will only have 12" clearance at the top of each tank for cleaning and maintenance. I THINK that will be ok. Obviously all decorations will have to fit in and out.

Hubby was thinking of actuators (the hydraulics to lift a tank up or down some for cleaning but that freaks me out too. I think I prefer them to be stationary.
 
IMO hydraulics aren't a good idea you will be replacing hoses couplers seals etc rather often. And if your hose busts and leaks into your tank or on carpet it's ruined.
 
Yeah I'm pretty sure hydraulics are out. Here is a prototype to check the height of each tank.

I'm thinking the bottom tank can drop a bit.
 

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I would def drop the bottom one down. Seems like ideally you would want the top one to be at eye level. If you plan to have plants you may want different lights, I can see them being built into the stand and that would be cool! Keep us posted!
 
Yeah I think we are going to drop it 2". We shall see. Unfortunately hubby is 6'1" and I am 5'5" so 'eye level' is a wide range.

Luckily this isn't where it will go. There will be no window. :) I want it to be in our tv/family room. so when we are watching movies the bottom tank is easy to see but when we are all up and moving around the top tank is easy to see.

Fingers crossed!
 
Sounds good! I'd say maybe just move them both down a little, like 4 inches or so. Are you planning on making the bottom a cabinet? If you're going to be using canister filters you're going to need somewhere to hide those! :) or maybe you can have the bottom open as like a shelf with a faux back that can be easily removed to access the filters, that way you can have some decorations or whatever... I dunno I'm just spitting out ideas because I wish I was building this! Haha

Edit: oops! I didn't read the part where you said you'll move it down 2"... Haha that sounds good!
 
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