You want me to put it where????

[vermonter310]

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking here for quite some time now, reading absolutely everything I can. You don't have any idea how much help you've all been just by asking and answering other peoples questions.
I have been gathering pieces for a Marine tank project all the while. I have just encountered a problem that I wasn't counting on, Where in the house to put it ? The spot I had picked out for it (the Foyer) has been taken over by my wife. I'd like to hear where everyone has there tanks and also the pros and cons of where they might be.
One spot that is available is in our Family room. No TV etc. just a place to sit or read or whatever only has a couple of chairs and a couch in it at the moment. Problem is it is carpeted. anyone have their tank on a carpeted floor ??? The tank is a 75g.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[superswamper]

We have a 75g in our main family room. It is in the carpeted section of the room. We didn't have a lot of choice in placement of the tank, but tried to place it in an area that had the least amount of foot traffic possible. Most of the foot traffic is on the other side of the room, when we go from the bedroom to the kitchen.

 

[fishfreek]

I think the faimly room you specify will be a better spot for it than a foyer. If your foyer is like I think it might be then there is a hussle of activity in that area with people comming in and out of the house aswell as maybe people walking form one area of the house to another. All this activity can be stressful on some of the more shy fish/inverts.

A quite faimly room would be more ideal. If your worried about the carpet you can get some 1/2" plywood and put down and then put the stand on top of that. Measure the plywood so its the same size as the tank stand footprint. Put the stand and the tank on the carpet and then put a long level on it to make sure its level. If its not then shim the stand on the low points to get it level.

 

[reefrunner69]

Mine i in my living room, there is little traffic and it is on the carpet. Realice on carpet...the SW will eventually get to it. I try to minimize the damage as much as possible by putting down dropcloths whenever I work around the tank

 

[notmuffy]

Well I guess I broke the mold a little, we really put our tanks on display!

The second pic is of our freshwater tank. The door where you come in is just to the right out of the photo. Then when you walk R-L past this kitchen you come into the Living room (first pic) which dead ahead you see our saltwater tank. We have wood floors so that was good for the tank.

 

[vermonter310]

I'm not really concerned about damaging the carpet as much as I am about the stability of the tank.

 

[jks1]

i have mine in my living room. After all i got the tank to look at it and i spend a lot of time in the family room. I layed down some thick rubberlike runner material from Home Depot under my tank. It catches water that comes from the tank making it easy to mop it up with a towel.

 

[jks1]

i frogot to mention the runner is clear so it really isnt an eyesore

 

[ostrichkiller]

all i have is a 55gal FW tank and i live with my room mate in a very small apt. we put it in the only place we had available. we tried it on top of our entertainment system but the top of the system started to bow. i didn't have the money for a stand or things so i found a nice dresser that we stood on its side and took the drawers out and put in support beams. it works great and doesn't shake at all. plus it made a great place for fish foods, test kits, and books (almost bookshelf like) when we get to the house we are going to rent we are building a stand for it that will look nicer and goign to be in the den

 

[steve-s]

Mine i in my living room, there is little traffic and it is on the carpet.

Same here! I use it to divide the livingroom with a sitting/conversation area. Makes a great reading light when the tank is completely lit... LOL

Cheers
Steve

 

[mkpaulson]

I have mine in the living room it sits on the carpet. I enjoy watching tank and television at the same time, just be careful that you do not have sunlight that would shine on the tank where is placed.

 

[cj10488]

Makes a great reading light when the tank is completely lit

I barely use my living room lights now when the tank is lit up.. I too Live in a small Apt right now My living room is approx 15'x15' and I have my 55g on the carpet right next to the TV so If I dont want to watch one I can watch the other.. I can say that at about 600w of light in that small of the living room leaves a VERY bright glow.. Out on my patio you can see the GLow of the tank as well as the tank itself.. Its nice to have people walk by the back of my apt and suddenly stop when they see the tank... If you have something nice Why not show it off

James

 

[kribbz]

mine is in my bedroom. thats right i get to wake up every morning with the sun just coming up on my reef. it's great. plus the sound of water rushing down the overflow reminds me of rain. and i sleep well.

 

[cleantank]

All of the things, with the carpet and traffic area's are important but the one thing no-one has mentioned is other source's of light that might affect the tank. eg. across the room from a picture window where the sun come's in or a mirror on the wall that would reflect light on to the tank. These are all considerations in a well placed tank. Hope I've helped. 8)

 

[Biggen]

You guys are brutes for putting it on the carpet. I am glad mine is on a concrete floor as I seem to spill water all the time..

 

[dralarms]

I have my sw tank on carpet as well as 1 of my fw tanks, the other fw is on hardwood floor.

 

[loganj]

I have tanks in just about every room in the house except the bathrooms...Kymme kinda drew the line there . SW and carpet isn't a good mix so it's a good idea to have something to contain the inevitable drips that will happen while doing tank maintenance. In your case, the family room you mentioned sounds like the best place to me.

 

[vermonter310]

Well, I'm leaning towards the Family room but I'm still not real comfortable putting it on the carpet. Thank everyone for their input. you've been a great help as always. I have one more quick question though, I've noticed in several different posts that a high light area is a cause for concern, I'm guessing because of the likelihood of the sunlight raising the temp ??? Is that right? Our new home has 21 windows! there is little to (and most probably) no area in the house that does not have sunlight cast upon it at some point during the day. I guess my confusion comes mainly from the money I'm looking at spending to get only an "adequate for now" light (4x110VHO retrofit). Why would I not want to supplement with Natural light?

thanks again......

Mike

 

[tpaparazzo]

I must be different too..I couldnt really find a great spot for my 75g so i was making dinner one night and there is this bare wall in my kitchen..I said hmmm. I put it across the wall..It fits perfectly...It is a heavier traffic area. My wife and kids come in the door to the kitchen alot but actually the fish seem to enjoy it.I think they think its dinner time 24/7 and the inverts dont mind either.....And its a nice nitelite(moonlites!) at midnight when your looking for that snack!!!

 

[BillyZ]

I have two tanks in my living room and both are on carpet. There's no stability issues from the carpet and I don't have any real water issues unless I'm doing a whole lot of work. Even then, I just through a towel down to catch any splash or spillage. I havn't noticed any marks or stains on the rug near my tanks.

Now I said there were no stability issues from the carpet, but I have a very minor stability issue from the floor itself. (which i'm surprised no one here has mentioned yet) Fish tanks add a LOT of weight to your floor. Be sure where you are going to have it will support the total weight of not just the tank and stand but all the water, rocks and equipment you're going to pile onto that thing. (FWIW, water weighs 8.3 pounds per U.S. gallon)