New Setup Questions w/pics

[black404]

Well here is my new tank and stand. I was fortunate to get this tank from a dear friend and then I purchased a 6' bathroom vanity from the local Hab for Hum resale store. Just getting it into the house was major ordeal, but it was all worth it.

Q1. Any suggestions on how far I should place it from the wall?
Q2. That is a lot of water weight, should I build supports inside, since cabinets of this nature are designed to be attached to the wall?
Q3. Also would love to hear any words of wisdom from experience to ease the pain from my learning curve a little.

[Jess Puff]

Wow! That's a nice tank! Do you have filters and everything for it already? It looks like it's in the basement (which is a good thing). I'm not sure about the supports inside the cabinet. I'll let some other members answer that question. As for the wall, it depends on what type of filter you're going to use.

[fuzzylogic]

Well just speaking from what I've found to work best. 4 Inches is a pretty good distance to have from glass to wall. This should accommodate most hang over the back filters and hoses/lines you want to run and route back there. Now would also be a good time to think about your background since its going to be a pain to change after its in place and full of water. As far as the cabinetry I would check with the load rating from the manufacturer. considering most new ones Ive seen are mostly particle board. You are probably talking about 1500 pounds of weight plus depending on how you decorate it. Some things I would look into that stood out to me was the fact that the cabinets need to be attached to the wall and how the support system you would build will work. Also you need to make sure everything is shimmed and level *very important step*

[davidtcb1]

In my opinion, I would be cautious about using that as a stand. It's meant to hold probably only a few hundred pounds of downward pressure (i.e. a vanity top and sink hardware). If nothing else, I'd find some way to reinforce it! It looks like a pretty solid piece, just maybe not meant for the application. If you are going to run canister filters, you can get it closer to the wall. Just enough that the tubing can get down in there plus a little extra. For hang on the back filters, just do the width of the filter as it hangs plus an inch or so.

I like the idea of the limb/log in there!

[crazydaz]

The more support, the better!

I agree with Fuzzy regarding the total weight....it looks like a 200 gallon to me so that would be 200 gallon volume multiplied by 8.3 (weight of water) pounds/gallon which would be about 1650 lbs of water on the cabinet. However, susbrate, driftwood, boulders, and so on (the decor) will displace some of that water, so in the end, you are probably looking at less water volume, but not that much less in total weight. I would plan that to weigh 1500-1600 lbs. That's 5 NFL Offensive Linemen on that cabinet. This would probably work, IF you reinforced the inside...you don't want that thing collapsing!

[AlanM]

Having looked at a BUNCH of commercially available aquarium stands in the past couple weeks, I was amazed at how flimsily they seemed to be built. There was lots of thin particle board, etc. As long as the vanity is well-braced, it's probably as good or better than most aquarium stands I've seen.

Measure the tank's length, height, and width in inches. Multiply those together and divide the total by 231 and that will tell you how many gallons it is. Then you can figure the weight.

[jon carman]

Make sure to block out light coming in from that window. As for the stand, I would set it up with everything on it and then scoot it back. As for the build, I would look for a 2x4 frame with at least one vertical 2x4 in the middle.

[black404]

Thank for the responses. It is a 135 g. tank. I have leveled the stand and I have added the substrate and a bag of river rocks. That is 2 bags of well rinsed play sand and one broken bag of river rocks that I pocked up at Lowes for $1. That was a great find. I was excited!!
Today I started the new Marineland 280 filter in the old tank beside the old filter, just to get the bacteria started. Also, I boiled some 5# rocks. Lol. I read that last night. (smile)

Oh, last night I tried to silicone one of my logs to the back of the tank. It didn't work. Although the log was dry and the tank was dry, I didn't have enough flat surface area on the log to prevent it from pulling away and floating off. I waitted 3 hours for the setup time. (bummer) So, I need some suggestions for that delimna. And apparently I dropped that Purigen filter pack from the OT into the NT, because I can't find it anywhere. And I wanted to wash it and put it back in the OT. Oh well, maybe it will float up somewhere.

[crazydaz]

I would weight the log down with some of your rock....it will evenutally get waterlogged, sink, and stay down. It is a nice piece, so have some patience and it will be worth the wait.

[JusJoshua]

When I'm using silicon I usually give it at least 24 hours with weight on it or against it to hold it in place, usually clear packing tape with a piece paper towel against whatever I'm holding to keep it from sticking to that, I've also tied or embedded suction cups and then glued the cup to the tank.

[black404]

That is a good idea. I was thinking that I could silicone it to the backside of a dinner plate and then bury that under the sand that way if the fish knock it over it wont go floating. Also I wont have to worry about large rocks being heaped up.

I think that I will be making that 5g bucket canister filter this weekend. I saw that and liked it. It seems simple enough; except, the bucket seal, may be a problem. Today, I looked around for cheap colanders and scrubbers. It may take until Friday to locate everything at a reduced price.

I was also thinking about installing a water filter under the cabinet. That way I can attach a hose and refill and filter at the same time. Does anyone have anything like that set up on a small scale? I would love to see pics. I will probably be researching that tonight. lol