JaysLittleOcean "The Build, No More Moving"!

[JaysLittleOcean]

The reef aquarium forum has been a bit of a love hate relationship for me. I have gone big and gone small with aquarium sizes. I have had plenty of time and no time due to my career. And I have gone from a flourishing aquatic world to death and dismay in what seems like an afternoon. My family and I have just finished closing and moving into our new home, brought home another wonderful addition to the family (another little boy). So I figured it my be time to start planning for my new build. My wife got the house and the kitchen, so all my prerequisites have been met. The only questions really left are how big should the aquarium be and where should it go?


This was my first though. Right smack in the middle of our center hall colonial entrance. I have all the space directly beneath it inside the utility room for the sump and all the equipment. That space their can easily accommodate a 5 Feet x 4 feet aquarium and I can easily go 3 feet high or more. Which would make for an almost 500 gallon display. But my wife says that might kill the open look.

The other option is to place it in the basement where It's almost like the fish gods blessed me. My entire basement (which is rather large) is setup with air exchange units to vent out excess humidity which is not a problem but apparently required to include the space legally in the overall space of the home. I can get away easily with a Marineland DD 300 gallon and maybe get a bit fancy and include floors that run to drains underneath the system. But if I want to enjoy the beauty of the system I would need to go downstairs. Just not sure which way to go.

 

[Ajae]

I like the main floor idea, but your would need to re enforce the floor. Was the wife's answer her way of saying no? Lol


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[JaysLittleOcean]

I like the main floor idea, but your would need to re enforce the floor. Was the wife's answer her way of saying no? Lol


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Nah, she just is trying to prevent me from going over.... I have a tendency to ugh ooo too late!

 

[dmarkham]

I look at the photo and see a large cube tank where that bookshelf and doll is by the stairs. I am guessing that is your entry way? Making it tge first thing you see when someone walks in.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

I look at the photo and see a large cube tank where that bookshelf and doll is by the stairs. I am guessing that is your entry way? Making it tge first thing you see when someone walks in.

That was precisely the effect I was going for, dramatic entryway. Plus it would be difficult to get a 300 gallon DD downstairs. If I went downstairs my only option would be to build something bigger. Oh decisions, decisions, decisions.

 

[timnem70]

I like the main floor idea, but your would need to re enforce the floor. Was the wife's answer her way of saying no? Lol


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No you wouldn't man. Those floors would be rated to close to a ton. How do people put pianos or water beds in their homes? My pops, when we were kids, certainly did Not reinforce the floors in our house and we had both. My flight had a California King watered in the 80s. Guaranteed that weighed more than the 175 gallon tank I've got in my Condo.

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[kowen]

No you wouldn't man. Those floors would be rated to close to a ton. How do people put pianos or water beds in their homes? My pops, when we were kids, certainly did Not reinforce the floors in our house and we had both. My flight had a California King watered in the 80s. Guaranteed that weighed more than the 175 gallon tank I've got in my Condo.

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It's always wise to have a structural engineer verify if a structure is sufficient for a large tank. The comparisons you offer - pianos and waterbeds - weigh less than a 4x5x3 aquarium would. Grand pianos weigh about 1/2 ton, and a king or california king waterbeds might weigh as much as 1 1/4 tons (while california kings are longer, they are also narrower than a regular king, and actually have a slightly smaller footprint). The aquarium will weigh upwards of 2 tons. The other thing to consider is weight distribution. A king size water bed's weight bears on my floor joists than a tank of similar weight would.

As for where I would put the tank, I'm leaning toward the basement. I prefer long tanks to more cube shaped tanks. I'd also prefer to have my tank somewhere where I could sit and enjoy it rather than somewhere that is high traffic with nowhere to sit.