Lets do this - 225+ reef bar

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actually I'm only using 1 of those levelers :D for the removable leg in the front-center of my fishroom stand. all the rest of the legs use that other 'lifting leveler' style I posted earlier.

it's kind of too late for me to change the levelers at this point, since that stand is nearly impossible to lift/move now that it has drywall on it. otherwise I'd consider replacing them all. but i feel 600lbs/leg is more than enough.
 
Some progress today. Got my reeflo 250 :) Mike from Reef Specialty was in the area and personally delivered, great service. Also cut out some vinyl to make a faux waterproof floor to protect my wood (you can see it in the second pic).

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I'm sure it will, give give it some time :D

in the photo above with the stand on the new flooring...... are you going to knock out the wall behind the stand, or am I looking at the room backwords? Just trying to make sense of how you're going to transform that space into the bar design you showed.
 
Hey, welcome to the reeflo club! I am tuning mine right now. Can't beat that delivery, onsight inspection, and consultation service from reef specialty!

How many leveling feet will you use? I think your planned solution sounds fine... if I am understanding it. Just level the four corners, then, bring any other feet to the ground. Easy.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11754083#post11754083 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
I'm sure it will, give give it some time :D

in the photo above with the stand on the new flooring...... are you going to knock out the wall behind the stand, or am I looking at the room backwords? Just trying to make sense of how you're going to transform that space into the bar design you showed.
Click to expand...



Hope so :) Yes, that wall is being knocked down so the tank will be viewed from the room and hallway on the other side of the wall.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11757863#post11757863 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishTruck
Hey, welcome to the reeflo club! I am tuning mine right now. Can't beat that delivery, onsight inspection, and consultation service from reef specialty!

How many leveling feet will you use? I think your planned solution sounds fine... if I am understanding it. Just level the four corners, then, bring any other feet to the ground. Easy.
Click to expand...

Mike was great, and the skimmer is just a beast, cant get over the size. I see you arent too far away, are you ever at any CMAS events? I joined at the last frag swap, which was pretty awesome.
 
So I decided to redo my stand as a single 36" wide stand, to eliminate all the maneuvering I was having to do to get the stands level with each other and level in general. I'm so much happier with stand now that I redid it.

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great job on the stand, will the monster skimmer fit under the stand or outside? is that centipede arcade
 
Good job on the stand and good call with the shims, putting 1500lbs of pressure on 9 lag bolt heads isn't a good idea esp when you are screwing them in same direction of the grain of the wood and onto a wood floor. If your load isn't balanced you will split the wood rendering the screw useless which in turn places more load onto other pieces. That and you will put a nice dent in your hardwoods. When you see large machining equipment you will notice that they always shim them instead of placing them on leveling feet.
 
cbui2 - the external overflow is going at the end of the tank, right above the reeflo, so the skimmer will sit outside the stand. I wanted it outside so it would be easier to service, etc. Since none of this will be seen from the viewable sides I am going for convenience over looks. Nope, not centipede, its golden tee complete :)

bag151 - thanks much. My mind is much more at ease now.
 
Also, I ordered my sump. Here is the initial sketch of it, it will be 100g total volume (not sure actual volume it will hold). The middle section will be a fuge. I made a few changes after talking with the builder, but you get the general idea. In the stand there is cross-bracing to support the edges of the sump under the plywood base (slowly but surely I'm learning to plan ahead :) ).

sumddesign.jpg
 
I understand your change.

I think I am going to pick up some pressure treated wood and use my miter saw to cut shims for each of my stand legs (left side about 1.5"). I'll still leave the lifting levelers on, since I will still use those to make adjustments so that I can move the shims easily and then re-snug everything. that way there won't be a long term load on the lifting levelers but I can still get the benefit of their ease of use.

you guys think that sounds like a better idea?

Will pressure threated wood expand/contract with moisture? would the shims need to be treated?

I started stressing over it too once I redid the math of the load on them. With tanks+water+drywall+lumber it calculated closer to 450lbs per levelers (out of a supposed 600 max).
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11778957#post11778957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
I understand your change.

I think I am going to pick up some pressure treated wood and use my miter saw to cut shims for each of my stand legs (left side about 1.5"). I'll still leave the lifting levelers on, since I will still use those to make adjustments so that I can move the shims easily and then re-snug everything. that way there won't be a long term load on the lifting levelers but I can still get the benefit of their ease of use.

you guys think that sounds like a better idea?

Will pressure threated wood expand/contract with moisture? would the shims need to be treated?

I started stressing over it too once I redid the math of the load on them. With tanks+water+drywall+lumber it calculated closer to 450lbs per levelers (out of a supposed 600 max).
Click to expand...

I have heard not to use pressure treated wood in stands, but I cant remember if its because of expansion/contraction problems. If you cant find a definitive answer one way or the other why not just use standard lumber, then coat the shims in sealant (a little more work, but better safe than sorry).

I think your feet are ok tho, my main concern in the end with leveling feet was not the stand, but the floor. I have hardwood sitting on top of concrete. I was worried the sandwiched hardwood could give way, and while it might not crack, it might compress or give over time, which could lead to the stand becoming unlevel.
 
well I decided to go a different route with my tank and Im actually framing the alcove with 2x4's and wrapping it to make a false wall. It will make the build alot easier and I might just buy a steel stand.
 
I can just use scraps of the dry untreated wood I already have and put on a few coats of 2-part tileclad epoxy paint. I think the levelers will probably be ok too, but this way they will not have long term stress so I won't have to worry. I'll still be able to make adjustments easily if the floor changes though.
 
ryan - that sounds like a good plan to me. what you are looking at is the back of the tank. It is sitting in my 2nd bedroom. The wall behind the stand and on the left side of the stand in the pic will be taken down. On the other side of the left wall is my hallway, which opens into the living room (which is on the other side of the back wall). Does that make sense?

salty - crazy how things change mid course no matter how much you plan isnt it? I went from 2 stands to 1, and from rubbermaid sump sitting beside the tank to custom acrylic sitting under the tank, and the tank hasnt even been delivered yet!
 
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