looking for a tank stand

[Justin74]

And thank God my life doesnt depend on it!
So far Ive been to:

Petco
PetSmart
Pet Connection

Ive called:
FishPlanet
Exotic Aquarium
Ost

All to no avail. Found some nice ones but either are made very cheaply and with particle board, or doesnt have any room for more than a 5g sump. The only one that came close and was a steal of a deal is the ones at Pet Connection. The ONLY downside is that it had only one door making getting under the tank and messing with any equipment or plumbing very difficult, ideally looking for two cabinet doors, or, one big one.

Any ideas? Im stumped. I just want a 3.5-4ft box with 2 doors. Never imagined how difficult that would actually be....


-Justin

 

[mpoletti]

I went through this same thing when I was looking last year. I ended up going with the misson series because I was fed up looking.

There is really nothing out there unless you make your own.

 

[Justin74]

That's what it's beginning to look like. If I could find Oceanic's 58 oak cabinet Id get that.

I just dont have an appropriate working area to make sure my cuts are straight, nor a fluent wood working knowledge to kick out clean work.

Hopefully a broke builder looking for some extra cash will see this


-Justin

 

[Unarce]

Justin - Pet Club in Elk Grove carries a lot of stands. You might have better luck there.

 

[Jim_S]

Justin, you may want to send rafael13 a pm. He does good work and might be willing to help you out

Jim

 

[Justin74]

Karl: Thanks, never even heard of em, but I'll check em out!

Jim: Good idea, he was trying help me with the tank initially but TruVu was backed up. I was going to just keep the stand untill my wife said she wants a different one. She doesnt like the current white wash one we have now, and personally am not fond of it myself. Not to mention the fact that it's 15+ years old.

Thanks guys!

-Justin

 

[rafael13]

I have a stand for my old 55g tank, I'll get the dims to see if it works for you

 

[rafael13]

the stand I have is 48" x12" x 24" made of plywood
If that doesn't work we can make one

 

[dots]

I modified mine and it was the pine type, which is overpriced for just pine, but the cheapest all wood one I could find. I took out the center divider to get total access to it, there were modifications to compensate for this and can elaborate on that later on if interested.


Here is a very old picture that shows how much room and access I have. See the brace in the back, I took out the one in the front and then used it to create a lapped door.

And since I am taking a trip down memory lane, here is some even older ones showing the stand.....well kinda......thats all I have, sorry. Whats that white stuff in the bottom of the tank?

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10195381#post10195381 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rafael13
the stand I have is 48" x12" x 24" made of plywood
If that doesn't work we can make one

I coulda worked around the 48, but the 12" is to shallow
I need something around 40 x 18 x 24-32

Rafael, if your down for the task just let me know what you need to get started .
And thanks for chiming in!

-Justin

 

[Justin74]

Doug: You raise two more issues Im facing.
How the hell am I gonna plumb this thing into my bassakwards sump
I noticed your overflow hits a filter, then media then return or skimmer. Mine does the same thing, and havent reversed it cuz Im too damn lazy and the media tray is soo convenient!

Then the sand. I have square foot prints of sand that hasnt been disturbed for over 6 years! Amonia and detritus landmines? YASUREYABETCHA :eek1:
Im scuurred
There are just too many potential problems with this move. I just feel very uncomfortable keeping all my fish and corals in containers overnight while the dust and smoke(aka amonia, nitrites and trates) settle, but Im fearing that I may be forced into it.


-Justin

 

[dots]

Dont move the sand, replace it with new to avoid that mess and seed it with the old. Or leave it in the bucket with water and add it slowly over the course of a month slowly.

This is an older pic. Mine now dumps into a remote SSB insert I made where the sock was, into the sump where the 2-part is dosed, chiller is returned, phosban/carbon filtered, and skimmer is. A mag then sends it back up. Its a mess down there and really ugly, but pumps the water like it should.

I am sure we can figure out your sump layout, but like everything else opinions vary. If I can help with drawing some plans for a stand or sump let me know, happy to help. (I have AutoCAD, Inventor 3D, and Solidworks programs sitting idle on my computer and have a little more free time these days)

But don't look at mine as a measure of my quality, it was just a "temporary" setup that turned into a longterm one. I am thinking about redoing my own to a more presentable setup soon.

 

[Justin74]

tee hee hee

What I want is very simple. I have a skillsaw but just have too much clutter to really set up shop and be able to make decent sqare cuts, aka tablesaw.

As far as plans go its a connect a to b type thing, pretty straight forward. Its the connectors that is the puzzle to me. Its like playing Zelda trying to get all the right stuff to make it fit. The bulkhead I chose for the overflow was 1.5" and its threaded. The sump inlet appears to be 1" or 1.25" and is slip fitted and is elbow shaped only adding complexity to something I wasnt comfortable with to begin with. The distance between the two will be about 12", as far as that stuff goes, it's totaly greek to me. Ive never hardlined anything in, its all been flex tubing barb fittings and couplers by the grace of God I just happen to find to fit to my tubing.

Basically? I need a hero

-Justin

 

[rafael13]

we'll need a sheet of 1/4" plywood and 2 or 3 4x2"
and some stain or paint, depending on what you want on it
oh and beer, lots of beer, I have found that my cuts are better with beer

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10198098#post10198098 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rafael13
we'll need a sheet of 1/4" plywood and 2 or 3 4x2"
and some stain or paint, depending on what you want on it
oh and beer, lots of beer, I have found that my cuts are better with beer

Done!
:beer:

-Justin