Fish Room Journal

[sianeds]

Oh there are seriously heavy duty bolts in it

It's just that I have the tank on there right now, admittedly it is a bit lop sided as there is no hole for the overflow pipe so it is hanging over the edge on one side for now until I can drill it tomorrow.

The whole thing will be encased in MDF or something similar to make it look like a real cabinet That should make it more stable...that was the plan anyway I was going to give the tank a good scrub today but I just didn't feel comfortable with it, I was too scared of the whole thing collapsing. Right now I'm not ever going to fill the tank while it's on that stand.

Oh and I need a ladder to get into it. Once the hood is on the top of the tank will be over 6ft high

 

[SkiFletch]

Why not just drill a big hole in the top of the stand to accept the pipe? That top piece of ply really only prevents the stand from shearing around the Y axis, the 4x4 corners and 2x4 posts and top/bottom frames actually hold all the weight. Cutting a hole in the bottom of the new tank for a standpipe and then cutting a bigger hole in the top of the stand to accomidate the increased mass of the bulkhead will work just fine

Edit: Just read the other two posts (wonder why they weren't dsipalyed for mey ). Do not, I repeat, do not use MDF for the stand. It WILL eventually get wet (you know this) and when MDF gets wet, it becomes soft and disintegrates. Better to use Plywood for the sides and back to prevent it from shearing on both the X and Z axes. Or use bobf's idea and use diagonal braces for the corners

 

[sianeds]

The only problem I have with cutting the hole in the top for the downpipe is that the stand is designed so that the long edges of the tank are sitting directly over the longest support beams of the stand. The tank is already drilled and the pipe is in place. It is 3cm inside the back corner of the tank. I can cut a hole in the ply top no problem but I will aslo need to cut a notch into the stand itself as the wood is 2" thick.

 

[bobf]

The only problem I have with cutting the hole in the top for the downpipe is that the stand is designed so that the long edges of the tank are sitting directly over the longest support beams of the stand. The tank is already drilled and the pipe is in place. It is 3cm inside the back corner of the tank. I can cut a hole in the ply top no problem but I will aslo need to cut a notch into the stand itself as the wood is 2" thick.

Is there any reason you couldn't widen the top to the full width of the room so you can make use of supports bolted to the end walls, or even in just one direction if both isn't an option?

That way you could shift the tank left or right so the required opening isn't in line with the supports and once its boxed in it'll still look fine and dandy!

 

[SkiFletch]

That stinks. Who the heck drilled a hole that close to the edge?

 

[adam.crouch]

Wow sian, thats goin to look wicked. I'm going to have to come over and have a look next time i'm home. Might come home for the may nank holiday...

 

[sianeds]

You know you're always welcome Adam

Anyway here is a really poor quality webcam video of the Angel for you all to drool over

 

[SkiFletch]

 

[Lynden]

I wish I had the profound amount of self-discipline it must have taken to decide not to keep that fish...

 

[adam.crouch]

wow thats an amazin fish!! y dont u keep it? i'll have it for my nano

 

[sianeds]

Well.... the Mr thinks Beauty is a keeper so maybe she will be staying after all. BUT... the first sign of coral nipping and she goes

As cute as she is, she is a big fish and a difficult one to keep. The vid just doesn't show how vivid the blues on her are. She truly deserves the name Beauty.

Oh and she LOVES Phillipe the cleaner shrimp

 

[for_my_fish]

I know nothing of marines, but thats a beautiful fish. The long fins look fab. Are they graceful fish like discus or fast movers?

 

[sianeds]

Thanks

She is a bit of both really. Most of the time she is either cruising around looking for food (or begging me for food) or she's pestering the shrimp for a clean. But when she wants to, by god she can move. She is a powerful fish.

 

[rhysiboy]

i wish i wish i had that fish. too bad it wont fit in an nano but even in such a buiig tank she almost looks a bit restricted.

 

[sianeds]

She's in the 55gal at the moment so yeah she is VERY restricted. Not ideal at all but it's the best I can do for now. Hopefully she'll be in the big tank within a week. She seems happy though and she's getting more tame by the hour.