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New 125 Gal Tank

Thank you for your imput. That sounds better than my plans by far. im no structural engineer by any means but i would rather overkill than underkill ANY day... Planning on moving my 55 and 20 gal tanks next week so i can start building. I will post updates as i go! Thanks again.

Any ideas on tank mates in that big tank with my current plans?
 
I wish I was crafty enough to build my own tank furniture! I've seen some pretty amazing stuff out there that I just don't see from the furniture sold at fish stores. Someday I may just have to go for it and see what I can do! :D Good luck!
 
I help my stepdad build furniture often. I do much of my own carpentry around the house, foundation repair to removing load bearing walls. The weight of the aquarium is held by the perimeter. Plywood is too flexible. It will only support your aquarium directly under the pillars. I would use a frame of 2 by 4's standing on the tall end. This will be much more sturdy and distribute the weight evenly across the pillars. Almost every stand I've seen uses a perimeter frame of some sort, usually 1 by 2's standing on the tall end. A 2 by 4 gives a little more room from error. A frame like this will be much stronger. Good luck man, I live for projects like this!
 
how about thermalite blocks? they build houses out of them so they are strong! and relatively lightweight, which might be useful depending on the floor you are standing all this weight on...

I have kitchen worktop under my tank; strong, flat, and cut to the exact dimensions of the tank including the bowfront - looks good and very solid.

I envy you your project and look forward to seeing how it develops!
 
Its on a concrete floor in my basement so weight shouldnt be an issue.. I think i have decided to go with some boards that measure 5" x 5" for the height and added structure. It will put the top of the tank at 5'1". Good viewing height for sitting since its in our living room in the basement. There is no floor and when we put the wood floor in we will just lay it around it. Im so exited to get started but the misses keeps finding projects to keep me busy. Thanks for all your imputs! Will keep you informed!
 
I would at least consider your own height when deciding the height of the tank. Unless you are quite tall, then it shouldn't matter, I guess. I'm a shorty, so I liked to have the tank a little lower to the ground. Makes maintenance a lot easier on me. My first tank sat quite high for me, and I almost had to do a hand stand inside the tank to reach the bottom :D
 
BigTuna said:
I would at least consider your own height when deciding the height of the tank. Unless you are quite tall, then it shouldn't matter, I guess. I'm a shorty, so I liked to have the tank a little lower to the ground. Makes maintenance a lot easier on me. My first tank sat quite high for me, and I almost had to do a hand stand inside the tank to reach the bottom :D
Click to expand...

Good point. Im 5'8" so not too tall either. But have a couple step ladders also. Tank is quite tall so its kinda hard to balance heights out to comfortable both ways..
 
Okay. I have started building the stand. Still waiting for household permits to start actual construction... :good: I have a couple questions regarding structure. I have a couple pictures that I want you to look at. Tell me what you think. The boards I am using measure 5"x5" and they are treated for outdoor use. Here are some pics

2012-05-15184435.jpg

First thought. Like the way it looks.

2012-05-15193451.jpg

Got the tank on it and noticed that both sides were about a quarter inch off the block. I could take the blocks out of either side. Was supported by the back blocks and the center stack. Do not like that very much. I'm sure I can get three blocks to stack at the same height as the other two. But then....

2012-05-15194725.jpg

I took the blocks out and I LOVE :drool: the way it looks with just the supports being on the outsides. And it is perfectly level. Any ideas on if that would be safe? I was also thinking that I could take the blocks that are in the front and move them in a bit to offset the distance between them. My only worry is bowing of the boards from the weight on top. :crazy: Does anyone think that I would have an issue with that? ANY help would be appreciated.

Anyways... I have it set up across the room from my 55gal, and I think the fish seen it..
2012-05-15193739.jpg

Maybe they are getting exited too... haha i'm sure they dont even know... But I am sure exited. going to start rinsing the play sand this weekend. Should be able to get it set up sunday :hyper:

Edit: Sorry for the very very crappy pics. Took them on my mp3 player.. now I see they are REAL bad.. you get the point though!!!
 
Those wooden beams shouldn't bow. I think the center stack is pretty useless as far as integrity. I would however consider moving the stacks in the front the other direction, long ways with the aquarium. A good thing about wood is it makes a LOT of noise before it gives so listen to it while you are filling it up. I'm sure that will hold the weight though. Also a little black spray paint on those blocks will make it look a little more wife friendly.
 
Great idea. I was wondering how that would look. Figured it would look great. If I left it the way it is I could fit my 55 under there also. That would be awesome! :good:
 
Try measuring the top of your 55 and the top of that stack with your new tank on it. I am betting you would be closer to the same height with just 2 blocks on each stack. The top, not the bottom, determines how easy or hard maintenance is. Make sure that you have a flat surface for the tank to sit on. If you have any twist to that frame of 5x5 lumber, the tank will fail fairly quickly. The reason I point it out is that if all of the blocks were exactly the same, you would not have seen any gaps when you had a center support. Something was throwing it off.
 
OldMan47 said:
Try measuring the top of your 55 and the top of that stack with your new tank on it. I am betting you would be closer to the same height with just 2 blocks on each stack. The top, not the bottom, determines how easy or hard maintenance is. Make sure that you have a flat surface for the tank to sit on. If you have any twist to that frame of 5x5 lumber, the tank will fail fairly quickly. The reason I point it out is that if all of the blocks were exactly the same, you would not have seen any gaps when you had a center support. Something was throwing it off.
Click to expand...
It is the same height as the 55 as it sits now. I measured everything to the 16th of an inch. The blocks i was using for the center were 1/4 inch taller for some reason. Every stack from floor to top of beam measure exactly the same. So no
worries there! The blocks that were for the center were a little different style. Thats prolly where the difference was
 
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