Either it was insanity or a sign of my everlasting dedication to aquatic life. With 10 small tanks, a phyto tub, and a LR curing tub, I clearly need more containers filled with water...right?
Brand new 55 US gallon Aqueon glass tank. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I was looking at the ad for it online sipping my tea yesterday morning, and my husband walked by to see what I was looking at and said "Why are you sitting there? Go!" Didn't need to tell me twice.
I have never had a tank this big in fw or sw, so for once I'm actually stepping into unfamiliar territory and feeling like a bit of a noob again, particularly in areas of weight distribution and stands. The largest volume of water I've had was a 25-30gal fw tub that sat on the floor. The husband and I are almost 100% set on salt for the 55gal, although it's not drilled, so I don't think we'll be heading the sump rout.
The first issue is that we're not sure what to do about a stand that is both ok for the floor and ok for the tank. I could've gotten a good deal on a stand at the same time as the tank, but even with a second trip for a stand there was no way to handle one of them with my small car unless I wanted to head down the freeway with only a few bungee cords standing between success and a horrific event. So, since that fell through, we are pretty much looking at two options:
- Something barebones like this: http
/www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Metal-Deluxe-gallon-Aquarium-TS55/dp/B0002DIUVQ
- Something involving boards and/or cinderblocks and a lot of DIY, but with more surface area for floor contact.
The main problem with the second option is that we have no real workspace or tool set to speak of, so the setup cost to build a nice stand probably wouldn't undercut the cost of something like the lightweight metal frame (except for perhaps cinderblocks and a plank, which I feel iffy about on this scale in case they don't settle level). As the picture sort of shows, the tank has a plastic brace midway along the bottom against the glass, but I wasn't sure if it would still be advisible to have full contact along the glass panel with some material (I've read some suggestions of dense foam or rubber pads underneath for tanks with a lot of rocks?). The metal stand of course wouldn't accomodate full bottom support, and I'm also not sure if those itty bitty feet will present a weight-distribution issue on the floor since I have never used a stand like that.
Advice??
Brand new 55 US gallon Aqueon glass tank. It was a deal I couldn't pass up. I was looking at the ad for it online sipping my tea yesterday morning, and my husband walked by to see what I was looking at and said "Why are you sitting there? Go!" Didn't need to tell me twice.
I have never had a tank this big in fw or sw, so for once I'm actually stepping into unfamiliar territory and feeling like a bit of a noob again, particularly in areas of weight distribution and stands. The largest volume of water I've had was a 25-30gal fw tub that sat on the floor. The husband and I are almost 100% set on salt for the 55gal, although it's not drilled, so I don't think we'll be heading the sump rout.
The first issue is that we're not sure what to do about a stand that is both ok for the floor and ok for the tank. I could've gotten a good deal on a stand at the same time as the tank, but even with a second trip for a stand there was no way to handle one of them with my small car unless I wanted to head down the freeway with only a few bungee cords standing between success and a horrific event. So, since that fell through, we are pretty much looking at two options:
- Something barebones like this: http
/www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Metal-Deluxe-gallon-Aquarium-TS55/dp/B0002DIUVQ- Something involving boards and/or cinderblocks and a lot of DIY, but with more surface area for floor contact.
The main problem with the second option is that we have no real workspace or tool set to speak of, so the setup cost to build a nice stand probably wouldn't undercut the cost of something like the lightweight metal frame (except for perhaps cinderblocks and a plank, which I feel iffy about on this scale in case they don't settle level). As the picture sort of shows, the tank has a plastic brace midway along the bottom against the glass, but I wasn't sure if it would still be advisible to have full contact along the glass panel with some material (I've read some suggestions of dense foam or rubber pads underneath for tanks with a lot of rocks?). The metal stand of course wouldn't accomodate full bottom support, and I'm also not sure if those itty bitty feet will present a weight-distribution issue on the floor since I have never used a stand like that.
Advice??
