Dark Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 I thought I'd share this little miracle with you all. We just moved into a nice new house in Kingston, Wellington. Beaut views, garage for the growing tanks, concrete pad for the car , nice kitchen etc... and a helpful caringand active landlord. Makes a lovely change from a cramped flat in the middle of town - we can even get three people in the kitchen at once! Anyway... i digress... The landlord is keen for me to get under the house and put in some extra supports for the 600l tank that is to go in the lounge. So i got on my crawling-under-the-house-trousers and sent to see what i could do. As with most houses there are a number of piles holding them off the ground, but during my exploration i discovered some additional supporting piles and braces that appeared to be under the lounge floor. Further examination shows that these supports were against the lounge wall providing an extreme amount of extra bracing to a small area - an area that is 1400mm/850mm with the floor joists running in the 850mm direction. Looking at the lounge ceiling there is a very well plastered hole that is directly under some fresher looking tiles on the roof. Turns out there used to be a coal range sitting on that point of the floor. Also turns out that the coal range had almost the same footprint as my fish tank - the tank is 1400/650mm. Basically means that the two back legs of my tank will be sitting directly on their own piles, and the front legs will be 150mm away from their own set of piles, all whilst sitting on massive rimu floor joists. How is that for amazing?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
count_sexy_tart Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 lol well that will keep ya land lord very happy with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 It was obviously meant to be! Our tank sits on extra piles too as, when we built our house, we weren't sure where the fireplace was going to go so added extra piles to two different places in anticipation. One of them now has the tank above it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polgara Posted February 4, 2004 Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 Hmmm I wish there had been a coal range in my lounge. Nice to see you back online Chris, hope the trip home was a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2004 the trip was wrought with rain, bad visibility, and junkfood! i got back to find that my port hoplos have spawned - i never realised how beautiful they get when they are in their prime - they look like they are wearing paua jackets. oh - and cheers for the plants Jude - its gone nuts already! i stopped in at aquatic blue and got some test kits - so much cheaper than welly, and got the guys there to give me a guided tour through the sera co2 fertilization system... i want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 I just love having a concrete floor, no worries about where I can put the tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 5, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 i am certain that in my own house i will have concrete floors or similarly strong floors - its part of the hobby thats why i took over the garage, and fortunatly the concrete pad is covered in part by the end of my bedroom which is exactly where i want to put a 10 foot cichlid tank... i wonder what the ambient strength of concrete is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 Sound's like I used to live there. My last flat has a seriously strong floor at one end too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted February 5, 2004 Report Share Posted February 5, 2004 What a really good omen for you and yours. When are you hoping to get the tank up and running again?? Look forward to progress reports. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 well the latest was moving the tank into the room! thought it would be a simple case of getting the flatmate to grab the other end - alas we ended up taking doors off hinges and moving everything that could possibly be in the way - took us about an hour but the tank is now on the aforementioned supports and is full and warming as we speak. i have had to hold off on re-sealing the tank for the moment (need to add in a few extra supports at the top after one of them fell out) so i have only half filled it in order to get the fish out of their tiny holding tanks. because the lounge is three times the size of the last one the tank looks miniscule - i think i need a 6 footer now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted February 6, 2004 Report Share Posted February 6, 2004 Well, at least you could get yours through the door! I had to take the lounge window out to move mine... With the setup you've go, it nice to know you've got a good solid base to rest it on. It's one less thing to have to worry about. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2004 i think that a tank falling through the floor or seriously bad water damage are the two potentially worst situations that could arise from this hobby - mainly because of the people to whom i am responsable to for the damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted February 8, 2004 Report Share Posted February 8, 2004 Ask Rob, he knows all about water floods. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2004 one thought pops to mind though - it really helps if you put the tank over the joists that are on top of the extra piles. we are in the process of draining the tank so we can lift it onto the correct part of the floor... *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 10, 2004 Report Share Posted February 10, 2004 I can confirm that mopping up 500L of water from your lounge floor at 5.30 in the morning is not an experience I want to repeat - EVER! Every towel in the house got pressed into service and the washing machine was on continuous spin cycle since a damp towel will still take up water from a soggy carpet. Thankfully it was during summer so the carpet dried out without any apparent damage - house did smell like a 4 day old pair of socks for about a week though. Only had 3 casualties thankfully and the catfish that got lacerations from the broken glass had a full recovery. Looking back now there was an amusing aspect - numerous catfish busily exploring their new, extremely large but shallow tank - I could have done without the zap from the 4-way powerboard that reminded me that mixing water and electricity is not condusive to long life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted February 10, 2004 Report Share Posted February 10, 2004 Heh, I've had nightmare/dreams with my plecos and catfish crawling around livingroom floor. Then came the bit about fish in hamster balls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Posted February 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2004 saw someone selling something like that on trademe - some kind of plastic run-through that is apparently good for rabbits and fish (?!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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