Fishie123 Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Hello Everyone. Last week Sunday I finally got my tank:happy1:. At the moment it is collecting dust though as the steel of stand is uneven in the middle by 1mm or more says Greg and the sump hole is on the wrong side ("As I gave the stand builder wrong information"). I would need to use some sort of liquid to even out the tank. Of cause I had to rearrange my entire garage:tears:. Thank to my amazing helper ("JackiePlec, JarrodRussell & Joutai"):hail:This was achieved within a day’s work.:happy2: Oh special thanks to ghostknife for helping too on that day.. Also thanks to Henward and David for giving me amazing advice on my tank size and sump. I took some pictures of the tank to show you how it looks. Again, I would like to thank you for all the help. Hope I can get my tank up and running. My Girlfriend mum used the space below as a storage room :tears: Just Felt link adding my favorite pleco :love: Sump Designed by David R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Hi Fishie.. Very nice looking tank.. I am very jealous.. I'm curious about that uneveness in the steel. Can you explain that more and could you not solve that by adding a sheet of polystyrene under that tank? Cheers oh and very nice pleco! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 I don't know exactly myself. Greg told me there is a curve in the middle of the stand. I think one of the steel beam was slightly longer then the rest. :dunno:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 :happy1: :happy1: nice welcome to big tanksss :happy1: :happy1: so what are you go to setup as...may be a plec com tank whould be cool :nilly: :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zayne Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 WOW!! thats a HUGE tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh_S Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Wow, nice tank cant wait to see photos when its all set up. :happy2: What media is going in the sump? Ive heard about people using adhesive to fix slightly uneven stands. They just put thick beads of "no more nails" (or similar) between the stand and ply. Then sit the poly and tank on top while the adhesive is still wet. The tank should do the job of leveling out the ply and the glue will hold it there. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrodrussell Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 their is a buckle of the rear of the tanks stand that buckles down 1 mayby 1 and a half mm and the same on the front of the stand it buckles down and again about 1-2 mm as greg was saying to put some sort of no nails (i think thats what he called it) to put small palm size blobs about 1 blob every 3inch cube then putting a layer of thick plastic over the top of it to stop it melting the poly then putting the tank ontop of that to spread it out and make it perfectly even all the way under the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Nice! Time to put in some big fish methinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostknife Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 whow now that looks good shame about the stand but good thing greg picked it up thats a lot of water to mop out but one thing at a time and your get there did you get the hole saw maybe somebody on here can help u even out the stand and with the sump fingers crossed have you got photos of the other two tanks u set up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Looks good =D Love the plec too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 nice tank, congrats. to pack up the stand level on my 2.0m tank i used "DPC" which is a bitumus paper designed to go between timber & concrete to stop moisture getting to the timber. It is used between the bottom plate of house walls & the concrete slab so the weight isn't going to be an issue. it comes in rolls f varying width & is about 0.9 of a mm thick IIRC. best of all it is cheap, like $10 for a 20m roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thank Smidey! I will try that out :happy1:. @Ghostknife: I will upload some pictures of the other tank soon. But not today. Trying to sort out the 1200L tank 1st. Oh quick question. Do I soak my background in my tank for a month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Do I soak my background in my tank for a month? What background are you using? tank looks good, what are the dimensions? I'd do the liquid nails thing if your stand is out by 1-2mm. The best way to check is to put the glass tank on the stand with no poly or ply as the glass will be dead level. You'll need a few tubes though with a tank that size!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 I might use a poly background with concert etc. My dimension 2200mmx800mmx700mm. Yeah, Me and greg put the tank on the stand without the poly to check how much it was out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh_S Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Heres the background thats in my 800L: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=50525 I let the concrete cure for a week or so. Then added water and after 3 or 4 water changes over the next week the ph had stabilised. Fish have been healthy as for the 2 or so months they have been in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 The best way to check is to put the glass tank on the stand with no poly or ply as the glass will be dead level. You'll need a few tubes though with a tank that size!! not true, don't forget the base of my tank from greg that was more useful as a skate board ramp. i don't think the liquid nails will be much good as a compound under that weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beets82 Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Man that's going to be a sweet setup. Ive got a massive 2500mm x 1200mm x 100mm sheet of poly that you could use for a background just pm me if you want it and we could sort something out - or if anybody else does? I was originally planning a poly background but for my 600L but I don't have the time, patience or artistic ability....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 not true, don't forget the base of my tank from greg that was more useful as a skate board ramp. i don't think the liquid nails will be much good as a compound under that weight. True I'd forgotten about that, I should have said the glass SHOULD be level! The liquid nails thing works well, I did it on my 5', its hard as rock and won't compress under the weight of the full tank. Been up and running for nearly 3 years no problem. Just need to use plenty of it and shim the ply where necessary to make sure it doesn't sag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 True I'd forgotten about that, I should have said the glass SHOULD be level! really all that needs to be achieved is the tank must be fully supported around the edges & as far in as you can whether it's the stand or tank that isn't perfect. The stand will never be perfect & the tank may not be perfect either but is more likely to be perfect than the stand. What i did with mt 2.0m tank was made the stand complete with the top panel fitted which was pretty good but not perfect so i put two layers of 10mm poly & sat the tank on top. there were a couple of areas where the tank was not touching the poly around the edge so i packed them up by sliding the DPC under the poly so it was tight under the tank. that way the tank is supported all round & won't be stressing anywhere not supported. The ply won't be dead straight & can vary in thickness through the sheet so i think packing between the ply & poly will be easiest as long as the stand & poly are close to was is needed. i would screw the ply to the frame & pack the poly to suit with DPC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Would it be fine to put the tank on poly straight on top of the metal stand (if the stand was level) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Would it be fine to put the tank on poly straight on top of the metal stand (if the stand was level) possibly although over a long period the poly may sag & fall to pieces in the middle & the edges would eventually be effected. in saying all this about the poly, i watched a video of a 2000L+- tank on MFK or Cichlid-forum & they put it straight onto the timber stand, no poly at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 In reality you need some really really thick and rigid ply or supports close together for it to make much of a difference. Even thick plywood will flex a lot more than glass under load, and glass will only flex a very tiny amount before cracking (unlike even the thickest ply). TBH I think the ply is more of a mental thing for us than an actual necessity for the tank, I've seen plenty of tanks on timber and metal stands with out it. In fact its probably actually better as it focuses the load on the poly where it really needs it and allows it to crush more and better absorb the unevenness in the stand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thank you for your post David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishie123 Posted March 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 Thanks David R and Smidey for the information. ^,,,,^. But which method should I use? I don't really have hard materiel skills so it hard to choice what method is effective? Greg said use the liquid nail? I don't know sorry. :tears: . I will start working on my tank after I pass my test this Thursday for uni. QwQ. I still need to research a bit more on gravel and lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 27, 2011 Report Share Posted March 27, 2011 If you've levelling the top of the stand for the ply to sit on I'd use the liquid nails. If you need to level the feet of the stand because of an uneven floor I'd use a method like Smidey described, packing it up with shims. Not 100% sure about using DPC though, its designed to be more of a water-proof barrier between the concrete pad and timber framing of a house. Its just a kind of paper with bitumen on it, so I'm not sure I'd count on it supporting a couple of hundred kg's over a few square centimetres as you'll have with the feet of a steel stand. I'd recommend using 1mm steel shims, there are various builders brackets you can cut into appropriately sized pieces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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