Large aquarium considerations

[trigger11]

I have purchased a used 200G acrylic aquarium. I have been trying to do some research to make sure I dont miss anything that might be important to setting it up so thought I would get ideas.
The stand is also made of acrylic and the top of it is pretty much perfectly flat.
Here are the things I have discovered that I should pay attention to before setting up the tank.
1. The tank should run perpendicular to the joists in the floor. I am going to have a friend who is a general contractor set up some extra bracing under the floor so I should be ok here for the overall weight of the tank.
2. The tank should be level. Here is where I am a little confused. I put a level on the tank and the bubble is hanging over on one of the black measuring lines. So it is not in the middle. I have heard you can use something called a shim? Would anyone happen to have a picture of a good one? Also where to get one?
3. It could be a good idea to put some kind of foam in between the tank and the stand. The bottom of the acrylic tank still has most of the paper attached to it. Since imperfections can be a bad thing it seems to me I should put the foam in there to be safe. Any ideas of a specific kind and where to get it?
Any other insights would be appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
~Trigger

 

[rcoultas]

1. Correct - perpendicular is preferred
2. Your contractor will have shims on his truck or will know how to make them for you. It is simply a triangulated piece of wood for correcting levelling issues.
3. Not sure why you think you need something between the tank and stand - when tank is set up with substrate etc you'll never see the bottom. If you must have something I would go with a thin soft cloth type material like fleece.

 

[lion_crazz]

I have purchased a used 200G acrylic aquarium. I have been trying to do some research to make sure I dont miss anything that might be important to setting it up so thought I would get ideas.
Congrats on the big tank purchase!
1. The tank should run perpendicular to the joists in the floor. I am going to have a friend who is a general contractor set up some extra bracing under the floor so I should be ok here for the overall weight of the tank.
Absolutely. This is very important.
2. The tank should be level. Here is where I am a little confused. I put a level on the tank and the bubble is hanging over on one of the black measuring lines. So it is not in the middle. I have heard you can use something called a shim? Would anyone happen to have a picture of a good one? Also where to get one?
Yes, a shim could be used if the floor is unlevel. Here is a little link explaining the shim idea: http://www.ehow.com/how_2121872_shim...en-floors.html
3. It could be a good idea to put some kind of foam in between the tank and the stand. The bottom of the acrylic tank still has most of the paper attached to it. Since imperfections can be a bad thing it seems to me I should put the foam in there to be safe. Any ideas of a specific kind and where to get it?
I am not sure I am following you about the foam. Why not just put the tank flush on the stand?
Also, be sure to check out my post about setting up and maintaining a saltwater tank. It may give you a few pointers here and there on setting up your tank. Likewise, if you have any questions, I would be glad to help you. I have a very similar size tank as you (210).

 

[trigger11]

Thanks for the responses.

I guess I will take a look and see if home depot has some of the plastic shims as talked about in the ehow link there. I am guessing they make variable sizes to fit different levels.
I had discussed putting the foam in between the tank and stand because I had read a few posts on here that recommend doing that. I guess if there are any imperfections in the top of the stand they can cause the tank to crack with all of the weight pushing down on it. And if the foam is there then it makes it so that wont happen. (The previous owner did not have any foam there so maybe I shouldnt worry about it.)

Thanks for the link to your other posts Lion. I have read several of those before. Very good information there.
Well, I will get the floor and leveling taken care of. I have started taking some pics and plan to make a project thread. Wish me luck.

~Trigger

 

[jonthefishguy]

Yes placing a thin piece of styrofoam across the entire length of the top of the stand before you place the aquarium on top will correct any uneven weight distribution that the aquarium has. This a very good preventative measure that I practice when setting up new tanks for customers along with leveling using shims.

 

[ketill]

FOr the foam between tank and stand , the " foam and moisture barrier" type pad for laminate flooring worked great for me , and cheap to :0P

 

[mcbdz]

Just something else to consider while you are in this stage of setting up. Have you decided yet what kind of tank you plan to set up? Reef, FOWLR.
Also equipment you will need? The reason I ask is I'm setting up my 240Gal and found with all my equipment the outlets/breaker in the area I'm placeing the tank is too small. So before I can place my tank I need to put in a breaker dedicated to my tank, also GFCI(?). This is something to checkout before you set up.Easier to get to the area.

 

[1journeyman]

Yup... electricity is a much overlooked consideration.

 

[trigger11]

Originally Posted by mcbdz
Just something else to consider while you are in this stage of setting up. Have you decided yet what kind of tank you plan to set up? Reef, FOWLR.
Also equipment you will need? The reason I ask is I'm setting up my 240Gal and found with all my equipment the outlets/breaker in the area I'm placeing the tank is too small. So before I can place my tank I need to put in a breaker dedicated to my tank, also GFCI(?). This is something to checkout before you set up.Easier to get to the area.

Good point about the electricity. I'm pretty sure I should be ok there. I am setting up a reef so I will double check just to make sure. Thanks

 

[oceansidefish]

I used a 1/4" foam I bought at Home Depot for about 10 bucks. Works great, I also siliconed it to protect the wood stand.

 

[oceansidefish]

Also put in a dedicated breaker to your panel if you can...It will save alot of heartache. Plus then you can run a couple of outlets behind you tank.

 

[1journeyman]

Don't put the outlets behind your tank... pain to get to. Also put them higher on the wall to make better drip loops.
GFI circuits also important.

 

[xeniaman]

use 3/4 inch foam between the tank and stand. It will squish down to nothing and will allow more wiggle room for unlevel surface. I used it on my 240 which is perfectly level.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I don't think you need to use a shim. It should be level on all four corners and braces on the stand. You can use 3/4" styrofoam underneath the aquarium. Make absolutely sure that the aquarium sits on a piece of 1" thick plywood as well as putting cross braces underneath the stand every 1.5 feet.
In large systems, space is a definate consideration. Make sure that you have enough room for all of the equipment that you want, as well as comfortable to do water changes with. If possible, take out a wall and access all of your equipment from the garage!
Also, consider flow. You are going to have to deliver a lot of flow through the sump, so get a nice sized return pump.

 

[lesleybird]

When I set up my 190 gallon I had to pay to put in another circuit because when I had a 90 gallon in the same spot it would often pop the circuit. I knew that if the equipment for the 90 gallon was almost too much that the 190 gallon with it's 6 foot light, skimmer pump, UV pump, and two return pumps would be too much. Now I run one of the main pumps on one circuit, and the other main pump on the other circuit so that if one pops while I am away then the water keeps flowing. Lesley

 

[coachklm]

heres some electrical ideas..
FTS.

electrical:

theres also another on the left of the tank, these are easy to get to and the gfci is in the breaker box each set of for outlets are 20 amps. I have a total of 4 x20amp outlets w/ 16 individual plugs , my electrical and equipment came before the tank.

 

[acrylic51]

Hey Coach.....What size is your tank?

 

[coachklm]

270g 72x36x24 with 48x30x20 sump