WarDog's Tank Thread : Episodic Trial And Error

[WarDog]

Picked up the stand today... a day of highs and lows. Firstly the stand looks great. Happy with the powder coating even though I wanted white, but he didn't have.
Stupid me, I didn't measure it until I got it home. 1 inch short in width. 18 1/2 instead of the requested 19 1/2. Tank is only 18 3/8 but I am worried about the bulkheads
clearing the inside of the frame. Going to do a mock up when the wife comes home and can help move the tank. Fingers crossed!
Also, the threads on the bottom for the adjustable feet need to be re-tapped.
48" x 18 1/2 x 35" tall. Lots of inside height.

[Madreefer]

Good choice in stand height. It's sure nice not having to bend over to look at your tank. Top of my tank stands over 6' tall. Only negative thing is having to stand on a chair or ladder to work inside of tank.

[The Guy]

Nice stand, you could always add a finished piece of plywood to give you the extra 1" you need, it would look just fine if you trim the plywood edge. The height is great, mines 37" high, nice for viewing, but as Bill said you need a small ladder to do the work in the tank but it's no big deal. keep the pictures coming.

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by The Guy

Nice stand, you could always add a finished piece of plywood to give you the extra 1" you need, it would look just fine if you trim the plywood edge. The height is great, mines 37" high, nice for viewing, but as Bill said you need a small ladder to do the work in the tank but it's no big deal. keep the pictures coming.

Thanks Laurie. After testing the tank on the stand, the bulkhead just clears the inside of the frame, that was my main concern. The height is great, it will really be the centrepiece of the room. LOTS of vertical space inside the stand for extra gear.
I will need one of those 2 step folding ladders for sure! Lol.

[The Guy]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Thanks Laurie. After testing the tank on the stand, the bulkhead just clears the inside of the frame, that was my main concern. The height is great, it will really be the centrepiece of the room. LOTS of vertical space inside the stand for extra gear.
I will need one of those 2 step folding ladders for sure! Lol.

Those ladders work great, but get the one with wide steps there a lot sturdier to stand on and only a few bucks more in cost. Are you coming to the frag meet on March 1? Should be a lot of fun with lots of reefers there.

[WarDog]

Opps... look what I did. Good thing I've got a drill and a tap kit.



Added some fuzzy 'anti-scratch my wicked hardwood floor' sticky things.

[WarDog]

Just finished setting up a quarantine tank. It will however need to house my Texas Cichlid Sheldon while I can move (and clean the crap out of) his tank.
Once he is moved, or dies (that dude is like 7 years old) I can pull out the gravel and add FSW.
It's an all-new 20 gal standard and the PVC is 4".

[mike31154]

Before the 'electrical' part of this thread gets buried any further, I'll weigh in with a couple of things if I may! A dedicated outlet for the tank is never a bad idea, actually two would be better and most importantly, GFI protected as you're dealing with H2O. That nice titanium grounding probe you picked up at J&L is no substitute for the safety of GFI protection. Open a wall if that's what you need to do, or have the tank closer to the 'nook' location if that's feasible. I'd advise against running an extension cord if at all possible. Chances are you'll be using a power bar or two in order to have enough outlets for all the stuff typically required to keep the tank going. Power bars already have an extension on them & daisy chaining that with another extension cord is against code I believe. In any case, it's a potential hazard.

Fine looking build so far! Now's the time to get the electrical right, not after it's full of water & livestock.

[WarDog]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Before the 'electrical' part of this thread gets buried any further, I'll weigh in with a couple of things if I may! A dedicated outlet for the tank is never a bad idea, actually two would be better and most importantly, GFI protected as you're dealing with H2O. That nice titanium grounding probe you picked up at J&L is no substitute for the safety of GFI protection. Open a wall if that's what you need to do, or have the tank closer to the 'nook' location if that's feasible. I'd advise against running an extension cord if at all possible. Chances are you'll be using a power bar or two in order to have enough outlets for all the stuff typically required to keep the tank going. Power bars already have an extension on them & daisy chaining that with another extension cord is against code I believe. In any case, it's a potential hazard.

Fine looking build so far! Now's the time to get the electrical right, not after it's full of water & livestock.

I totally hear you mike31154, thanks for the honest input. Other than my wife's fury the only thing that scares me is electrical. As a gasfitter I am certified to work on low voltage circuits, but that's not the same as 110V. I work next to Electricians all the time and pick their brains constantly for info. This however is not the same as being a qualified journeyman. I am planning to replace the plug behind the tank with a GFI one. I am also planning on testing all the appliances on the living room circuit for their amp draw. If all else fails, I think I can tap into the nook circuit and run some BX shielded line behind the baseboard without having to open up the wall. I also have a dedicated circuit outside the house (going to the detached garage) just below the tank. This line exits the house, goes into a exterior junction box and carries on to the garage in underground PVC. It's 20 amps. We don't use the garage (rented out as storage) and the line is disconnected because of yard reno's. Thankfully I have a few option to make the tank all safe!

[mike31154]

Although the garage circuit seems to be an alternative, if you look into the code requirements, outdoor circuits are dedicated outdoor circuits! If I remember correctly, there are even restrictions on keeping a carport or garage lighting circuit separate from the outlet circuit. Could be wrong there, I need to check the little cheat book I have from PC Knight, the Electrical Code Simplified, BC edition. Available at most hardware stores for about $20. A pretty good investment to keep you out of trouble. Of course there's no substitute for hiring a qualified tradesman! Your electrician pals should be able to steer you in the right direction.