Blog Comments

How much space are you planning for the refugium and return areas? Have you decided on a flow pattern for the sump?
e.g. skimmer-->refugium-->return

I think he has a door where the old closet was, or beside it

Marc,
Am I missing something? You removed the door from the kitchen to the fishroom? Are you going to have inside access to the fishroom?

I just couldn't get past the idea that the threads were taking the entire load of the stank on four tiny points of pressure. If a screw/bolt was 1/2" wide, all the weight was on the threads. If I was using hardened steel like the kinds used to build engine blocks, odds are it would have been fine, but then there's the point of all that pressure on four tiny bits of concrete compared to the rest of the foundation. I just wasn't comfortable with that.

Gerald is an interesting guy to listen to. I believe he has the full video of culturing giant clams on his youtube channel.

I thought you will have levelling feet on the stand?
any reason not to use those?

38" from concrete to plywood.

Marc, how much height do you have between the floor and the tank?

I'll get that composite material ordered. Thanks for the feedback.

Originally Posted by Hans

Seeing an aluminum shim under a tank like that was enough to get me to finally register here......

An aluminum shim under there, in the salt environment, is going to cause some nasty galvanic corrosion. Not just the aluminum either, but it will also start rotting into the stand as well. Throw any kind of stray current into the mix, and you'll be shocked how fast it will go.

-Hans

Whoops, I completely forgot about that. I should have remembered that from my material science class.

Seeing an aluminum shim under a tank like that was enough to get me to finally register here......

An aluminum shim under there, in the salt environment, is going to cause some nasty galvanic corrosion. Not just the aluminum either, but it will also start rotting into the stand as well. Throw any kind of stray current into the mix, and you'll be shocked how fast it will go.

-Hans

Aluminum against aluminum will degrade itself, other then that, you are fine. The post at each corner are what carry the loads, everything else provides stability.

Do with it what you will.

I wish you hadn't done that Marc. Aluminum is a horrible material to use in a saltwater environment, especially if it is in contact with any ferrous metal. And if there is any stray current and/or SW on the floor, the aluminum will go away. Do some reading on that before you call it good.

I don't know what material would hold up best but I agree that you need to fill the gap, as baker.shawn said you have transferred a lot of weight (but not all) to a small area. Undoubtedly when you add water your shims will compress just a little bit and if you have filled the gap then some of that weight will be again spread back over more of the structure. IMO a fiberglass epoxy would hold up the best although it wouldn't be the easiest route.

i too wonder about the load transfer now being carried by only a few points instead of through the whole frame. torque stress can lead to failure. and maybe it is fine. i too am not an engineer but you might want to talk to a real one.

after shiming, you could always grout the stand in with precision grout. We do that a lot at the work on machines and bridge crane systems, after the structure or machine is shimmed and level, we mix up the grout and pack it in, you mix it really dry. Most masonry/concrete places should have it. 1 bag would be more than enough. You can leave a gap at a few key locations to aid in drainage.

Please correct me if my logic is wrong but I ran in to this concern when I levelled my tank, mine is much smaller so I didn’t worry much....
By building up one side of your stand, you are effectively taking the entire load of your tank that would be spread to the ground though 4 sides of the stand and transferring it to 2 sides (the left and right). Those 2 long front and back base bars are no longer carrying any load. I see this as a little bit of a unforeseen stress on the structure. Perhaps I’m underestimating the strength of the steal stand and there is nothing to worry about heck I’m not an engineer

perhaps cedar shims would work?
as far as woodwork for around the tank have to considered stone work? perhaps a Manufactured Stone Veneer

Haha you said last of wiring haha I know u better as your tank boy

What's up with that guys foot in the last pic!! Lol