Reboot
Welp, the tank was wet for four days...and then I saw this.
In case it's difficult to see, that's the top of my stand bowing under the weight of the full tank. Best I can estimate, it's deflecting 1-2mm at the lowest point. It's enough that I could easily slide an 8" wide piece of card stock underneath the tank in the middle.
So, after two sleepless nights trying to decide whether to further modify the existing stand by adding more 2x4 bracing or to just scrap it and buy a proper tank stand, I ultimately decided on the latter.
I ordered the new stand on Monday, drained the tank on Tuesday, and tried to design the modifications to the new stand on Wednesday. The new stand is the Innovative Marine APS aluminum stand, made specifically for my tank, the Nuvo Fusion 20. However, while the new stand will have no trouble supporting the weight of the tank, there are a few issues that still need to be addressed.
First, my floor is terribly out of level. Since the APS stand doesn't have leveling feet, I'll be reinstalling the heavy duty leveling feet I bought on Amazon (rated to 600lbs per foot) on the new stand. This will require drilling 16 small holes (3/32") and attaching the feet with four sheet metal screws, each.
Second, the new stand is totally open. Neither Leah nor I like the idea of looking at all the under-tank junk in our living room, and eventually George will be toddling around getting into all sorts of trouble, and I don't want fish chemicals and electronics on the list of hazards he'll have to face in the house.
I was lucky to pick up a 4'x8' sheet of Coroplast corrugated white plastic board from a contractor at work who had some extra. This material will make up the sides and back of the stand, slotting into the grooves that are formed into the extruded aluminum profiles. The door will come in the future and probably be made of 3/4" plywood or MDF painted white. Fortunately we have a few months before George becomes mobile enough for this to be needed.
Third, and finally, the new stand will be ~20% smaller in volume than the original. It is only 24" wide instead of 30" wide like the Ikea cabinet. Also, since it's not made of wood I can't just screw Apex modules anywhere I want, so this means I'll need to be much more organized with my equipment mounting board, as well as the overall use of space inside the stand.
I built a quick SketchUp model of the tank and stand so I could wrap my head around all of this, and I plan to cannibalize the shelves from the previous cabinet for the equipment mounting board and the new shelf inside the stand. Just keeping my fingers crossed that I can fit a 5 gallon bucket in the bottom as an ATO reservoir, or else I'll be headed toward a pricey ATO-specific reservoir. Here's a look at the model I built. I'll follow up with some images of the assembly and modification of the new stand, shortly.
In case it's difficult to see, that's the top of my stand bowing under the weight of the full tank. Best I can estimate, it's deflecting 1-2mm at the lowest point. It's enough that I could easily slide an 8" wide piece of card stock underneath the tank in the middle.
So, after two sleepless nights trying to decide whether to further modify the existing stand by adding more 2x4 bracing or to just scrap it and buy a proper tank stand, I ultimately decided on the latter.
I ordered the new stand on Monday, drained the tank on Tuesday, and tried to design the modifications to the new stand on Wednesday. The new stand is the Innovative Marine APS aluminum stand, made specifically for my tank, the Nuvo Fusion 20. However, while the new stand will have no trouble supporting the weight of the tank, there are a few issues that still need to be addressed.
First, my floor is terribly out of level. Since the APS stand doesn't have leveling feet, I'll be reinstalling the heavy duty leveling feet I bought on Amazon (rated to 600lbs per foot) on the new stand. This will require drilling 16 small holes (3/32") and attaching the feet with four sheet metal screws, each.
Second, the new stand is totally open. Neither Leah nor I like the idea of looking at all the under-tank junk in our living room, and eventually George will be toddling around getting into all sorts of trouble, and I don't want fish chemicals and electronics on the list of hazards he'll have to face in the house.
I was lucky to pick up a 4'x8' sheet of Coroplast corrugated white plastic board from a contractor at work who had some extra. This material will make up the sides and back of the stand, slotting into the grooves that are formed into the extruded aluminum profiles. The door will come in the future and probably be made of 3/4" plywood or MDF painted white. Fortunately we have a few months before George becomes mobile enough for this to be needed.
Third, and finally, the new stand will be ~20% smaller in volume than the original. It is only 24" wide instead of 30" wide like the Ikea cabinet. Also, since it's not made of wood I can't just screw Apex modules anywhere I want, so this means I'll need to be much more organized with my equipment mounting board, as well as the overall use of space inside the stand.
I built a quick SketchUp model of the tank and stand so I could wrap my head around all of this, and I plan to cannibalize the shelves from the previous cabinet for the equipment mounting board and the new shelf inside the stand. Just keeping my fingers crossed that I can fit a 5 gallon bucket in the bottom as an ATO reservoir, or else I'll be headed toward a pricey ATO-specific reservoir. Here's a look at the model I built. I'll follow up with some images of the assembly and modification of the new stand, shortly.
This sentence doesn't feel quite right: "Also, since it's not made of wood I can't just screw Apex modules anywhere I want, so this means I'll need to be much more organized with my equipment mounting board, as well as the overall use of space inside the stand." I would argue that you were already very organized with Ikea 😁
ReplyDeletePS no rush on getting the old stand out of the living room 🤓