ADA style stand and frameless tank

[David Moses Heng]

from your pictures, I think it may be just enough although If it is me, I may have some reservations.

let me give you a sample of my 6x2x2 tank cabinet which make use of a very strong marine grade wooden frame doing all the support. I have removable lourved/plywood panels all round which does nothing for the structural rigidity

the black beams are the supporting structures. I can take out all the panels without losing any structural rigidity.
I guess that may be my idea of stable support for a relatively heavy and fragile tank.

nice. Did you diy it yourself?

[David Moses Heng]

Benny - Thanks. I not not even realize I had a personal gallery. Guess I haven't been using the forum to it's full potential.

Brian - you are correct. It is MDF 3/4" = 18mm MDF boards. Easy to find a B&Q or Homebox here. Good weight and strong, easy to work with though creates a great deal of dust when sanding and cutting.

Campbell, not that i'm against MDF boards but from what i know, MDF boards tends to expand after being exposed to moisture for a fare bit of time. Furthermore, at where you are(ROC), as one of the brothers here correctly pointed out is that you must also take into consideration that ROC is prone to earthquakes. When the ground shakes, the weight is more that than you have calculated. You need to take into consideration the dynamic loading on the cabinet should the ground shake. With the water swooshing in the tank like a mini tsunami, the weight difference is quite a fair bit.

Can any experts verify what i have just shared?

[vratenza]

nice. Did you diy it yourself?

as much as I like to claim credit for... no...hhahaha
It was planned and commissioned by me, completed by a professional carpenter...

[David Moses Heng]

as much as I like to claim credit for... no...hhahaha
It was planned and commissioned by me, completed by a professional carpenter...

care to share the lobang and cost? good choice of material!

[tcampbell]

There is a big difference between the structural support need for the weight of a 6 foot tank compared by a 2 foot tank which is 2/3 of the height and 2/3 of the width.

I have looked at the structural supports over and over again and compared to what is at the LFS and I believe mine is better.

The effects of earthquakes I can not calculate, but even if the stand was very strong, a huge earthquake would cause it to come off the stand.
My smaller 10 Gallon tank has been sitting on an old school desk for the past 6 years here and have had no problems. I live in the NOrthwest part of Taiwan where eartquakes are less strong, just usually a few shakes and nothing falls down in my cupboards or shelves.

Thanks for the advice though.

Regarding moisture. All boards have been sealed and painted with an oil based paint, which shoudl stop the accidental moisture and the moisture in the air.

Most stands are made with plywood, which has the same mositure problem, then has a stick on coating to help resist water. The insides are usually never sealed or painted and no stick on coating and they last years.

[vratenza]

care to share the lobang and cost? good choice of material!

I was trying to search my contacts but apparently lost his number...sigh
anyway, it cost me about $600 for the cabinet. Along with the tank from davidsws, my total cost comes to about 2/3 of the cost if I have gotten the whole set custom made from 1 person.

[vratenza]

tcampbell,
I seriously think that you have already thought it through thoroughly before you started on your cabinet making.
what's more, it has already been made and to me, it seem like a prettry sound structure. All my inputs are merely fodders for you to think about as you are in a clearer position to judge what you really need.
Just relax. Enjoy the hobby!

[David Moses Heng]

bro campbell, hope you are not offended by my "noisy" and "ignorant" inputs. like what vrantenza has mentioned, i believe that you have did your due calculations and taken the necessary precautions. all the best bro!! cheers!!

[lolo]

Hi vratenza, it looks that, your tank is actually resting on the cabinet legs, instead of its bottom frame, right?

[vratenza]

Hi vratenza, it looks that, your tank is actually resting on the cabinet legs, instead of its bottom frame, right?

There is an upper and lower frame. the supporting cabinet legs are in between.
across each leg there is a cross beam at th top and bottom as well......if you can imagine 2 exact ladder shaped structure at the top and bottom support by the legs.

[tcampbell]

Need suggestions. Please excuse the mess of the room as I am in the process of renovating.

If the stand is grey and the design i have shown



should I go with clear silicon (actuall a blueish green color becuase of the color of the glass at edges) or the black silicon.

I am trying to picture both in my mind and I can. The LFS says black is better as it will not get dirty looking like the clear and will not be as distracting as the bluish green color which happens when 10mm glass is joined together with silicon.

But does it make the tank feel more "framed" in?. I was wondering as 10mm glass with both clear and black you will see the joining of the glass and with that size and Black ADA soil on the bottom and sides you will see water, black soild, bluish white rim, etc. If it was black would that be better?

[ankank]

should I go with clear silicon (actuall a blueish green color becuase of the color of the glass at edges) or the black silicon.

Since you go for 8 to 10 mm glass, I would strongly suggest the clear silicon. I have seen lots of both black and clear silicon, and it basically comes down to how thick the silicon seam will be. Thin seams (5 or 6 mm) look fine with black silicon, thick ones don't and give the front wall a thick black frame.

Don't worry too much about the clear silicon getting dirty. If anything, only the part exposed to water will, the big (and visible) part is mostly between the glass walls.

[lolo]

I'll go for the black silicon because it's almost an impossible mission for me to clean the algae stain from clear silicon.

[vratenza]

not to mention medications such as malachite green....

[tcampbell]

Freddy - But when they used 5 or 6 mm glass and Black or clear silicon they end up using glass support rods and thicker / wider silicon so that the silicon seen is actually about 10mm wide anyway. If they are using 10 mm glass, there is no real internal silicon. Mostly the silicon is that which the glass connects to the glass and a very thing part of silicon to keep water out (1 mm)

[tcampbell]

After checking the site www.elosusa.com and seeing Elo tanks in Black silicon:

I realized how much the black "frame" or confines the tank and makes it look strange on a light colored stand. Guess ADA style is the way to go all clear.

I really want the stand in 8mm glass clear silicon, so I might just talk to the better tank making shops and see what they say.

By the way - I take no offense to any suggestions or comments people say, that is why I ask, to make sure I am think of everything and not missing something. You all have more experience with me, and often get me to think of something new.

Filter for the tank will be Eheim 2215
Intake

and Outflow will be glass ADA knockoffs called FLO Pipes. Look rather cool and the price is 45 USD per set.


CO2 will be using an external CO2 reactor from a company called ISTA "MIX MAX PRO" it is good, quiet and effective.

or this CO2 diffuser

as I have an extra one lying around and it should be perfect for a 61 cm tank

Soil is similar to ADA but by another company. (I am doing NEW a product test for the company before it is marketed)

Planting and scape will just be a lot of plants and water changes for the first month to have the tank stabilize then figure out what I do with it.

Lighting is hard as the stand is 85 cm high, the tank is 45 cm high (130 cm) and the light I want suspended above the tank. But even if it is 20 cm above the tank that will be 150 cm high. When I am stilling down in my office (where the tank is) the lights will be shining in my eyes! So I need a very flat fixture with good reflectors and T5 bulbs and some type of piece (like a car visor) in front of it that will prevent the light from shining in my eyes.
Like this but not MH??

though might go with this JBJ—61cmX 20cmX 5.5cm 24W*4 = 96watts
Hopefully I can suspend it from the ceiling of bars



just need to see how it does with heat dispersion as there is no good light if the fixture can't get rid of the heat and not raise the tank temperature. One of the cheaper lights I use on my 90cm tank, I can't touch the light after on for more than 2 hours and the fixture is too hot!!
Since it is a 29 gallon tank I will shoot for about 90 watts of light in the fixture to give me room. Though I have been following a post about light and T5s and M shaped reflectors which stated if the reflectors are correct and the fixture is flat the light will have a more confined beam and reflect down into the tank better so that the watts per gallon rules do not apply and you can use less wattage of light.

I am staying away form MH as the temperature: I don't what to use a chiller and the fact that MH light the tank well but also "light the room and the neighbors’ house". There light is not very confined and shoots everywhere! That would definitely be in my eyes!

[tcampbell]

The Flo Pipes arrived. The quality is pretty good and the glass is thick. Not up to ADA standards in finish or packaging (the arrived wrapped in bubble wrap and a box of newspaper) but for the price of 45 dollars a set it is hard to expect that.

Customer service is great, and communications fast so I would recommend them (www.AQMagic.com / [email protected])
Pictures of my actual pipes are shown below.

Trying tofigure out how to suspend the T5 lights. Can't seem to find a metal worker here who can bend pipes so I can do it the ADA style, though still looking.

[Star-flog]

Excellent setup and very detail information, can't wait to see your final result...

[tcampbell]

Well I am very late for an update so I will make it a good one. The tank is fianlly setup. That is the equipment is setup. Many pictures here so enjoy, I know I am. I really want to keep the tank empty right now as it is full of possibility and it seems any choice I make in layout will not do it justice.

Where to begin. With the empty tank ofcourse:



Then the cork under the tank. Yup cork (the same stuff used in bulletin boards) 4~5mm thick. I tried looking for mats like the ADA mat and couldn't find it. The black pading used under floating hardwood floors was too thin, and difficult to come by, so I decided cork after the suggestion from a friend here. (Problems with this???)


Ofcourse there was a problem with the tank. There always has to be a problem, and this is mine. Bubbles in the silicon at the bottom side of the tanks. Unsightly, a little, but only when up really close and looking at the bottom side coner. The tank maker assured me this isn't a problem. Is it?


Now add the intake and return, from FLO Pipes (great prices and looks good - though a did have a problem with my intake being a little deformed on one set I bought)...




Well they do the same whirl affect the Lily Pipes do (at a lot lower price):





More of the whirl effec. I love looking at it.



Surface water movement to remove the protein build up. No more surface skimmer in the tank!! Yeah. Less equipment. shock: What a minute, I am a man, I should want more equipment in my tank!!!:



The lights I decided to go with are by Fishline, a Taiwan based company.


They are the brightest lights on the market it seems:

due to great reflectors for each tube.
I had planned to buy T8s but considered hanging them and the t5 and fixture is lighter and just 2.50US more so I bought T5 (added bonus T5 are 24watt tubes and T8 are 18 or 20 watt tubes).

Have legs of I don't hang them as well

Color is very different with a Blue and green, but I am not worried about that as much as quality of light and price:

[tcampbell]

Though for my second light as this is only 48watts total, I will need more. I will probably buy the more expensive and better colored Schuber Wright AD2.


It is said to not even get warm to the touch, so worth a shot. Though quite expensive. But very effective:

It will be in the front and will probably be T5 to give me more flexiability in light tube choice and better prices.
And with the neutral grey color, not bad

Though it all depends upon my money situation after buying all the plants/driftwood and rocks to setup this tank!