120g FW Build, A big upgrade from my 10g!

[fishguy306]

I have to agree with Mudbuttjones about just about everything. It will be very hard to balance two herbie set ups, one will nearly always be sucking air. I suspect even with one side being two regular drains you find that it tends to stand pretty still. The balancing act can be tough! But you will be glad going with a herbie, they can be super quiet dialed in correctly.

I would also recommend going a big higher with the stand, 6.5" is not enough to work in the sump. If maintenance is difficult that is when you start to slack off, at least in my experience. In regards to the 2x6 or 2x4, the 2x4 would be adequate so long as the rest of the stand is properly built. Also, you dont want to count on plywood or Styrofoam to level a tank, rimless or rimmed. Once you get everything built check and see how far off it is and shim the stand, not the tank. A tank that is not supported evenly twists and that can lead to leaks.

Good luck with the build! Great to see you doing so much research and planning, it will pay off for you once it all gets going!

 

[mudbuttjones]

Whatever size sump you choose give your self an extra 1" in all directions for slack. Tank sizes are kind of iffy. You atleast have the benefit of having both display and sump on hand during your buold to measure



I added some extra vertical supports during the build on a whim, not realizing they would interfere with my sump which was super tight.

And if you followed my thread know my spacial relation skills aren't what drive the girls crazy.

Long story short you don't want to crawl inside an aquarium stand with a hole saw, a balpeen hammer, and a chisel.

Lol

:edit:
Youll be fine with 2x4's. Double em up if you want in key spots. You'll be fine

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[bleublaze55]

+1

 

[xraycer]

With the tank having a 48"x24" footprint there would be no need to make the stand wider. The stand will easily fit a 36"x18" 40g sump.

You're right, I stand corrected about the 40 not fitting. I was actually thinking about the stand I built for my 180 which by my design only allowed a 55gal to fit. On that note, I would still recommend the OP to use a 55 since its more water volume, and I personally like the height and dimensional layout of a 55 for a sump set-up..........but that's just me. I also still highly recommend a higher stand to optimize viewing and for maintenance reasons.

 

[xraycer]

Long story short you don't want to crawl inside an aquarium stand with a hole saw, a balpeen hammer, and a chisel.




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I had a similar oops moment too when I built the stand for my 180, but fortunately my Dremel has a router set-up which made the 1/4" mishap much easier to resolve than your holesaw, hammer and chisel method LOL

 

[mudbuttjones]

I had a similar oops moment too when I built the stand for my 180, but fortunately my Dremel has a router set-up which made the 1/4" mishap much easier to resolve than your holesaw, hammer and chisel method LOL

I have 2 stand alone routers, I got em from my grandpa when he passed, never used em. That wouldve been an opportune time.

Kinda glad I didnt crawl inside the stand and lay on my side with a high amperage power tool.

Ahh who am I kidding. Im not above doing that

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[xraycer]

Kinda glad I didnt crawl inside the stand and lay on my side with a high amperage power tool.


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Come on, what could possibly go wrong? LOL

 

[matseski]

I completely agree that if you set it up inconveniently, you are much less likely to do the maintenance. Unfortunately, the tank will have to go on carpeting so I want to make sure the stand is solid. If I go with the 55g, I would have to increase the stand height to about 42" to give 12" between the 2x6 and top of the sump. Inside the cabinet there will be plenty of space with 8" in front, and 17" of headroom. I will tape it out on my wall to see which viewing height I like better, maybe that will convince me that the added instability in the stand is worthwhile...I'll just may have to add a few 2x4 braces.

If I only do 1 Herbie setup, would it be ok to just do a regular drain and return in the other side? I think I should be getting about 1000gph with that pump, even with a 7' head, maybe a little less since there will likely be some bends in the system. That would allow my return to be straight and contained in the system so even if I spring a leak in the plumbing the water will leak into the main tank or the sump.

 

[xraycer]

My 180 DIY stand stands at around 40" tall, and at 5'6", I can look straight into the tank. So much more enjoyable to view my fish without kneeling or bending over like I would have to with my other tanks with manufactured stands

 

[matseski]

I am heavily leaning twoards sticking with the 55g. Based on doing an L of 2x4s on the corners and a support in the center on the long sides, a 18" deep sump (40g breeder) would not be able to be slid in from either direction...would be about an inch too wide. While you could in theory remove the front center support, I would be worried that it may suddenly droop a bit. With the 55, while it is a 1/4" shorter than the display, (48.25 vs 48.50") it will be able to slide out the side of the stand if I remove a few screws on the plywood panel. Since it will only need to be removed if it leaks, I figure that I will have larger problems than removing the plywood side panel then. The next option for a <18" deep tank is a 30g, which starts to limit the volume of water the system can handle in a pump failure. Since this is my first system, I like having a larger margin error. Also since it is the entire width of the tank, I maximize the space I have for each stage of filtering and the refugium, while allowing all the plumbing runs to be as straight as possible.