Suction cups for moving bigger tanks

[Fish Tank Travis]

This is what I did to my stand because I felt the same way you do about it. I got some really flat 4x4’s and made a frame for the top and bottom. Then, I put them together and attached them to the stand with some small corner brackets. This was mainly done to add some height to make more room for my sump.

Then, the lighter pieces of wood are pieces that I added for strength. I measured and cut each piece to fit tightly in between the top and bottom. Then, I used wood screws that were long enough to go a little more than halfway through them from the inside of the tank so there were no screws showing. There are five screws holding on each support. There are four supports on the front, four supports on the back, and two supports on each side. I think that the supports were something around a 3/4”x4” board, or maybe just a 1”x4” board. With a total of 12 added supports, the stand was much more sturdy and I felt completely comfortable with it holding my 220.

 

[krichardson]

Don’t bother with the suction cups. Wear a nice pair of gloves that lets you get a good grip on the tank and always remember to lift with your back in a jerking twisting motion.

LOL!.....what on earth did he ever do to you?

 

[TheWolfman]

I like what you did with the stand Fish Tank Travis . P PYRU I have the same stand that you have and I did a similar modification as Travis did, only I used 2x4’s and put in 6 vertical supports, and cut them to a exact fit and hammered them in place to help take the load. I will say I was sceptical of the stand too but that tank has been on the stand for over ten years... If I move the tank again I’ll be Building a new stand though.

 

[PYRU]

View attachment 1358558

This is what I did to my stand because I felt the same way you do about it. I got some really flat 4x4’s and made a frame for the top and bottom. Then, I put them together and attached them to the stand with some small corner brackets. This was mainly done to add some height to make more room for my sump.

Then, the lighter pieces of wood are pieces that I added for strength. I measured and cut each piece to fit tightly in between the top and bottom. Then, I used wood screws that were long enough to go a little more than halfway through them from the inside of the tank so there were no screws showing. There are five screws holding on each support. There are four supports on the front, four supports on the back, and two supports on each side. I think that the supports were something around a 3/4”x4” board, or maybe just a 1”x4” board. With a total of 12 added supports, the stand was much more sturdy and I felt completely comfortable with it holding my 220.

I've thought about this but didn't know how it would work out. It would be nice to salvage it. What size sump did you use? This came with a trickle but I was probably going to convert a 40b

I usually do a frame then use some really nice board to finish the outside that's held onto the frame by Velcro etc. Basically I peel the skin off the stand to work on the sump.

 

[PYRU]

I like what you did with the stand Fish Tank Travis . P PYRU I have the same stand that you have and I did a similar modification as Travis did, only I used 2x4’s and put in 6 vertical supports, and cut them to a exact fit and hammered them in place to help take the load. I will say I was sceptical of the stand too but that tank has been on the stand for over ten years... If I move the tank again I’ll be Building a new stand though.

Would it be too much trouble to shoot some pics of it? I'm curious what yours looks like

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I've thought about this but didn't know how it would work out. It would be nice to salvage it. What size sump did you use? This came with a trickle but I was probably going to convert a 40b

I usually do a frame then use some really nice board to finish the outside that's held onto the frame by Velcro etc. Basically I peel the skin off the stand to work on the sump.

I used a 55 for the sump. I wish I had used a 75 or 90 though. If I were you, I wouldn’t go smaller than a 55, but I’d still recommend a 75 or 90 if you can get ahold of one. It just gives you a lot more freedom with it.

 

[TheWolfman]

Would it be too much trouble to shoot some pics of it? I'm curious what yours looks like

Not at all, I’ll take some pictures of it when I get home and post it for you.

 

[PYRU]

I used a 55 for the sump. I wish I had used a 75 or 90 though. If I were you, I wouldn’t go smaller than a 55, but I’d still recommend a 75 or 90 if you can get ahold of one. It just gives you a lot more freedom with it.

Dang. I was planning on running the 75 as a sump on a 240-300.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Dang. I was planning on running the 75 as a sump on a 240-300.

You can look on Craigslist for another one. If you can’t find another 75 or 90, then you can usually find 55’s cheap enough and that should do just fine. Also, this is probably a bit my personal preference. I just know that I’ve never heard anyone complain that their sump is too big, but I’ve heard a lot of complaints about people thinking their sump is too small. I really think you should go bigger than a 40B though.

 

[MrsE88]

I agree with going with a bigger sump. I have a 55 on my 135. It takes up most of my stand, but I don’t regret it one bit.