Height of tank stand

Something Fishy · 01-07-2004, 10:12 PM

Now that we are building a new tank stand. We need to know what is the average hieght of your tank(s).

I am thinking 32 inches high. Just high enough not to be looking down on the tank just low enough to be comfortable sitting and watching.

Building will begin tomorrow night. We went and looked around town and got some ideas on building one. Most of the ones we looked at didn't look near sturdy enough. All of them looked to be made of 1/2" to 1/4" particle board. We are looking at useing mostly 2x4's for the base and supports.

Thanks for your input. I am VERY glad I found this site.

Thanks again everyone.
Rusty

Maxx · 01-07-2004, 10:17 PM

Rusty,
My tank stand is about 28 inches high. This puts the top of my tank at about 49 inches (a little over 4 feet). I like that height because I can easily reach down into the tank w/o needing to contort/overreach etc...
Nick

reefrunner · 01-07-2004, 10:29 PM

Standard height for manufacturers stands is 30"

Witfull · 01-07-2004, 11:14 PM

as Nick/max said i like it to be ata comfortable height to reach into. the taller the tank the lower the stand. when i gewt my 265g i think the stand will be about 26" in height

Pro_builder · 01-07-2004, 11:17 PM

I have mine set at 36" tall, that way I have lots of room for Sump Goodies. It makes it a lil tall to just reach in and grab something from the sand bed, but I also look right into the center of the tank when I am watching TV.

NaH2O · 01-07-2004, 11:19 PM

Ours is 36 inches tall. We needed height for the skimmer, which is 30 inches tall.

fidojoe · 01-08-2004, 12:50 AM

My stand is 31" tall, it is made out of oak plywood, its is sturdy, but the down side to it is that there is a center divider inside, which is very limiting on sump size, I can fit anything with the same footprint as a 10 gallon, or another 2" deeper, but no wider, so the max is really a custom 20"wx20"hx12"d, with room to work on the top. I could drain the tank and frame it, but it would probably be too stressful on the inhabitants, and me for that matter. Basically what I'm trying to say, is do it right, and how you want it, cause its a huge PITA if you decide on something else once the tank is up.

Playa · 01-08-2004, 01:00 AM

Rusty my stand is 36" high and my Canopy is 13" high.

If you plan to build your own stand and canopy, make sure you take your time looking to as many options as possible before you start sawing wood.

Luis

BoomerD · 01-08-2004, 01:14 AM

Measure twice, cut once!
A fellow I know built the stand for his 120 (48x24x24) 42" high. Made for excellent viewing, gave him TONS of room underneath, but made maintenance a PITA. If I remember right, his canopy wa 12 or 14" high.

Brucey · 01-08-2004, 01:57 AM

Yeah, i think the imprtant thing is that the top of your tank is below the height of your shoulder, so you can get those arms in without a chair, and the stand needs to high enough for the highest peice of equipment, which is normally the skimmer. Check out my gallery, but I took this to extreme and have about 1/2" to spare ..... but it works well and looks great
Brucey

addict · 01-08-2004, 02:57 AM

My stand is 40" tall (DIY).
Like BoomerD said, it gives you lots of room underneath, but to do anything in the tank requires a footstool.

The nice thing about having a 40" tall stand, is the tank is at eye level when standing, so you get more of a 'picture on the wall' effect than a 'tank on a stand' effect... it's quite pleasing, aside from the aforementioned difficulties.

One drawback is you can't sit up close in a standard chair... eye level is right at the top of the stand, though it is an interesting perspective looking up into the tank rather than down. This problem can be easily solved with a barstool though.

wooddood · 01-08-2004, 08:29 AM

i also have a 120 that im currently building into the wall and i beleive mine is around 42 inches to the bottom of the tank like boomer said.going to be harder to work on but i have lots of room under neath for whatever.

johnlewis · 01-09-2004, 10:12 PM

I just put my 180 into the wall and it's set at 45" at the bottom and 72" at the top of the tank. I put it at this level so you can easily look in while playing at the pool table.

Curtswearing · 01-09-2004, 10:41 PM

Because I built my tank into the wall, I wanted it higher than most would want. I wanted to be able to see my tank over the loveseat. I haven't measured. However......

Foldable 2-step Stepstool

With a folding stepstool, I can easily get into my tank.

Something Fishy · 01-09-2004, 10:44 PM

Thanks guys!!

Got the stand all build, stain is drying. Gonna pull about 30 gallons of water out in the morning and pick the tank up and set it on the new stand. Since the aquairum is on smooth flooring we can then slide it back. Refill with the water and we should be good to go.

Thanks for all the help.
Rusty

01-07-2004, 10:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Something Fishy Limpet Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Springfield, Mo Posts: 125 View Gallery Karma Komment	Height of tank stand Now that we are building a new tank stand. We need to know what is the average hieght of your tank(s). I am thinking 32 inches high. Just high enough not to be looking down on the tank just low enough to be comfortable sitting and watching. Building will begin tomorrow night. We went and looked around town and got some ideas on building one. Most of the ones we looked at didn't look near sturdy enough. All of them looked to be made of 1/2" to 1/4" particle board. We are looking at useing mostly 2x4's for the base and supports. Thanks for your input. I am VERY glad I found this site. Thanks again everyone. Rusty

01-07-2004, 10:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
Maxx Manta Ray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 3,079 View Gallery Karma Komment	Rusty, My tank stand is about 28 inches high. This puts the top of my tank at about 49 inches (a little over 4 feet). I like that height because I can easily reach down into the tank w/o needing to contort/overreach etc... Nick __________________ "Chaos, confusion, despair...my work is done here." ...Some guy named Murphy.... A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!" Reef Sanctuary Knowledgebase (Answers to all your questions and then some!)

01-07-2004, 10:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
reefrunner Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Cedar Key, FL Posts: 1,069 View Gallery Karma Komment	Standard height for manufacturers stands is 30" __________________ Kevin Check out my gallery!

01-07-2004, 11:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
Pro_builder DIY Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Oxford, Iowa Posts: 1,746 View Gallery Karma Komment	I have mine set at 36" tall, that way I have lots of room for Sump Goodies. It makes it a lil tall to just reach in and grab something from the sand bed, but I also look right into the center of the tank when I am watching TV. __________________ -Troy 180 gallon Reef, 3- 250 XM 15K MH Electronic ballast, 380 watts VHO Actinics, 2- 5 watt LED Moon lights, 100 gal rubbermaid sump, 75 gallon Fuge, ETSS 600 Skimmer, 4700-5400 gph pump for return, Octopus 3000 controller, Iwaki 40 RL skimmer pump, 2- 65w PC 10K fuge lights, 2 55 gallon barrels, Custom light oak stand and hood, misc pumps, extra 600 gallon rated tank size protein skimmer. Purple tang, yellow tang, pacific blue tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Sand sifting star, snails, hermit crabs, 2 mated perculas, pulsing Xenia, Anenome, mushrooms, ricordia, zoanthids, kenya tree 1 1/2" tall, misc other hitchhiker stuff. DIY is my dream... ...well OK the only way I can afford this Addiction!! Just as the light goes on in my head... ... I break the bulb!!

01-07-2004, 11:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	Ours is 36 inches tall. We needed height for the skimmer, which is 30 inches tall. __________________ ~Nikki~

01-08-2004, 12:50 AM	#7 (permalink)
fidojoe Fish Addict Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,581 View Gallery Karma Komment	My stand is 31" tall, it is made out of oak plywood, its is sturdy, but the down side to it is that there is a center divider inside, which is very limiting on sump size, I can fit anything with the same footprint as a 10 gallon, or another 2" deeper, but no wider, so the max is really a custom 20"wx20"hx12"d, with room to work on the top. I could drain the tank and frame it, but it would probably be too stressful on the inhabitants, and me for that matter. Basically what I'm trying to say, is do it right, and how you want it, cause its a huge PITA if you decide on something else once the tank is up. __________________ *Member "Crabs Are Evil" Society* My Tank: 90g AGA, 18g tall sump, CSS 220 w/ meshmod impeller, 4x54w Tek T5 retro w/ IC reflectors, Kalk reactor w/ aquamedic niveaumat system, a few SPS, LPS, zoos, and a few softies, 2 Ocellaris Clowns (hosted by both a RBTA and GBTA), Yellow Watchman, Potter's angel, Yellow Tang, Foxface, Midas Blenny, Purple Pseudo, huge brittle star, 2 tigertail cukes, fire shrimp, snails, and unfortunately two emerald crabs (the bubble algae got out of control).

01-08-2004, 01:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
Playa Reef Lobster Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Palm Beach Gardens, FL Posts: 1,451 View Gallery Karma Komment	Rusty my stand is 36" high and my Canopy is 13" high. If you plan to build your own stand and canopy, make sure you take your time looking to as many options as possible before you start sawing wood. Luis

01-08-2004, 01:14 AM	#9 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,631 View Gallery Karma Komment	Measure twice, cut once! A fellow I know built the stand for his 120 (48x24x24) 42" high. Made for excellent viewing, gave him TONS of room underneath, but made maintenance a PITA. If I remember right, his canopy wa 12 or 14" high.

01-08-2004, 01:57 AM	#10 (permalink)
Brucey Reef Lobster Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Reading, England Posts: 1,292 View Gallery Karma Komment	Yeah, i think the imprtant thing is that the top of your tank is below the height of your shoulder, so you can get those arms in without a chair, and the stand needs to high enough for the highest peice of equipment, which is normally the skimmer. Check out my gallery, but I took this to extreme and have about 1/2" to spare ..... but it works well and looks great Brucey __________________ 160UK Gallon. (192US Gallon). 400Lbs LR. Aquamedic Turboflotor 5000 Shorty skimmer. Arcadia 3Series pendant (3x250W 14,000'K MH & 2x58W 60" actinic) (DIY cooling fan). Tunze 7095 Multicontroller & 2xTunze 6100 Streams. Redsea 100 Aquazone Plus ozonizer and redox computer. Aquamedic Ocean Runner 6500 return. TMC Vectron 30W UV sterilizer. Aquamedic Aquaniveau auto top up system through Deltec 500 kalk stirrer. PurityOnTap RO/DI. Deltec FR509 (ROWAPhos). Aquamedic PH computer controlling KNOP HD Calcium Reactor. Setup Nov 2002 See my tank here http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...&threadid=4486

01-08-2004, 02:57 AM	#11 (permalink)
addict Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sierra Nevada Country Posts: 1,621 View Gallery Karma Komment	My stand is 40" tall (DIY). Like BoomerD said, it gives you lots of room underneath, but to do anything in the tank requires a footstool. The nice thing about having a 40" tall stand, is the tank is at eye level when standing, so you get more of a 'picture on the wall' effect than a 'tank on a stand' effect... it's quite pleasing, aside from the aforementioned difficulties. One drawback is you can't sit up close in a standard chair... eye level is right at the top of the stand, though it is an interesting perspective looking up into the tank rather than down. This problem can be easily solved with a barstool though. __________________ -David *addict's tank specs:* Coming soon!

01-08-2004, 08:29 AM	#12 (permalink)
wooddood the wood dude Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: CARMEL. INDIANA Posts: 3,450 View Gallery Karma Komment	i also have a 120 that im currently building into the wall and i beleive mine is around 42 inches to the bottom of the tank like boomer said.going to be harder to work on but i have lots of room under neath for whatever. __________________ 120 gal/in wall tank/starboard substraight/2 250 watt 10k xm metal halides/ 4 55watt 03 actinics/150lbs lr/scwd on return/scwd on a closed loop/aquaclear aquatics 200 pro wetdry w/skimmer. ask all the questions you have if we cant answer it we'll make up some thing. remember patience is the key to a kick ass reef. dave.

01-09-2004, 10:12 PM	#13 (permalink)
johnlewis Scopas Tang Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Brighton, MI USA Posts: 448 View Gallery Karma Komment	I just put my 180 into the wall and it's set at 45" at the bottom and 72" at the top of the tank. I put it at this level so you can easily look in while playing at the pool table.

01-09-2004, 10:41 PM	#14 (permalink)
Curtswearing Golden Moray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 2,596 View Gallery Karma Komment	Because I built my tank into the wall, I wanted it higher than most would want. I wanted to be able to see my tank over the loveseat. I haven't measured. However...... Foldable 2-step Stepstool With a folding stepstool, I can easily get into my tank. __________________ In memory of Fluffy, please pause before hitting enter---being nice is free. Click for ReefKeeping FAQ'S Click for Product Reviews Click for Photo ID Gallery http://curtcpapfs.com/downloads/1Curt.jpg

01-09-2004, 10:44 PM	#15 (permalink)
Something Fishy Limpet Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Springfield, Mo Posts: 125 View Gallery Karma Komment	Thanks guys!! Got the stand all build, stain is drying. Gonna pull about 30 gallons of water out in the morning and pick the tank up and set it on the new stand. Since the aquairum is on smooth flooring we can then slide it back. Refill with the water and we should be good to go. Thanks for all the help. Rusty

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