Tall/High Stands

[carrera mike]

Anyone has tall stand? How tall is it. I understand that standard is 28" to 30" for best viewing while sitting.

I'm planning a DIY and been debating how high I should take it. I want it eye level but not too radical where maintenance would be a pain too. I'm thinkng of 38" or 40" HIGH stand for a 22" high tank.

Fishing for thoughts... pros and cons you guys experienced ..

Thanks

[TXStateUnivReef]

well i think it depends on prefrence i am 6'7" tall and i hate my stand and want a taller one because standing straight up i see the top of my canopy not the inside of my tank

[mspad]

As we all know, tanks require regular maintenance, I wouldn't put the tank to high, I like to be able to reach in and touch the bottom.

[jimbo78]

i wish my stand was taller, you can always get a step ladder if maintenance is a problem. i end up sitting on the floor in front of my tank alot. also with a taller stand you have alot more room for your skimmer and other things in your sump. makes maintenance of your sump and skimmer and any other hardware you have down there alot easier

[MichaelRyanSd]

I think the general consensus would be..tall, but not too tall

[carrera mike]

Originally posted by jimbo78
i wish my stand was taller, you can always get a step ladder if maintenance is a problem. i end up sitting on the floor in front of my tank alot. also with a taller stand you have alot more room for your skimmer and other things in your sump. makes maintenance of your sump and skimmer and any other hardware you have down there alot easier

Very good points!! As you could tell, I kinda leaning on the tall ones. When I have guess in the house, its the first thing they see from the entrance foyer.. always become a piece of conversation. If its eye level I think its more impressive cause its fills your pheripheral vision.

Thanks to all!

[heyfredyourhat]

I have a DIY stand that allows me to have my tank sitting up 42". I am 6' and i need a chair to do any maintance inside the tank which is a drag. But when we are sitting on the couch it is a nice view.

[papagimp]

I had a nice short typical all pine stand for my 75g, put the tank about eye level when sitting though, I stuck a really super tall canopy on it (almost as tall as the stand was) and it filled in the room quite nicely. For the most part though, I like a really tall stand. Wish i could view my tank at eye level while standing up, my knees are killing me from crouching down to view the tanks. And I got alot of em to view everyday.

[PiXieCath]

I have a 40" stand for my 24" high 125gal and really like the viewing! Ok, I need a ladder to do maintenance but that was not a pain!;-)

[cannarella]

I'm like him ^^^ 40" tall stand so I can walk up to it and see everything without having to stoop down.

[carrera mike]

Well, thanks guys for all the inputs! Appreciate them all.

After two weeks of vacation in Canada I finally got started with the stand. I decided on 41" plus the 3/4" baseboard and 1/2" styrofoam, that puts the base of the aquarium at 42+"!! this thing is tall!!

I probably have failed carpentry if I went to school for it

I'm going to wrap/finish it with matte black or alum look Formica Laminate.

Here are a few pix.

[carrera mike]

I also still have to order the Formica Laminate. Lowes has different wood looks but not the matte black or still playing with the idea of allum look like the finish of this stand (pix of Rolyguy7's below). They're both need to be special ordered.

[carrera mike]

After three days of putting together the bits and pieces of the corner flo, and temp plastic sump under... it's time to test its drain. I'm crossing my finger cause its on carpet. Tonight will be the test run of the pump. Although I know I need a bigger one than the Eheim 1260. I have to run this tank's (two) corner flow(overflows).

What size of pump are you guys recommending to circulate the water from the sump???. I will not be doing a closed loop system. I really like to get the Eheim 1262, because they are really quiet!!, but it's only rated at 900gph, do you guys think it's too low??

Here are some more pix of the prep. pls excuse the mess its under contruction

Doors and finish will be later this month. I want to work on the sump, final plumbing & electrical before I install the doors and finish it(thats also letting it run fishless for at least 6 weeks).

I painted the back with gloss black Rustoleum. I used roller brush to avoid messy over spray and moving the tank outside. layed 3 light coats and let it dry overnight.

[carrera mike]

Some pictures from yesterday of my spartan circulation plumbing system check

I have "0" plumbing experience!! I had to press the "assistance needed" button in the plumbing aisle at Homedepot to figure out the fittings I needed

I'm using flexible hoses for now until i figure the permanent positions for everything. Then I could try full PVC plumbing

I have a acrylic custom sump thats currently running the 72 gals display. I might move that to this display once everything checks good on 'shake down' runs(plus 6 weeks with no fish after I move the rocks and soft corals). For now, this rubbermade christmas special sump will do

By the way, just ran the Rio 14HF. Very very weak pressure at the four return nozzles for this system. It did work like a champ when it was in the 72 gals.

[SuperAWE]

Looks good! You will like the taller stand. The low stands don't seem to promote an aquarium within a room as well.

[carrera mike]

Originally posted by SuperAWE
Looks good! You will like the taller stand. The low stands don't seem to promote an aquarium within a room as well.

Thanks!

Tonight, I transfered all the rocks, softies, & inverts(snails & Jacque the cleaner shrimp).

Snails & Shrimps do not host ich right????

I'll keep it fishless for the next 6 weeks. some pix below. notice the 30 gal QT on the right where the Hippo and Purple Tangs have been in for almost 2 months now.

[SuperAWE]

Looks even better with all the stuff in it! BTW cool hanging light over your table!

[Deb91]

Love the way you set up the aquascape! Thats funny I thought the same thing about the light and the ceiling,sometimes I feel like I'm being nosy looking around peoples room in the pictures lol!!!!

[carrera mike]

No worries at all. Thanks for the kind words!
Yes I like contemporary look. Thats why im leaning more in wrapping the stand with the alum the alum look laminate.

[1628mna]

hey carrera forget the tank, i love that textured ceiling that is a hell of a job.

[weereef]

Looks great! I was trying to decide wether to paint the back of my tank black or blue. I'm going black for sure now! Your aquascaping looks great too! I like the stand design. My stand design is almost identical [mine is skinned in oak, not Al]. The example you gave for your stand idea is awesome. Good luck!

[Konadog]

40" tall steel stand here, coated with Line-x! Plenty of room to work on equipment under the tank. The best part is not having to bend over to look at the tank anymore. My kids, well.............they need a step stool.

Here's a pic when I first put it up:

[carrera mike]

Thanks guys for the kind words.

Also, I laid a good shelve water proof liner(like the one that the wife use for kitchen drawers) on the bottom (where the sump will go) so water does not get into wood and very easy to wipe off.

Here is the covering/finishing I'm going to use ot cover it with.
(Still debating between black and alum look)

http://www.formica.com/publish/site/...index/laminate

[carrera mike]

Originally posted by 1628mna
hey carrera forget the tank, i love that textured ceiling that is a hell of a job.

Thanks! You know at first, when we moved here, I reall didn't lke that. It was kinda old fashion to me, BUT then all our friends complimented it .. so I thanked the builder for insisting in putting it on.

Originally posted by weereef
Looks great! I was trying to decide wether to paint the back of my tank black or blue. I'm going black for sure now! Your aquascaping looks great too! I like the stand design. My stand design is almost identical [mine is skinned in oak, not Al]. The example you gave for your stand idea is awesome. Good luck!

Thanks
You know, I've seen light blue, dark blue, black, etc.. but the blues kinda steal some attention from the color of the fish and corals. The black presents whats inside the tank. My opinion.

Originally posted by Konadog
40" tall steel stand here, coated with Line-x! Plenty of room to work on equipment under the tank. The best part is not having to bend over to look at the tank anymore. My kids, well.............they need a step stool.

Here's a pic when I first put it up:

NICE Stand :thumbup: Looks solidly built! Good idea with the special caoting. That salty water gets into everything.
YES on the vertical room!!! Now I'm not limited on shorter skimmers The skimmer I'm looking at is kinda tall and I'm glad just now that I did this taller stand!
Man, is that a Tech Series 180?? WOW!

[carrera mike]

By the way, I'll being going for two huge doors, vise four, to have more maneuver room for whatever I try to get in there in the future. The ones tha could swing open 180 degrees.