new tank stand / shower pan rump idea

[abbott]

i have a 145gallon FOWLR, 72Wx18Dx26T. I was planning on building a stand this weekend and also idea on a larger sump.... i have a 17g now. And i thought about lining the bottom cabinet with a shower-pan as a safety precaution. But if i do that then why have an actual sump enclosure.

Downfalls i see would be baffle installation. unless the pvc glue would stick to both acrylic and the pan. or glass.

just wondering/hoping someone has seen this

[Ninong]

Hi abbott,




Well, I have certainly seen a lot of stands that have bottoms that are waterproof up to three or four inches. Doing it the way you propose is probably the best way to go. I don't think it would be a good idea to try to make the entire bottom of your stand into a sump.


Here are some good ideas and one very bad idea that I have seen people try:

• One guy had a very nice stand built out of 2" tubular steel. He then had his custom tank builder enclose the bottom of the stand using 4" high glass panes between each of the steel legs of the stand. I think the bottom was PVC. Anyway, the glass pieces between the legs of the stand all cracked as soon as the tank was filled with water because of pressure from the legs. Bad idea!

• One guy built a slide-out bottom for his stand. The bottom was heavy oak plywood on heavy-duty castors. He used true unions between the drain connection to the sump and the return connection from the sump's pump. He was able to slide the entire bottom of the stand out whenever he wanted to clean the sump. The stand's end panels and front panels were all removeable. I guess this could also be made to work with a bottom that slides forward or backward a couple of feet if you had a steel stand that didn't require legs in the front or back. Good idea?

• Several people have built stands with removeable panels so that you can access the entire stand -- both ends and the entire front -- without having to deal with doors. This is easily done when the stand has a solid frame (steel or wood) and the side panels and front panels are not needed for support. Very good idea!

Good luck!