Ron's 300G Tank Move and In-Wall Installation

I'll get some pics. Home Depot had a 6500 BTU window unit on sale for $99. Not a huge purchase, but at least I saved $30. Oh yea, I signed up for the Home Depot cart to save $40. Every few dollars helps on a project like this. It's expensive!

Oh yea...thanks for the banner. :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
Great. I was going to post some pics, but the image resizer program doesn't work with Vista. So, now I'm trying to figure out which program will let me do it.

Search results didn't seem to help. Any hints would be appreciated.
 
Here's my first ever pic post. Hope it works.!

We're (Ben) is cutting out the hole for the Display. Wow...that will make sure you are paying attention.

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Here's the finished hole. It looks kinda small, but keep in mind those are 18" tiles Ben is standing on. The hole is just under 6' wide and about 2' tall!

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Before we just went ape and cut the hole in the wall, obviously we had to see what was behind where we were cutting. So, we tore off a few feet of sheetrock.

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Here's the finished stand!

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Just kidding. We were leveling the stand. That 2x4 was just a temp. We have 2x4's cut flush with the bottom of the stand, 2x6s for cross braces, and 3/4" plywood for the top. I'm also going to add some of that pink foam.

Here's the stand finished (minus sealant).

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I guess I better stop posting pics so I can see if they really work. More to follow. I'm off to seal the stand.
 
They worked, I see pics! :)

After you're done with yours, wanna come over and work on mine? 8)

I'll get through my build, I just keep feeling like I bit off more than I could chew... But, one bite at a time, and I'll get through it...

Looking good so far, btw...

And, are you still in Rockwall?
 
Yep, still in Rockwall. Just moved to a "new to me" house.

It may be a while before I can help anyone do anything though. I still have a ton of work to do before I'm done. My other tank is still in the other house, so I have to go over there every day and check on them. That's why I'm pressing so hard to get this done. When I'm done, I'd like to stop by your place...I'm learning a ton. Mostly that everything takes longer than planned...but I'm picking up a few other things along the way.

Once I have this minor project :roll: done, I still have to move the contents of my freaking other 300. At least they will have a better view of me through that starphire front panel.
 
Here's a pic of the tank. I just have it sitting on some salt buckets right now. Hopefully, I'll get it on the stand tomorrow. I sealed the stand and cut out the holes for the corner overflows.

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Here's the tag describing the tank and dimensions. This mother better not leak!



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Alright. Now here's some of the real construction work.

First I kinda threw some boards on the ground to get a feel for the dimensions of the room.

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My first thoughts were to go with an 8' x 10' room. But when Ben looked at the layout, he had to make a few changes. He suggested that we make the room a little wider so we can tie into the existing studs on both sides. So I guess it's about 8' x 12'. I'm not really sure, but it's big. Also note the 48" double door header. It will make it much easier to enter the room with big stuff. The room is coming along.

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Now that I now how to do the picture post thing, maybe I'll start posting pics for everyone to see! I've always admired the way guys like Mark, Serk, and others could document everything. Now I can do a decent job. Hopefully others think so too. These build things are always so helpful to me.

Oh well...more to follow.

(Edit - IMG Tags fixed by Serk)
 
While sealing the stand, I'm second guessing the stand's support.

1. In the right hand side, there's only one 2x4 supporting the corner. It is nailed to the other one, but the other 2x4 would only be supporting the weight with the nails. So, I'm thinking I may beef it up a with another 2x4.

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2. The front 2x4's (8 of them) are supporting the front. They make kind of a "T", so the 4 white boards actually have the original studs behind them as well...it just looks like 4.

But my concern is that they are not in the corners of the stand. Does anyone think that would matter? You can see what I'm talking about in the below pic.

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Let me know what you think of the support.

BTW, the tank doesn't go all the way to the left edge...but it does sit on the right edge. So, the support is offset from where you think it may have to be...
 
Ron, your images need to go between the
tags.

Such as:800:600]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/t_ron99/Fish%20Stuff/Fish%20Room%20Build/DSC00847.jpg[/img]

Why, though, that didn't bring up your picture I don't know.
 
OK, I edited it twice and it keeps adding odd characters instead of the image tags.

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Thanks Jeff! That helps a lot!

I guess you have to hit the Img button before and after the direct link for the forum to do it correctly. If not, you have to go in and do it manually for the second one.

I'll get this right.

Thanks again for the help!

I figured I'd try it with another pic. Here's one with my Eclipse 6 gallon tank on the stand for reference.

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I clicked on Img before and after the direct link....hope it works.
 
It worked. :) Can you shoot a picture of the front legs so we can see how they are fastened to the top section?

You can always make a removable leg for dead center, something with metal brackets. That way the leg can be pulled out to insert the sump, then put back in place to support the stand.
 
Hey Ron,

Where are you in Rockwall? I'd LOVE to come by and check this thing out or help out where I can.

Ben
 
I really don't have any other pic right now. We've used 16 penny nails across the corners. The two 2x4s are butted against each other. One is cut shorter so the two 2x6 cross beams can rest on them. I'll try to take a pic later. I was also thinking about the removable center brace...just in case. I want to make sure this thing is sturdy.

Ben,

I live just south of the shores off of lakeshore and north of 66.
 
COOL! I live in The Shores! I'd love to just come by and check out your setup! Not many people out this way :(
 
Hey Ron,

I couldn't see all the pictures at work for some reason... Anyway... I think I share your concern with the support of the back of the stand. I'd be very nervous to have all that weight supported by only 2 2x4's. I agree with Mark. I would AT LEAST install a center support.
 
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