not enough room to remove skimmer cup

[flyline]

ok i put my sump into the stand but found out that after i put the tank on there will not be enough room to remove the skimmer cup, i have a stand for a 125 gal tank and was thinking the top is 2x4s i want to try to use some more 2x4s to make another top on that so it will be raised 2 inches...i was just wondering if any of you have done this before and if it worked out and would like to hear some peoples thoughts on doing this.....thanks

[luther1200]

Just in case you didn't know, a 2"x4" is actually 1.5"x3.5".

[ChadTheSpike]

Im sure what you are talking about will work.
One thing to think about: 125s are really narrow tanks, moving the tank higher will raise the center of gravity. I had a 140 with the same footprint on carpet that seemed pretty unstable to me, I felt that I could have easily pulled it over. So I fastened it to studs in the wall so I wouldnt have to worry about it. This might not be a concern for you, just something to think about. Structurally, adding a little height with a 2x4 will be acceptable.

[chuckreef]

How much clearance do you need? If 1.5 inches will do it, why not just trim the skimmer cup down that much?

[flyline]

the cup is acylic and i not too sure i would be able to cut the cup without damaging it....also the tank is going to be a room devider so you will be able to see 3 sides of the tank so ther is no way to fasten it to a wall but the tank is 18 inches wide so i think it would be stable enough

[TrojanScott]

the cup is acylic and i not too sure i would be able to cut the cup without damaging it....also the tank is going to be a room devider so you will be able to see 3 sides of the tank so ther is no way to fasten it to a wall but the tank is 18 inches wide so i think it would be stable enough

So, do you need to have the collection cup trimmed an inch or so? If that's the case, you can do it safely, it's what I had to do to fit my skimmer in. I took an electric sander and slowly sanded it down. I rotated the skimmer cup in my hand to try to make it as even as I could. It took quite some time, but I was able to do it. I wouldn't try to cut it myself either, but you can sand acrylic down. I didn't use any special type of sandpaper either, just a medium/light grade. (don't remember exactly what it was)

[flyline]

actually i just need to know if it would be safe to raise the tank up useing 2x4s to build an extra frame on top to give me another 2 inches

[Shane Hoffman]

If the sump is acrylic just notch the section in front of the skimmer

[flyline]

no the sump is glass

[jjstecchino]

ok i put my sump into the stand but found out that after i put the tank on there will not be enough room to remove the skimmer cup, i have a stand for a 125 gal tank and was thinking the top is 2x4s i want to try to use some more 2x4s to make another top on that so it will be raised 2 inches...i was just wondering if any of you have done this before and if it worked out and would like to hear some peoples thoughts on doing this.....thanks

I had the same problem. I needed just one more inch....

I did not want to cut the cup, so I cut the bottom of the stand and sink the sump down. Look in my buid thread if you are interested on some pictures and description.

Good Luck

[flyline]

thanks jjstecchino great idea i might have to do that but i was hoping my idea might do the trick im just waiting on some more input but i apreciate your advise and might take you up on it

[CH]

I would have to see what your stand actually looks like, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I did it with mine a long time ago, but it was only a 29, so I wasn't worried too much about it.
If you could post a few pics I could make a suggestion.