Seahorses, Jellyfish, and Seagrasses

[redlobstor]

So I am currently building a stand that will house a 29G Upside down Jellyfish tank on the bottom, a 20Gxh seahorse tank in the middle, and a 20G Display Refugium on top that will house macros and maybe 1 scorpion.

My current thinking on the layout of tanks is Refugium on top and will contain tons of pods that will make their way to the seahorse tank to help naturally feed them and then the jellyfish don't need as many pods being photosynthetic and they can also be spot fed so they go on bottom.

Together that's about 70G of water minus sand, plants, and rocks. Macros should help to keep the water clean. I will post pics of the progress later tonight.

Jason

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[redlobstor]

I haven't taken any pictures of the stand yet as I'm not at home, Thursday night is bowling night. I thought I would take the time to describe the setup a little bit.

The 20G on top is a standard 20 with a coast to coast overflow. This tank will house macros from the Caribbean, a combination of reds, greens, and browns. I will stock this tank with pods and let them do their thing. When I built the overflow I built a ledge and will try to grow a high light macro that doesn't grow tall, any ideas? Lighting will be 2 60 or 100watt equivalent led bulbs similar to what Melev's reef recommends, 5500K daylight.

The top tank will feed into a 20gxh that will eventually house seahorses. This tank will also house Turtle and shoal grass. Lighting for this tank is going to be an 165w ebay led that I have lying around. Seahorses will be further down the road as I want the grasses to establish before adding the horses. Another reason I'm going to wait on the seahorses is I'm going to try to put potting soil in with the sand to help fertilize the grass. Depth of the sand bed is going to be around 6-8 inches. If this doesn't work I won't have to worry about losing the seahorses. I need to get this tank drilled so I can create another coast to coast overflow, without the ledge this time. This tank will drain into the bottom tank.

The bottom tank is a standard 29G that will be for upside down jelly fish and will house Manatee and shoal grass with star grass mixed in. Since the jellyfish can be found in mangrove swamps I'm going to borrow Michael's idea of a fake mud bank and mangrove roots. The mud bank is to hide the plumbing since this tank is technically a sump and the mangrove roots are to make the bank look more natural. I have no lights but I'm thinking T5 lamps of around 6500-10k. I could use the same bulbs as on the top tank if anyone thinks they are strong enough for sea grass. I would use 2 but I think 3 will fit.

Jason

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[redlobstor]

The first picture is of the stand but is not yet completed. I still need to put doors and panels on the outside. I also need to mount the lights. Once I'm done only the glass part of the tanks will be visible.

The second picture is where the stand is going to go, in between the window and door. You can also see where my kids have colored on the door. The carpet in the room will also be gone and I think we are just going to paint the floor instead of putting flooring down.

Jasonhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171215/f8a080bdb76611f8752def4829051ed6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171215/f7e05a6196668b478f90fed190fcb136.jpg

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[SaltySully]

The first picture is of the stand but is not yet completed. I still need to put doors and panels on the outside. I also need to mount the lights. Once I'm done only the glass part of the tanks will be visible.

The second picture is where the stand is going to go, in between the window and door. You can also see where my kids have colored on the door. The carpet in the room will also be gone and I think we are just going to paint the floor instead of putting flooring down.

Jasonhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171215/f8a080bdb76611f8752def4829051ed6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171215/f7e05a6196668b478f90fed190fcb136.jpg

Sent from my P00I using TapatalkI have some concerns about the 2x4s under the tank, the way they are now when the tank is full the boards will flex and that will crack the tank. I would add a board under the ones holding the tank.

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[redlobstor]

I have some concerns about the 2x4s under the tank, the way they are now when the tank is full the boards will flex and that will crack the tank. I would add a board under the ones holding the tank.

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Thanks SaltySully,
Are you talking about boards going from front to back to help support the tank. If so I have 2 and ill take another pic to show you without tank on it.

Jason

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[JZinCO]

Looks fine to me.
If you were concerned, i'd fill it up and measure if the boards flex. If so, I bet diagonal braces should suffice.
Looks like you have two horizontal pieces under the tank edges to stiffen it up too.

[SaltySully]

Thanks SaltySully,
Are you talking about boards going from front to back to help support the tank. If so I have 2 and ill take another pic to show you without tank on it.

Jason

Sent from my P00I using TapatalkThe boards underneath the tank going left to right have the wide part of the 2x4 horizontal and wood can flex that way under a load. If the wide part was vertical like a floor joist it would not flex and support the weight of the tank no problem.
It doesn't take much flex to pop a bottom seam.

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[redlobstor]

Looks fine to me.
If you were concerned, i'd fill it up and measure if the boards flex. If so, I bet diagonal braces should suffice.
Looks like you have two horizontal pieces under the tank edges to stiffen it up too.Thanks JZinCO,
I'm not concerned but I also don't have the experience of others that know more than I do. I may fill it up and see what happens. I have a horizontal piece on the left and right side of the tank and I may have 1 more in the middle, I'll have to check when I get home. All the pieces of wood are held together by corner brackets and the short pieces under the tanks are held by 4 brackets each.

Jason

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[redlobstor]

The boards underneath the tank going left to right have the wide part of the 2x4 horizontal and wood can flex that way under a load. If the wide part was vertical like a floor joist it would not flex and support the weight of the tank no problem.
It doesn't take much flex to pop a bottom seam.

Sent from my LGMS428 using TapatalkThanks SaltySully,
I see what you are saying. Do you really think wood would flex that much? I could add another piece going left to right but I can't do up and down. If I add a piece in the back going up and down do you think that would be enough to keep the front piece from flexing being they are connected together?

Jason

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[SaltySully]

Thanks SaltySully,
I see what you are saying. Do you really think wood would flex that much? I could add another piece going left to right but I can't do up and down. If I add a piece in the back going up and down do you think that would be enough to keep the front piece from flexing being they are connected together?

Jason

Sent from my P00I using TapatalkI do if it flexes even an 1/8 in the center it will pop the seam,

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[SaltySully]

I do if it flexes even an 1/8 in the center it will pop the seam,

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This is one of my stands, if you added a 2x3 like that under the 2x you have on the flat it would be fine. I am talking from experience on this.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180112/c5af62f830d082a8b99d31cd06c245be.jpg

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[redlobstor]

This is one of my stands, if you added a 2x3 like that under the 2x you have on the flat it would be fine. I am talking from experience on this.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180112/c5af62f830d082a8b99d31cd06c245be.jpg

Sent from my LGMS428 using TapatalkThanks again. I could add something like that. Does it make a difference where on the 2x4 the 2x3 goes?

Jason

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[SaltySully]

Thanks again. I could add something like that. Does it make a difference where on the 2x4 the 2x3 goes?

Jason

Sent from my P00I using TapatalkNo that shouldn't matter. I would add them to under the 20g just in case. A 20 g will still weigh at least 160lbs full, more with sand and rock. I would also fasten the stand to the wall.

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[redlobstor]

No that shouldn't matter. I would add them to under the 20g just in case. A 20 g will still weigh at least 160lbs full, more with sand and rock. I would also fasten the stand to the wall.

Sent from my LGMS428 using TapatalkThanks! I can do that and I was already planning on attaching to wall with 7 kids in the house.

Jason

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