Brand New 8 gallon bio cube

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Yep. Forget that. Too much expense. I guess if the outlet needs replaced, I will become a contortionist.

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

I would worry about the forces exerted on the panels when rolling this tank around. Static load is much different than figuring forces for water sloshing about while moving a tank. Aquariums are designed for static load not movement. If you drain the tank first then that is another story. I would avoid moving the tank with more than a 1/4 of its water capacity to be safe. If I were attempting this I would design the tank first for the wave action of moving the tank. So thicker panels and euro bracing at least to prevent panel failure.

But I am way ahead of you on this. Are you planning to move the tank with water in it should have been my first question?

dantimdad · Mar 9, 2019

I toyed with the idea of industrial ball bearing rollers. 100 lbs each and 24 of them for mine. But decided against it at the last minute.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Lowell Lemon said:
I would worry about the forces exerted on the panels when rolling this tank around. Static load is much different than figuring forces for water sloshing about while moving a tank. Aquariums are designed for static load not movement. If you drain the tank first then that is another story. I would avoid moving the tank with more than a 1/4 of its water capacity to be safe. If I were attempting this I would design the tank first for the wave action of moving the tank. So thicker panels and euro bracing at least to prevent panel failure.

But I am way ahead of you on this. Are you planning to move the tank with water in it should have been my first question?

Yes. I didn't even think about that. Yep. Not gonna happen.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Thank you guys for pointing out things I hadn't considered.

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

There are casters that will handle the load no problem. If you have 1200lbs total you can divide by 4 and look for casters rated to 300lbs each. The pounds per square inch to the floor determines the necessary support. Also the same thing in stand design. You have to design to transmit the load to the floor over a larger area to prevent a problem with your floor. A 60 gallon tank and sump with rock we used about 10-12lbs per gallon as a pretty good estimate during the days of two lbs. of rock per gallon. We used 8.8 lbs per gallon to estimate seawater weight back in the day as well. Never had a stand failure or tank failure due to weight. I built stands out of acrylic only 3/16" thick but designed to transmit load to the floor over a large area and way below the compression
factor for the acrylic. Stands were light and strong. I have one in the house that has held the 40 gallon tank for over 15 years with no problems.

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

If you have to move the tank then you can drain it most of the way and use furniture movers (the cheap plastic ones) to slide the tank over if you need to.

Absent that approach why not take care of your electrical first as a precaution. It is not hard and Brew12 or Paulb could give you pointers.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Lowell Lemon said:
If you have to move the tank then you can drain it most of the way and use furniture movers (the cheap plastic ones) to slide the tank over if you need to.

Absent that approach why not take care of your electrical first as a precaution. It is not hard and Brew12 or Paulb could give you pointers.

I did rewire that. We both know GFCI do go out upon occasion.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

I'm just going to plan an access for the outlet.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Something like this should be fine.

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

You really don't want an air tight cabinet anyway to prevent heat transfer from all the pumps and devices to the water. Also it will keep moisture down and prolong the life of the cabinet.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Lowell Lemon said:
You really don't want an air tight cabinet anyway to prevent heat transfer from all the pumps and devices to the water. Also it will keep moisture down and prolong the life of the cabinet.

I had considered a fan. What do you think?

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

Katrina71 said:
I had considered a fan. What do you think?

I like that idea for hot weather. It will increase evaporation rate during its use. Oops I forgot you live in the damp south. Not so much on evaporation unless the AC is on.

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Any brands or particular style I should look at?

Katrina71 · Mar 9, 2019

Do you think 1 or 2 of the 120mm 110V fans will work?

Lowell Lemon · Mar 9, 2019

Katrina71 said:
Any brands or particular style I should look at?

Nothing comes to mind except some type of computer fan due to low noise genration. I used to blow air into the cabinet to prolong the life of the fans. When I would draw air our the fans died faster due to the moist air.