125-150g aquarium for $100 on craigslist.. Would a upper level hold this ?

[Candydiscus]

Someone is selling a 125g tank and iron stand for $100 on craigslist in my area.. im going to try and snatch it quickly hopefully no one else bought it, going to offer $75 though as the stands needs repainted due to rust and the tank needs resealed as its 32 years old. He says it doesnt leak but ive resealed aquariums before so ill re-seal this one. I want to put it upstairs in my room. To replace my 92g corner discus tank.. Now my corner tank i put in a corner of the bedroom where its the side and front of the house which i know would support the weight because of where it is. But this 125g tank (i suspect is a 150g because it looks too tall to be a 6ft 125g) will weigh alot more and id have to position on the wall facing on the side of the bedroom (side of the house) The floor beams however go towards to the front of the house not the side.. But if i put it on the front wall the window would be in the way..

I already have my big *** up here i weigh 280lbs, my computer desk, my 92g tank a 27g tank all on the same wall.. So i think i already match a 125g tanks weight almost on this wall.. just not sure what do you guys think ? House was built in 96 if that matters. and itll be on the 3rd level

Here is a pic of the tank.. to me this looks like a 150g long tank not a 125g.. it looks like its taller then 23 inchs to me, it looks 28 inchs.. but maybe im wrong

https://images.craigslist.org/00e0e_7f8Dypu3yb1_600x450.jpg

[Second Hand Pat]

If the dimensions are 6x2x2 ft it is a 180. Definitely larger then either a 120 or 150.
Pat

[atlantadiscus]

I would be nervous with that size tank up on the 3rd floor weight wise,and age wise.I once had a 1 year old Perfecto 90 gallon tank leak all 90 gallons on the floor while we were gone for the weekend.....quite the mess and damage to flooring,drywall,ceilings,etc

[Candydiscus]

thats suprising because perfecto is the best brand IMO until marine land bought em out.

I have a 44g leak in my bedroom before i had my 92g corner i have now.. leaked about 20 gallons on the floor through the ceiling so i know all to well lol. The tank he is selling is 32 years old LOL and still doesnt leak.. but i would redo the seals before i put it upstairs. I re-sealed a couple tanks before including that 44g pentagon and they have been fine since. With this tank being 32 years old the glass is also thicker then the usual 125g and it has no braces because of it.

He told me its 6 feet long and he think its 18 front to back but wasnt sure on the height.. he said he doesnt think its anymore then 2 feet tall. or 24 inchs. If thats the case then i guess it is a 125g. Do you think itd be worth the hassle of putting a 125 6 foot tank in my room and moving my 92g corner down stairs ? I think the ceiling would hold.. I mean its holding my 92g and my 27g next to it and me weighing at 280 lbs with my desk..

Do you guys think its worth it spending the 100$ on for a 32 year old 125g, which i will re-seal.. It isnt hard re-sealing just takes time . I mean if anything i could just keep it on the middle level and sell my 55g tank and put the 125g in its place

[atlantadiscus]

Price wise,it is a fair deal,especially since you have no issue in resealing it.Placement is up to you babygirl! Your 92 seems made for the spot it is in.Without seeing your house,only you can make the final decisions on placement that not only looks good,but is in areas of your home where you spend time to enjoy the fruits of your labor.I have made the mistake of placing tanks in areas where I am not in front of often enough to really enjoy the fish,or in areas where the tank is not visible while sitting on chairs/couches,etc.Hopefully never again.

[Candydiscus]

For one dont call me babygirl.. Im 30 years old and very much a man.. And that comment you made is either very gay.. and also very insulting



Well where my 92g is its against the outside "brick front" wall and against the other outside "side wall" of the house.. So its on two load bearing walls, but due to the shape its only supported by maybe 3 Joists (joists are the main beams under the floor) The 125g being 72 inches long i would have to put it against the outside wall (the side wall half my 92 sits on) and it would be sitting like this ----------- And the beams under the floor also go like this --------- so itll only be supported by 2 joists. Now if i put it along my outside (the brick wall of my house) it would be going this direction ( l ) and the beams are still going ----- which means itll be supported by about 5-6 joists.. Only issue with that is itll block half of my window. Im not worried about algae or sunshining in on the tank, but having half my window covered kinda sucks.. But then 5-6 joints on the outside wall is honestly the strongest point of the room.


Here is a crude picture on how the room and floors are laid out, and the two only possible places i could put the tank


http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/sfsdfsdfsdfsdf_zpsak6hsadd.jpg

[brewmaster15]

Candydiscus,
Sorry for the comments above. Whether you are a girl or guy doesnt matter here. Same respect should be given.

On your question. Positioning your 125 like that is not ideal. ~8 lbs per gal is alot of weight. Do you know what size those beams are?

I have a125 gal in the exact same configuration and its been fine for 10+ years but honestly I cringed doing it and I was advised by an engineer relative against it so I cant really tell you go for it. I did it because that was the only place it could go.. i would prefer it supported by many beams. One thing I had in my favor is a diagonally running slatewood subfloor and plywood.

Hth,
Al

[Candydiscus]

whatever size wood they used back in the late 90's.. Im guessing 2x10's and they are spaced every 13 or so inches. My picture has two spots i could put it.. One would cover half the window but be supported by like 5-6 joists or the spot by the support beam in the top left corner but itll only be on like 2 joists because the tank will run in line with the direction the beams go.

So do you think its acceptable to cover half my window ? Im not worried about algae growth. I rarely keep the window open and if i do i could always open it from the top vs the bottom.

The only issue with the spot by the window is i forgot the floor down below has a big bay window so it isnt a wall. So the beam the joists are on has no real support. So its either, on 5-6 joints with a beam that spans over a bay window down stairs.. or put it on 2 joists that are being supported by a beam and pole.

So where would you put it ? See my picture i marked two spots for the 125 in my room


I have a perfect spot for it downstairs.. It would run along a wall supported by 5-6 joists and a steel beam and supported by a steel pole from the basement. That could hold a 220 gallon tank or more easy. But again.. having it downstairs would defeat the point of keeping my discus in my bedroom. I have tanks down there and i dont really look at them often besides when i feed the fish.

[Galvatron]

For weight distribution you would be better off putting the tank divergent to the floor beams and not parallel with them.

[brewmaster15]

The window spot would be safer. You can put a foam sheet on the back to insulate from draft and block light.

[Candydiscus]

Yea i found the window spot, even though its directly above a large 6-8 foot bay window downstairs.. would be sitting not only on 5 joists.. but also those joists sit on top of a double header.. which is two 2x10 beams nailed together and two 2x4's on top of the beams.. So its a load bearing wall.

I just pealed the silicone off the old stuff, wiped the tank down and used rubbing alcohal to clean it good.. And just re-sealed it.. After i did two corner my caulk gun broke... I had to push the caulk gun really hard on the metal end to get the silicone to come... that reallly realllllly sucked...I put 3 10oz tubes of aqueon silicone on the tank.. Tomorrow i plan to wire wheel the stand of the surface rust and paint it.



Here is picture of the framing below where the tank will be.. i have big open window down below on the 2nd level just like the picture and then the double header 2x10's and the double top plate 2x4's on the top plate.. and joists all lay on top of that. This should def be strong enough right ?

http://daveosborne.com/newsletters/images/framingwindow.png

[two utes]

For weight distribution you would be better off putting the tank divergent to the floor beams and not parallel with them.

I agree with Mike. Its best to distribute the weight over as many beams as possible, and the closer to an external wall the better in my opinion.

[Second Hand Pat]

What was the width on this tank, asking out of curiosity?
Pat

[Candydiscus]

Total dimension are 72 inch long, 18 inches deep, and 24 1/2 inches tall. It has 1/2 inch thick glass, and no center braces. It was made Sept 13th 1982. It seems taller then a regular 125g to me.. Maybe im wrong, but i sware its bigger then 125g

I resealed it about 2 days ago, my caulk gun broke half way in when i was caulking the aqueon silicone and i panicked i had to push the tubes out by hand by pushing on the caulk guns metal thingy. That was hard, and one side of the tank started to skin... Its sealed now, but in my haste over the b roken caulk i did a messy Job on a few sides. The seams on the tank seem fine, no air bubbles in the them so the original 34 year old seams are okay i believe, i didnt mess with them anyway.

My silicone job there is alot of little tiny bubbles in the silicone.. I hope that doesnt affect anything. But then i did glob 3 tubes on this thing.. The silicone is so thick specially on the bottom tha after 1 1/2 days its still squishy in some spots. So i probably need to wait another 24 hours hopefully it dries.. by then.. Im eager to get this thing filled with water to test it out. Sadly i live on a hilly area so i cant put it outside as the side walks and parking lot are at a angle. So i have to fill it in the house and i plan to sit there for like 8 hours maybe play some video games on my laptop or watch a few movies to see if it leaks or not. Its amazing the guy had the tank for 32 years, he said it was running 20-25 years non stop and so it was sitting empty in a climate controlled section of his house for about 10 years almost. When i cut the silicone off inside.. It was just a few thin strands like a few mm thick that was left.. it basically had no silicone inside anymore. The bottom though was very thick and took me 6 hours to peal off.. my fingers were dying from the razorblade scraping.

One thing that has me wondering though.. is one of the long 72 inch glass panes has a very slight bow to it unfilled. I took a straight edge on it and its not alot of a bow maybe a few mm but its noticable.

Also sanded down the rusty stand and painted it with rust reformer which is a flat black so it makes the iron stand look really nice.

Ill upload some pics ina sec

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/125%203_zpsse6xgfdu.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/125%202_zpscqehfxwn.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/125%204_zpsvcecbifv.jpg

[atlantadiscus]

You are correct in thinking it looks bigger than a 125......according to your measurements,it is actually a 135 gallon tank! Regarding the bowing,if you look carefully,do you see any evidence of a previous center brace being there? Look for silicone remnants,water stained lines,etc that would be telltales.

[Pompadour Discus]

You caught a heck of a deal on Craigslist, I am almost jealous :) and the stand looks great after you cleaned it up. I wouldn't believe it was the same stand from the first picture. I am not and expert but I would be afraid to have that on the third floor, but if you have your heart set on it and feel good about the weight factor. Then go for it, I really hope it works out!

[Candydiscus]

You are correct in thinking it looks bigger than a 125......according to your measurements,it is actually a 135 gallon tank! Regarding the bowing,if you look carefully,do you see any evidence of a previous center brace being there? Look for silicone remnants,water stained lines,etc that would be telltales.


No there is no evidence it had a brace, tanks back then never had center braces. and its 1/2 thick glass. 125's these days are all 3/8th, the owner i bought it from was the original owner too, and he said it never had one

[Candydiscus]

You caught a heck of a deal on Craigslist, I am almost jealous :) and the stand looks great after you cleaned it up. I wouldn't believe it was the same stand from the first picture. I am not and expert but I would be afraid to have that on the third floor, but if you have your heart set on it and feel good about the weight factor. Then go for it, I really hope it works out!


Thanks, yea the first pic i posted its hard to tell, but it was rusty !!!! nothing structural but surface rust everywhere.. all over it.. I hated the stand and was going to put a drape over it.. But after i cleaned it and painted it with the flat black rust reformer. it looked amazing. I just wish the new silicone i put on would dry !! its like 70% dry, the bottom slabs of silicone are still wet deep inside because its mushy when i push on em..

Itll be 48 hours in 3 hours.. so looks like ill have to wait another 24 hours.

And yes $100, i jumped on this tank as fast as i could. I drive an old Jeep grand wagoneer, which is before the grand cherokee's.. its the wood panel Jeep and it has a tailgate like a pickup.. I actually was able to fit the 6 foot tank and stand in the Jeep with the tailgate up lol everyone was suprised.. I doubt any other SUV woulda been able to do that with the hatch closed. And the owner is the original owner he said he was about to sell it to someone else but when i called and mentioned i would re-seal it and clean up the stand he called the other guy back and asked if he would re-seal the tank and the guy said no he would just fill up the 34 year old tank lol.

So the original owner sold it to me instead.

[Candydiscus]

Hmmm okay the tanks been setup for 2 days now, and i let the silicone on the tank dry for 4 days exactly after i resealed the inside. I sware while it was drying i used a flash light to slook at the seams of the glass and they all seemed fine no bubbles. (Fyi i didnt take the tank apart and redo the seams just the inner seal

Now that its been setup for 2 days i noticed today when randomly watching my fish the seams.. all 4 corner have hundreds of bubbles in the seam. All on the inside closest to the water and they all go from top to bottom of the glass.

should I be worried about these bubbles ? I never saw em before but now that its filled i seem them. They are small little micro bubbles nothing big so far. what do you guys think ? Also yes i i know one pic the silicone job i did looks ugly lol. This section is where my caulk gun broke and i had to push it out manually which was really hard so i didnt care how it looked. just as long as it seals lol

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/seam%203_zpsfxgccukg.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/bubbles%20seam%202_zps6skmpeht.jpg

[atlantadiscus]

Yikes,that would concern me too,especially with a tank that large! Did you end up putting it on the 3rd floor? At the least,I would closely monitor it and be ready to do a quick drain if you see evidence of seeping-hopefully,if it goes it will be by seeping vs a seam blowout.Only other option is to totally dismantle tank,take all panels apart and rebuild entire tank-difficult process with that size tank.

[Candydiscus]

Yea its in my bedroom right now. here is a picture hehe. Sadly my stupid discus keep hiding in the corner on the left.. GRR i think its going to take them awhile to get used to it. Btw before anyone says yes i know my silicone seal i did on that one pic is ugly.. thats where my caulk gun broke and i had to push it out by hand with alot of strength on the caulk gun metal arm thingy. So it looks ugly right there and i dont feel like cutting it to make it look pretty in fear of messing it up. As you can see i laid the silicone pretty damn thick though lol took 96 hours to dry

i carried it up stairs by myself too.. up 2 landings my stairs go in a U shape.. and to get over the railing had to lay the tank on the stairs then push it up and then grab it and lift one end over my head and then twist the tank and set it on the next set of stairs. With the newer 125g tanks with 3/8 thick glass that wouldnt be too hard but this 1/2 thick glass tank is heavy as hell. Its funny with no center brace and this thick *** glass, it only bows about 3 mm out. Btw doesnt the tank look bigger then a 125g ? I went to petsmart today and i sware my tank looks taller lol. i forgot to bring my measuring tape for the tanks. but again mine is 24 1/2 inches tall, i sware its a 135g tank or so tank

I contacted the previous owner and showed him.. He had the tank for 32 years so he must know if it had these bubbles with him.. He said it did and he didnt know what they were. So these bubbles might just be from when it was made. I have a 44g pentagon with seams like this too. So im just going to monitor them.. I marked where they go out too, and i marked where they stop in certain areas. and i took 20 or so pics.. Ima keep an eye on them if they spread or get bigger.

I love this tank though.. having it right by my bed.. i can just lay in bed and watch my fish swim in my 6 foot tank. Need to work on a top and lighting, for now i have to mix the lights i have to fit it, and im using a glass table top for a whicker table i threw away along time ago and a plexi top for my 27g hex in storage as lids to rest my lights and stuff on

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/125g_zpska9wa6vf.jpg

[two utes]

Wow. You didn't waste any time. Looks great! Hope it all works out.

[Candydiscus]

Yea well i did wait 96 hours for the silicone to dry completetly, that was the worst part lol.. minus lifting it upstairs.


Question.. Im noticing one corner of the tank keeps building up a wet crust that creeps from the trim and pushes up. I keep wiping the crust off and it so far has comes back two days ina row.. I decided to put my mouth on the corner and blow hard and water blows out.. A few drops.. i wipe em off blow again and again and keep repeating and it so far keeps blowing water out. Could this be a leak ?? Or could this simply be water that ran down the glass into the trim when was filling it up and decorating it and so forth ? You know how when you pull your arms out and water gets all over the glass and runs down ? I know the tank is unlevel on this side when i use a level the tank is level but when i drain the water to till its showing low on the top trim you can see the water pools on this side and more so on the corner i need to shim the legs more on this side, so maybe all thew water in the trim just trickles to the lowest corner ?

My 92g freaked me out when i was moving it out of my bedroom. I drained it and when i was under the tank i noticed crust on the bottom trim and it was moist but when i poured a bottle of water on the front trim i noticed it ran to the corner and i think it was just water that ran on the glass in the trim and went to the lowest point of the tank that was unlevel. Make sense ?

Maybe this is whats going on with my tank. Because i dont see how it could possibly be leaking.. I used 1/2 inch thick layer of silicone on the walls, and on the bottom corners there is probly like a 1 inch thick layer of silicone, same with the entire bottom.. Thats why it took so long to cure.

[Ryan925]

I would be concerned. It is a possibility that water could be between the rim and the glass but how much could really have gotten in there. I imagine it would dry fairly quickly as well. Can you try using a blow dryer or something and then don't do anything with the tank that could cause you to drip water there and see if it reappears.

[Neptune]

I would be concerned. It is a possibility that water could be between the rim and the glass but how much could really have gotten in there. I imagine it would dry fairly quickly as well. Can you try using a blow dryer or something and then don't do anything with the tank that could cause you to drip water there and see if it reappears.

That is troublesome. If you keep wiping it and it keeps coming back you have a leak.

[atlantadiscus]

Get a couple cans of computer keyboard "air duster" and blow the compressed air between the glass and trim all the way around the tank following with a paper towel to catch the water drops- if water returns the next day,you may indeed have a leak.

[LizStreithorst]

I'll bet you a nickle it's leaking. I had a leak just like that on one of my 100's not long ago. I figured that the leak was just coming from that one 4" part so I removed the silicone from the entire front panel and put in new. I filled it with water 24 hrs later and let the tank sit on the fish room floor for 48 hrs to make sure that it didn't decide to leak anywhere. Then I drained it and called the wife of a big strong guy and ask if he would come and help me put it back on the upper rack.

I know that I should have posted this earlier, but you really should have started over after the caulk gun failure. Some of the silicone was forming a skin before you were able to work it. That's not good. Now you have an even more difficult job on your hands.

BTW, your messy job looks better than my tidy jobs. I've gotten better at making it look good, but I still suck at that. Also, GE Silicone #1 works great. GE #2 has a fungicide. Don't buy it. No need to buy expensive stuff. You must be young and strong to have moved that tank in place yourself. I thought that I could do everything by myself once, too. It always involved a lot of thinking and a hard physical work out. My hat is off to you.

[Candydiscus]

I used the aqueon silicone. my lfs sells it.

I just dont see how it could be leaking if i re-sealed the inner seal with a thick layer like i did, and waited 96 hours for it to cure. Even if a seam was bad in one little spot.. how the f could it get passed a 1 inch thick layer on the inner seal that i did you know what i mean ?

Im going to wait a week and be careful not to get any water in the trim and see what happens before i tear it down. I refuse to believe its leaking
Here are pics of my re-seal job.. It looks pretty good, and i i used over an inch layer on all 4 corners, and almost an inch thick on the whole bottom, as well 1/2 inch thick on the walls.. I dont see how it could leak past this... and have 4 days 96 hours cure time. Odd thing is it isnt leaking on the floor, i see no water on my stand, or water on the floor. Its just in that corner of the trim which is the lowest spot of the tank

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/seals_zpss40jaqsd.jpg

http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j385/enclave12/20161202_151443_zpsw5dkfotd.jpg

[LizStreithorst]

Mine didn't leak on the floor either. It was just seeping out under the trim. If you don't have a leak I'll grovel at your feet. I'd rather grovel that be right in this case. Good luck.

[Candydiscus]

You sure yours was a leak though ? If it was leaking wouldnt it eventually fill the trim and overflow ?

[Kingdom Come Discus]

Here is a great video on how to seal a leaking tank. I have tried to seal many old tanks and have most have not held water for very long. This doesn't mean it leaks out fast but they usually all leak. The ones that did like yours are doing always got worse. I hope you have better luck than me as I love the 135's.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKactsdPpO8

[Candydiscus]

Thats exactly how i did mine.. except i didnt use masking tape for the bottom seal. The bottom seals need to be thick. And the side seals need to be as thick as the glass is. so in my case 1/2 inch thick. Thats why you can see i have straight lines on all my corner (minus that ugly one). Ive re-sealed 3 tanks so far but only a 30g and 44g pentagon. And now this 135g.


Anyway a little update. I tried blowing in that corner tonight and no water. I stuck a thin 26 GA peice of steel in there to pry back the trim a little, shined a flash light in and its dry as a bone there. So i guess it was just water that leaked down inside the trim when i was setting the tank up. LOL that puts a big sigh of relief for my chest.. because i was worried lol


As i said my 92g scared me like this the other day too, when i moved it like a cup full of water came out of the trim.. and i noticed the corners of the 92g bowfront the trim has a big cup like section of it under the glass that holds water.. I poured a little water from a bottle on the trim and it went right to the corners and sat in the cupped sections until it filled up enough to leak out the bottom. Same thing happend here.. reaching down into 24 inches of water on a chair to stand on your arms/chest get wet and i probably got alot of water inside the trim from that and it just needed time to dry out. Ill keep an eye on it though.

I suspect it might also be condensation from the window.. This corner is against my window and its 20f outside. My window when closed gets a crap ton of moisture on it. and i had it open the other night and just had my blinds down.. this morning my blinds had water in them lol.. The heat from the tank and cold air is causing condensation.. So i just closed the window, blinds and my curtains to keep moisture from building up