I figured I may as well start a journal for my new system now that some of the wheels are in motion.

The main tank will be 230 gallons, dims. are 72 L x 30 H x 24 W, it will house mostly LPS and fish for now. I have some livestock in my 55 gal now awaiting transfer.

So far I have setup a 55 gal display with 70lbs of LR, another 45lbs cooking, 100 gal sump, 20 gal DSB fuge with 20lbs LR and rubble, and a 700 gal capacity skimmer. Everything aside from the 55 display tank is set up in the basement directly below the new tank site.

I will be making my own live rock, well a good portion of it anyways, so that process alone could take me into next year. I also want to create a fake sand bed in the tank, which will also take some time. I will create a few anchors in the FSB to attach the live rock to, so the FSB cannot be started until the rock is all done.

I just started building the stand for the new tank which I hope to pick up in about two weeks from a fellow forum member.

It has been designed to allow people to sit on barstools right up to the tank with their faces right up to the glass and their legs under the tank. It will have a counter top for resting your arms on while gazing as well. Kind of like a bar, the stools will store under the tank.

The stand will be built against/into a 11' long wall leaving 2.5' on either side for cabinetry and glass shelving. Finishing will be done in oak.

3/4's of the stand structure (9 legs) will be placed on my hardwood floor with 9 - 4x4 points of impact on the floor. The other 1/4 of the stand (3 Legs) will be placed inside the wall behind the tank which rest on a 6" load bearing wall in the basement.

Each of the 9 feet will line up perfectly with the floor joist below (4 in total)Unfortunately the joists run the length of the tank so I had to get as many points of impact as I could.

Each of the 3 rows of legs will rest on a 2x4's layed flat on the floor to help dispurse the load vertically across the joist as well. There will be 12 points in total to distribute the approx. 3000 lbs of total weight for an average of 250lbs per leg, 750lbs per joist.

The stand will be WAY over built, I just like sleeping sound at night and I already have all the lumber required so why not. I intend to be able to stand on it while reaching into the tank if need be.

I will also be incorporating a remote hood lift like the one I designed for my 55gallon tank.

Anyhoo that is the plan at this point, it will be slow going as the flow of money into my pocket also seems to be slow going. LOL

Say goodbye to the China cabinet (YES! )



Figuring out the footprint.





Checking the wall for hidden obstacles.



The wife's fears realized! She knows there is no turning back now.



Center support loose fitted. I had to cut out a 2x4 from the wall so I am figuring out the best way to re-direct the load.



There will be another 4x4 inside the wall directly behind the first one, below the 2x6. The 4x4's will not sit side by side in the final assembly, probaby 2 inches apart in order to hit the floor joists properly.



Here is a rough drawing of how the joists run under the tank.



Here I am marking the exact location of the joists.



I then transferred the lines to the pond liner I am using to protect the hardwood.



I should have most of the framing for the stand done tonight.

Here are a couple of pics of the 100 gal sump system I setup recently, it's not 100% finsihed yet.