What height is your stand? - Page 3

GreenSpottedPuffer · #21 01-31-2009, 07:57 PM

Just got a PM with some really good points...

This is an open top tank and has the potential to have some great top down viewing. 40" is way too high. Then my Lumenbrights are hanging 20" off the water surface. With a high stand, you won't be able to look at the tank without having light shining in your eyes...not going to work at all.

Then I was thinking...there was a reason I went shorter with my current tank and that aesthetics. It works with the 6' length so much better to elongate the look of the tank and even make it look bigger. So then I took the canopy off my current tank and it looks GREAT at 36".

Without a canopy, a short stand works very well because you can look through the top and sides all at once. Actually much better viewing than eye level. But if you have a canopy, you are stuck with raising the whole tank up or your looking right into the canopy instead of the tank.

Just a lot I was not thinking about, mostly because I forgot there would be no canopy.

I am going to stick with 36", maybe 38" for both aesthetics and viewing.

wickedfrags · #22 01-31-2009, 09:35 PM

We are all confident you are not lazy - that being said but be mindful you will be cleaning the bottom of this tank for maybe 10-12 years +/-.

Target the top of the tank to be close to the height of you armpit like some others here have mentioned. Using a stool all the time..........well imagine if that stool was not required!

In terms of appearance and aestetics, well once you have it full of wicked corals and fish, well very few people will look and say wow the tank is really low....but you will realize the benefit of that shorter stand every time you clean it!

FYI, I built my stand at 33" (including styrofoam) and my tank is 24" tall. I am 6' tall and this height is perfect for me - I can easily reach the bottom and nobody has ever mentioned it looked low.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Cheers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

I disagree...I am not a lazy person. I will do it regardless. Its not much work for me to get a stool.

I think I am going to go with 40-42". Thanks guys!

GreenSpottedPuffer · #23 01-31-2009, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wickedfrags.com

We are all confident you are not lazy - that being said but be mindful you will be cleaning the bottom of this tank for maybe 10-12 years +/-.

Target the top of the tank to be close to the height of you armpit like some others here have mentioned. Using a stool all the time..........well imagine if that stool was not required!

In terms of appearance and aestetics, well once you have it full of wicked corals and fish, well very few people will look and say wow the tank is really low....but you will realize the benefit of that shorter stand every time you clean it!

FYI, I built my stand at 33" (including styrofoam) and my tank is 24" tall. I am 6' tall and this height is perfect for me - I can easily reach the bottom and nobody has ever mentioned it looked low.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Cheers.

For some of the reasons I mentioned above and some of the reasons you have mentioned, I am going to stick to a lower stand. Aesthetically I actually prefer lower...I am not sure what made me think about going so high. I think it was just for a change really since my stand now is 36". More often than not, I am sitting to watch the tank. Its rare that I ever stand there and watch it. Its in the living room, so there are lots of spots to sit.

Plus I do agree that not using a stool is way nicer. I just meant that using one is really not that big of a deal to me.

atcguy · #24 01-31-2009, 09:56 PM

make it so eye level is at the top of the waterline, great for viewing.. and buy a mag scraper atachment.. I havnt had my hands in my tank in 3 months.. except to prune.. but bring out a stool to do that... I wish I did this.. my stand is too low

GreenSpottedPuffer · #25 01-31-2009, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atcguy

make it so eye level is at the top of the waterline, great for viewing.. and buy a mag scraper atachment.. I havnt had my hands in my tank in 3 months.. except to prune.. but bring out a stool to do that... I wish I did this.. my stand is too low

That was the plan but I want some slightly top down viewing. If I had a canopy, then for sure the tank would be at eye level. But with 800 watts of light hanging 20-22" above the tank, that would be ridiculous for viewing as they will shine right in your face. Sitting would be even worse.

Even at 36" for the stand, the bottom of the lights will be around 78". May still be a problem. But much better than having them up a few feet above your head when you try to look at the tank

The lights are planned to be ever so slightly angeled from front to back which will help out too.

BCOrchidGuy · #26 02-03-2009, 06:04 PM

I built my stand so the top of the aquarium would be at arm pit level, that way I can reach the bottom of the tank if I need to.

BlueAbyss · #27 02-03-2009, 06:17 PM

I want people to be able to see directly into my display while sitting on the couch, so I've figured that my tank will be about 28" off the floor. Pretty low for standing viewing, but I intend for people to spend a lot of time looking at the tank since there will be a lot of tiny things in there. Also, the surge tank must be sited above the display and in the same stand, and I want to be able to use the top of the stand, so it can't be too high.