Does anyone know of any good, active fish keeping forums??

[glittercat]

Hey, just wondering if anyone who keeps fish, is on any good, active forums?

Or actually if anyone here with experience of small-medium tanks might know.

(Compared to some monsters, my tank will be considered as very small!)

All my accommodation is on the first floor (I live in a coach house).

I've got a concern around my new 50 gal tank sitting on laminate flooring which, IMO, has been badly laid. In one or two places in my lounge as you walk, the planks dip and click under your feet.

I'm not sure whether this is an issue with the laminate, the underlay or the actual subfloor (which I believe is concrete, see attached property pic). I've no clue at all where any joists might be.

The place where the tank will go seems to be fine but overall it has made me anxious.

If the floor is uneven / the weight of the tank and stand (about 600 lbs fully loaded) pushes the laminate down but some bits lower than others, I could end up with huge pressure from the water which will stress the glass. Stress on the glass = possible fracture. It won't end well...

I think this is more if tank is twisted slightly. So if the whole right side, front to back, is at little lower than the left, that's more or less OK. My 80 ltr is a bit unlevel from one side to the other (about 5 ml) but it's a much smaller tank and has a 'floating frame'.

I think the problem is if one corner only is lower, so if the front right corner dips lower than the rest of the tank that becomes a huge pressure point on the glass.

I've found and posted on a couple of fish keeping forums, but they seem pretty quiet? Don't suppose anyone here knows of some active forums?

Cheers

 

[Graceful-Lily]

I think fishlore is not too bad. You could probably give them a try. The aquarium subreddit (r/aquarium) also has pretty knowledgeable people on there. Those are the two are gravitate towards when I'm having a problem. It's more like orbiting though because fish people like any animal community always have their fair share of erm... "passionate people".

 

[goingpostal]

What about placing something under the whole tank and stand, so that the floor is protected by an extra layer? Then shim up whatever corner is needed to make it level. My house is old and unlevel so all my tanks have been off somewhat and needing adjustment. I definitely couldn't have a cool zero edge tank going on ever lol.

 

[glittercat]

What about placing something under the whole tank and stand, so that the floor is protected by an extra layer? Then shim up whatever corner is needed to make it level. My house is old and unlevel so all my tanks have been off somewhat and needing adjustment. I definitely couldn't have a cool zero edge tank going on ever lol.

Lol I forgot to put that in my post. Argh!

My question on the fish forums was did I ought to get a sheet of ply, or marine ply, cut to go under where the tank will be to level it.

I've read about shimming but still not sure on it - is this something you do before or after filling the tank? Is it just putting wedges in place?

Graceful-Lily - thanks for your suggestions, I will have a look

 

[glittercat]

I've given up on fishlore, I've been trying to register for about 30 minutes now and bl**dy Google ads mean I can't get to the bottom of the page to actually hit the register button. Aaaarrrrghhhhh. So annoying!!!!!

 

[goingpostal]

I think a sheet of wood underneath the stand would be a good idea, then check how level it is and add shims as needed before you fill it. Just those thin wood pieces under whatever corners need a lift, we've done that for years on our tanks that are super unlevel.

 

[glittercat]

I think a sheet of wood underneath the stand would be a good idea, then check how level it is and add shims as needed before you fill it. Just those thin wood pieces under whatever corners need a lift, we've done that for years on our tanks that are super unlevel.

Thank you.

So would I get the ply, stick the stand (and tank?) on top with a spirit level and just shim until it shows level if needed? Would the spirit level go on the stand or rest on the tank?

Sorry to be stupid.

Also where am I likely to be able to get shims?

Thanks

 

[WhattaWally]

I've given up on fishlore, I've been trying to register for about 30 minutes now and bl**dy Google ads mean I can't get to the bottom of the page to actually hit the register button. Aaaarrrrghhhhh. So annoying!!!!!

Hi there, you can download uBlock Origin as a browser ad-blocker. When you visit sites you want to support, you can pause the blocker but otherwise leave it on and ads won't clog your screen!