Gwen's 125g

[Timanator]

Thats alot of planning and work!!!

Good job.

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by gwen_o_lyn

Thank-you BB

Here we have a Tunze Vortex - the whirlwind of water caused by pumps that K!@& A$$

...

Also is the Tunze controller and I'm really not sure of all the features. The tunzes are facing each other in the display and running constantly at 40%. Any better ideas on how they should be set? Can I make waves?

Sorry for the late reply. I think you mentioned you had 6100 series tunze powerheads. I assume these are the variable speed, electronically controllable 6101 models. These are 660 to 3,170 US gal./h, really nice - and should be perfect for your tunze controller.

Have you set up the wave maker yet? It would be great to see some footage...

I now have a single Vortech in a 55g. I am not sure if there is any benefit of upgrading to the new wireless wave driver with a single pump, but I sure am seeing excellent wide yet gentle flow from this propeller.

BTW: One quarter of the Vortech's inflow grate is solid. I assume this is meant to be positioned so the solid part is facing the water surface to prevent the vortex action you depicted. My pump is 6-7" below the surface, so I do not think it is as conducive to vortex action. Does the tunze make a lot of noise when it creates a vortex?

-Scott

[keyozoxmfc]

GWEN!

your tank is looking really nice!

i would LOVE to have a drain from my room. its discouraging to do water changes when you have to carry five 5 gallon buckets of salt water to the toilet. Do you know if theres a certain drain you can't pour saltwater into? i think i might try to set one of those up

[Pinecone_Jeff]

Questions for ya, Gwen. What kind of floor do you have? Is it a floor with 2x4 joists or are you on a concrete slab?

I'm leaning more and more towards a 90 or 120 gal tank myself and I have a stair/closet area like yours. But the floor the tank would go on is not a concrtete slab but a wooden/framed floor. I'm just wondering how you know how big of a tank you can put on a floor like mine. Anyone have any idea how you figure this out?

My house was built in 2000 if that helps.

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by Pinecone_Jeff

Questions for ya, Gwen. What kind of floor do you have? Is it a floor with 2x4 joists or are you on a concrete slab?

...

My house was built in 2000 if that helps.

Wood floors have joists that are more like 2x8 to 2x12. Houses older than 70 years may have wider 3x6 to 3x8 joists (sometimes made from maple). Your tank/stand/sump weight is going to be transferred down through your stand to the floor and then to the joists. The total load on each joist depends on where the load is transferred, and which direction the joists are relative to the transfer of load. Subflooring and wood flooring will help to distribute that load, but only to adjacent floor joists.

In other words, if I have a 1200-1500# load touching the floor at a single, small point, that full load is going to be transferred straight down to a single joist or shared between two joists. If the same load touches at 4 points, each point will be transferring 1/4 of the load. Most likely, each pair of feet on either end of a stand would be transferring 600-750# to the joist or pair of joists below it. If my stand has center post (or better yet - fully framed like a wall), with a base frame instead of feet, the load is far more evenly distributed to all joists underneath, reducing the shear stress considerably. Put it this way - if you had a party, and were taking a group photo of 12 adults huddled in a tight area on your floor, would you expect a collapse? Probably not...

I would figure out how much your setup will weigh, how evenly the load will be transferred to the floor, how big your joists are, and which direction they run.

It is good that your house was built recently (assuming that it is to code). To be sure, you could contact the builder of your house to see how the floors are rated. If you have the blueprints to your house, you could glean most of the required info from those plans and schedules. This may tell us the maximum load per distribution.

[Pinecone_Jeff]

See, this is why I love this forum so much!

Thank you so much for that info. That was exactly what I needed to know so now I can go and investigate just how much my floor can take.

I love your analogy of 12 adults huddled together to take a picture. We've more than that in our house and we all huddled around for pics.

Thanks again!

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by Pinecone_Jeff

See, this is why I love this forum so much!
I love your analogy of 12 adults huddled together to take a picture. We've more than that in our house and we all huddled around for pics.

Thanks again!

Your very welcome.

That example is a bit simplistic, since it does not represent long-term strain/weakening due to more dynamic forces (such as seismic activity - especially where you live), but it serves as a reasonable analogy. Your house should be built to recent California code which includes seismic provisions.

I have several friends (not far from you) who are Architects. If you determine the size of your joists and spread (distance between joists), they can probably offer a ballpark number for the load rating. Post here or PM me if desired.

-Scott

[Pinecone_Jeff]

Wow, thanks Scott! Gosh, I feel like I'm hijacking Gwen's thread, but I hope this helps her out some.

Yeah, the seismic codes are pretty strict here in California. When the house was being built, our neighbor's houses were getting their foundations laid in and we could see that they were drilling and pounding in (and I don't know the correct term) super long steel rods into the bedrock as anchors for more stability during a quake.

I'll get under the house and see what kinds and which direction the joists are running. I think I will take you up on your offer of asking your architect friends about what my floor may support. How nice of you!!! Thanks!