# Will my house support a 135 gallon?



## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

I plan to put a 135 gallon on my main floor perpendicular to the floor joists and against a wall for maximum support strength. It's in my room which is the smallest room in the house, hence the strongest. My house is pretty old as well, around 40 years back when they used real wood for homes lol. 135g will work right?


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> I plan to put a 135 gallon on my main floor perpendicular to the floor joists and against a wall for maximum support strength. It's in my room which is the smallest room in the house, hence the strongest. My house is pretty old as well, around 40 years back when they used real wood for homes lol. 135g will work right?


I think it should... maybe invite a bunch of friends over and get everyone into your room and start jumping up and down 

so you end up getting the 135gal from Chester?

Do you still have room to walk in your room?


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

I am picking it up in a few days, he has it reserved for me. It fits in my bed room and takes up less room than my desk, so getting rid of the desk and adding the tank makes my room bigger  As for whether or not I can keep it is still a maybe, gonna somewhat surprise my parents, if they say no then it may be a problem ahahah. My desk is MASSIVE 32" x 63", wooden top and strong metal frame. Looks really nice anyone wanna buy it?  costed me quite a bit but more than willing to take a loss  pics can be given on request.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> I am picking it up in a few days, he has it reserved for me. It fits in my bed room and takes up less room than my desk, so getting rid of the desk and adding the tank makes my room bigger  As for whether or not I can keep it is still a maybe, gonna somewhat surprise my parents, if they say no then it may be a problem ahahah. My desk is MASSIVE 32" x 63", wooden top and strong metal frame. Looks really nice anyone wanna buy it?  costed me quite a bit but more than willing to take a loss  pics can be given on request.


good luck with the parents part.


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## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

Fish_Man said:


> good luck with the parents part.


+1. if I pulled what you are pulling, my mom would beat me near death, and then probably drown me in the tank!


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

PACMAN said:


> +1. if I pulled what you are pulling, my mom would beat me near death, and then probably drown me in the tank!


I am quite scared of that, but I convinced her that I am responsible enough, i mean, consider letting me get it as a grad present, didnt get one yet. I got honour roll and got into my uni of choice, i think i deserve something atleast


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Does that mean you will only be around for a couple months to look after it?


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

More or less, but I will be using older filter media to help jump start the biofiltration. Sad that I will only be here for another month and a half, to spend on the tank and even less time to spend with the fish


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

This is why I don't get pets that I will not be willing to care for. When you go away who gets to look after your fish?


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

There is a difference with what I am willing to do and what i CAN do. My parents and sisters will look after them. I will give them a thorough run through of what needs to be done, which is feeding and cleaning and looking out for disease pretty much, nothing fancy like breeding etc. I will be home 5 months a year.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

I don't mean to get into your business but I hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts on this situation. Please don't take it the wrong way, I'm only saying this because I have experienced this first hand.

Just bringing it home is never a good thing. Over the years of me just bringing things home, I've learnt that it really is disrespectful to your parents. You need to remember this is their home and although they will ultimately forgive and forget, it's still not really fair to them. You have to put yourself in their situation to fully understand what I'm talking about. You are also assuming someone will take care of your tank for you. You are adding a new responsibility to their already busy lives of working and maintaining a home/family. I would not count on anyone to feed my fish daily and do a weekly waterchange unless it was for a short period of time like a vacation. You are talking about being gone for a school semester. Why not wait until you are done school and have settled down before going any further? I'm sure I won't change your mind but it's something worth hearing about.

Trust me, I have done my share of damage to my family lol. Took me awhile to wake up and realize I should be thankful to have parents who even allow me to live under their roof after all I've done. 

The least you could do is have the respect to talk to them about it first and if you must, coax them into it lol. That way it's not a shock when you pull up with a 6ft tank and your parents using that as your coffin!

Sorry to sound like such a wet blanket! Don't take it the wrong way.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

I don't know what kind of idea I seemed to have given but my parents are aware that a large tank is coming in. They don't know it's 135 g, they just know that it's bigger than what I had before. This is my graduation present, permission to get a larger tank. I am shutting down all my other ones. So it's simply one tank. Bottom line, they know a large tank is coming, the only surprise is that it may be 2 feet longer than they expect  As for maintenance, my mom loves watching my fish, my sister also agreed to help me. Might get an auto feeder but they LIKE feeding the fish. Water changes are not too difficult and the amount of favours I provide for my sister, she simply cannot turn me down lol.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Well you know your family more than any of us.  

Just passing on some of my life experience for you to read.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> Well you know your family more than any of us.
> 
> Just passing on some of my life experience for you to read.


I appreciate it  it should be all good though, they get the final say though. If they don't want it...there isn't much that I can do anyways. Doubt they will complain when they see the fish in it ahaha


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

One more question. Does the tank have to have a center brace? I hear people need it because they plan on adding hundred of lbs of live rocks and such, I will only be putting sand and I am not planning to use many rocks, and if I do they will be on the sides of the tanks. I want to keep the center fairly open. Will the weight of the water crack the tank? I do not want to risk having the tank break on me. For my setup with no rocks in the center, is a center brace needed?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

The purpose for a centre brace is to prevent 'bowing' of your front and back glass panels. Generally all newer tanks have centre braces because the glass they use now is thinner than custom or older tanks. 

If the glass is thin and there is bowing, the panel will eventually give out and you will have a big mess....


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

By bowing you mean the panes of glass leaning out from the top? So the weight of the water won't break the bottom pane of glass and it's just the front and back that I should worry about. Might silicone a piece of wood on the bottom middle of the 135g just to prevent the bottom from crashing down. Is one center brace sufficient for the 135g? What should I use to make a center brace? Any diy guides?


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## Twiggles (Jun 6, 2010)

Why don't you want to use many rocks? They're mbuna cichlids ... It's like the one thing you're supposed to have lots of when It comes to them


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> By bowing you mean the panes of glass leaning out from the top? So the weight of the water won't break the bottom pane of glass and it's just the front and back that I should worry about. Might silicone a piece of wood on the bottom middle of the 135g just to prevent the bottom from crashing down. Is one center brace sufficient for the 135g? What should I use to make a center brace? Any diy guides?


You don't need center brace on these older thick glass tanks. The newer ones come with 2 braces on top and bottom for a total of 4 braces but glass are thinner. I have a older 135gal without any brace and been using it for 30 years now.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

The easiest way to picture a tank bowing out is to imagine a 70 gallon bow front tank or double bow to be correct.

That is why the top brace should have a centre brace to prevent that from happening.

I would not be too concerned with the weight of the water breaking the bottom on the glass unless your tank is not level or there are obvious pressure points that cause stress cracks.

Incase of accidental rocks falling and cracking the bottom panel, people use diffusors/egg crate as a bottom layer under the substrate/rocks. Which is easily found at all Home Depots for less than $10 for a 4'x2' sheet if I remember correctly.


IF there is no centre brace, I recommend either purchasing a trim that fits your tank from a manufacturer (not easy if it's custom made) OR siliconing a piece of glass (around 3/8" or 1/4" thick should be good) in the centre of your tank going front to back. That should help with the deflection/bowing.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> The easiest way to picture a tank bowing out is to imagine a 70 gallon bow front tank or double bow to be correct.
> 
> That is why the top brace should have a centre brace to prevent that from happening.
> 
> ...


The trim is most likely the best thing to do. Whats the price for trim (for the top) for a 72"x18" tank? How long does it take to arrive?


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> The trim is most likely the best thing to do. Whats the price for trim (for the top) for a 72"x18" tank? How long does it take to arrive?


Around $50 probably. I'm guessing though...you would need to call Hagen and find out. Also would help to know the EXACT measurements of the tank before calling. If it's an older hagen tank and they did not use a centre brace I don't think a newer trim would fit. As the newer trims are most likely designed for thinner panels of glass.

I would think that if it's an older Hagen tank, it's most likely pretty thick glass. I've had a 60" x 18" x 26" OLD tank that had no centre brace and it held up no problem. But it's always better safe than sorry right?

I also think you better bring a few extra guys to help you move that thing. Old tanks are not fun to move....


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

How in the world can his tank support the weight of those huge rocks? I am going for those kind of species, more of less.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> How in the world can his tank support the weight of those huge rocks? I am going for those kind of species, more of less.


Hey Philip,

Keep us up to date on what happens with your tank.. if you can keep it and everything. You could always go home on the weekends like I did when I went to Western and go back early Sunday morning (at least for me for evening practices  which by the way I hate). Then you can do your weekly water changes


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

Weekends = study and catching up time. Someone please help me regarding euro brace. I have a gist of what to do, but I want an exact step by step guide. Can anyone link me to one?


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

So when you will start going to univ, we should see "getting out of hobby" sale from you shortly after? hehe just kidding...just kidding


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

i think you should go back every week. Do an hour of studying ever night before going to bed and you should be good. At least that's what ALLLLL my cousins and relatives say. Hopefully I have the same genes.


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