Great pics Richie! We definitely don't want to see the santa hat on the other finger

And cool, K, that's the same macro lens I use.

Weets...yes my dear. to the frag swap. i have to go the memphis that Thursday but will be back on friday. and will see you on saturday.

OK, Parteh at WL..

we need to finish the stale cookies and that big tin of popcorn, not to mention all those candy canes left on the tree every year.

I'll over brew some already old coffee grinds and let it sit on the warmer for a couple hours before serving.

There is plenty of fruit cake to go around. Settle down into your WL chair and relax with some left over holiday candies ( yes, the ones with the little "test" nibbles from the kiddies ).

Lets relax and chill out for a bit while we look forward to the weekend and that wonderful feeling of why the heck does it always take one more storage box to pack up the same holiday decorations?????

Is the fire crackling in da fireplace?

Alas no, cuz Lil Guy dismantled the fire screen.
NRF, I'll brew up some fresh beans thanks, but all the rest sounds good!
Oh btw, cookies still taste fresh over here, nom nom nom...

even after USPS kept them dern near all week?


meh, don't worry budds, we can all juss

Ok, so I rinsed and dried the new 20L aquarium (w/the help of Lil Guy ), and it's sitting in the appropriate place on the kitchen counter with 4g of fresh SW mixing in the bottom of it.
It looks AWESOME, the footprint is so much nicer than what I've been working with and I'm getting really excited about this now.
BUT.... I might have a problem.
I just noticed that the kitchen counter does not sit flush with the trim on the BOTTOM of the tank.
It's sitting in the same spot the 5.5g former Contest Tank was sitting, and I don't know if the weight of that tank caused the counter to bow or if it's just not totally straight or what.
Is this something I should worry about?
Cause if it is I have no idea how to fix it, and I don't really have another place I can set this tank.
What do I do???

We have a sony HDTV in front of our fireplace

Here's some pics to show what I was talking about above.
These are pics of the front left and right corners of the tank, and if you look you can see how it's sitting directly on the counter at the edges, but the farther you go toward the center of the tank you see a little gap between the bottom of the trim and the counter surface.

I haz no idea, Weets.

i no seez nothing except counter top....

Maybe place a piece of styrofoam under it to help level it out?

You see the light just under the black trim?
That's daylight shining between the bottom of the tank and the top of the counter.
It's not supposed to do that.

oh now i see it! thanks for re pointing it out.

Well that would be easy enough to do, as long as it's adequate.
I just want to make sure that there isn't a problem that will cause either the tank to crack or the counter to cave in due to unequal pressure in places that can't withstand it.
Hope that made sense.

Although I have yet to do so myself, I have read many threads that folks "bed" their tanks in styro type foam for situations just like yours Weets. Seems to be a rather common practice too. The sheet foam is used to take up the variations in the stand / table / whatever so there are no pressure points.

hi weet! is this what you mentioned in my pcio thread?

agreed with nrf, styrofoam or a rubber liner is what most people use to fill the gaps. i'd go with the rubber liner than the styrofoam but people have used either.

what's the actual deflection? i.e. height of the space

if the deflection is only a few tens of thousandths of an inch (0.010"~0.050") i wouldn't even worry about it actually. the glass and seams will/can flex anyway due to water weight. in fact, i've got a 75g oceanic on a 1~2-degree corner tilt for the past 3-years.

I had a similar situation with my 20H although the bow was much worse on the bottom. It eventually led to a small leak, but, like I said, the gap on your tank is much smaller and there is much less water volume- you should be alright.

Yeah, this is what I was talking about, thanks for stopping by!
At it's widest point, the gap/deflection measures 3/16 of an inch. How bad is that?
I didn't think to mention it, but the counter slopes very slightly downward on one side too.
It's an old house, and I don't think anything in here is really level.

that's about 0.187" over 24" or so (20L). that might be a bit much for the rubber liner, they do come that thick (like a heavy pond liner) but you're expecting some compression to take up the pressures.

the styrofoam might be a better option then. and cheaper.

maybe the hubby could sand/shape a wedge or spacer that's almost that arc dimension (i.e. 0.100"~0.150") and then simply fill the remaining gap with a sheet of styro or liner if it's too far apart.

maybe he could take into account the slope too if you really want it level/level.

^^^or was that his dad (your FIL) that has that impressive workshop and stuff?

FIL has the workshop and handyman skills, hubby is not a handy type guy.
I was thinking that foam is what I'd have to go with too, if I put something under there.
Tank is 30" long btw, if that helps.

Weets I talked to Daniel bout your situation and he said what you need is a piece of stone to go under your tank that is long enough that it stretches from one upright brace in the cabinet to the next and ofcourse is long enough and wide enough for the entire tank to sit on. Does that make sense? He said the rock won't bend and that it will help shift the wieght of the tank to the upright support of the cabinet. Which will keep the counter top from warping any farther. If you need a better explanation I'll be around all day.

I understand what he's saying and it totally makes sense, but a slab of stone like that is waaaaay outta my budget and would cause problems with reducing overhead room underneath the kitchen cabinets.
It's looking like using foam underneath may be my most practical alternative.
The supports underneath the counter rest almost exactly under each end of the tank, as it's positioned. They look like sturdy supports too, not flimsy junk.

The stone doesn't have to be that thick. A level piece of something like slate should work. Also if you have a place that does stone counter tops near you they sale the remenets for really cheap if you can find one the right size. I'm talking like sometimes as low as $10 a sq ft. and you only need 2.5 sq ft. Although, if the supports are under each end of the tank than I think the foam will work as well. Now if only Daniel was around to agree with all of this.

thats about right. 1/2" thick should be thick enough, no need for polishing as long as it's smooth on both sides.

styro would be fine for supporting the tank, but if there's concern about the irreversible sagging of the countertop, which is going to be the case, then you need the stone support as long as it reaches all the way between the vertical braces. the stone wont bend like the countertop, so all the weight will go into the vertical braces instead of the countertop itself, which is what is happening now.

But won't the trim/frame of the tank itself distribute the weight to the vertical braces, since the countertop supports are already under each end of the tank?
I don't think it's the weight of the current tank (the 20L) that is causing the slight dip in the countertop, I think it was the weight of the 5.5g that was previously setting there.
The countertop already had the the slight dip when I set the 20L on top of it.
Can you visualize what I'm talking about?
My dad works at Lowe's, I'm gonna call him and see what he can find there while he's at work today.

yeah, if the tank already reaches the braces on either side, they should be the only things supporting the tank. if the sag was already there because of the 5.5, then go with the styro to even it out.

If what your Dad is doing doesn't work, we can see if I have some TN stone thin enough to go under the tanks. We have quite a few large slabs laying around.

Who's gonna party like it's 1999 tonight?????

ummm, you and the artist formally known as Prince?

oh waitaminute.....










its Prince again, isn't it?




Happy New Year sweetie!

And to all of WL and NR as well!

Have a good one and be safe.

Ill be in bed as i has to work tomorrow

Happy New Year to you too, Richie boy... and the rest of you nuts too!



Awww....

I like your last tag.

I sure you would

The Disaronno is flowin' already, Weets!

Take an old towel, not the one with the lacy girly stuff on it. Fold it in half and put under the tank. It will take up the space like foam, catch any dribbles so you don't end up with salt creep on the counter and when you want to move the tank just pull on the towel and it will slide.

No Im not a genius but I have a history of tanks on my kitchen counter.

PS Happy New Year and if you are near Whiteville I have Crown & Coke.

Too late, I already got it up!
And BOY am I tired.
My dad cut a remnant of Pergo laminate flooring for me to fit under the tank. It's not super thick but it feels really strong. It's also got a waterproof finish on it, and it slides well on the counter, like what SPerry was describing with the "Towel Trick".
The clownfish seems really happy in his new home.
I don't have anything arranged at all, it's just in there.
I'll make it pretty later, right now I just need it to be functional before I leave for BibleSue's place for a few days to have a late Christmas celebration there.

glad you said it first

EDIT: Nevermind.

Im gonna be in SO much trouble tomorrow when she reads that. LOL Oh well it will be fitting.

LOL, you guys are awful!
But hey, at least I can always count on you for a good chuckle.
Thanks, I needed that.

Happy New Years to all!

Happy new year everyone!
Weetie, i am expecting pics of the new tank asap

whew!

looks like its all good Scott

( Mark, I still wanna know what you said.... )

holy crap 113 pages, this is the longest thread ive ever seen on here.

That's cause Weetie's Lounge is SPECIAL!
The only thread that I know of that's longer is the "Post a Pic" thread. Too bad a bunch of idiots caused that one to get closed AGAIN.

....but.....I didn't even post on that thread....

Yup, those kids just can't play by the rules.

Lol Richie.... and your kitty looks bald without the santa hat

wholley sheet it does! lol......

Hmmm.. may have to do sumptin about that huh?

hny weet!

i like that i can post here (weet's lounge) and not drive my lounge post counts out of whack.