Habitat - Indoor :: Napoleon's move; my poor apartment

[Starchick]

Mehhhh! Had to do some major rearranging tonight

I have a really weird ceiling, where it vaults up to a point and has skylights built in in such a way that the panes are perpendicular to the ground. So during the winter the sunlight doesn't shine straight through them, but in the spring the angle is different and the light starts to come directly into my apartment, and over the course of the day this beam of light tracks across my living room, which is nice aesthetically, but sucky temperature-wise. I had a terrible time last summer, as the place is choking hot without an air conditioner (which I plan to buy this year) Anyway, the whole point of that is that the beam of sunlight goes directly over Napoleon's tank and screws up his water temperature. It was like 84 when I got home today. Not a good situation.

I decided I had to move the tank, but the only place I could find that wasn't directly under a window, next to the heater or under where the air conditioner will go was in the dining room. I moved my cabinet to a different part of the room and put the tank on the floor, because the table I've been using for a stand doesn't fit in that spot.

First issue was getting the lighting set up again. I finally worked out a setup that's functional, but looks like hell. I have the heat lamp clamped to my camera tripod, which is sort of straddling the corner of the tank, and the uvb lamp clamped onto the side of the tank. It works, but it looks messy.

Then there's all the empty spaces.... Where the tank used to be there's now a blank wall, with two metal brackets screwed into it that I had the lamps clamped on to, and where the tank is now, there used to be my cabinet with a lamp on it and picture frames, so there's a lot of wall there too. I taped up an Eiffel Tower poster just to fill the space. Maybe it'll help Napoleon get in touch with his frenchness.

My real concern is having the tank on the floor. Napoleon doesn't understand why when he can see the floor he can't get to it, and when I walk toward the tank he thinks I'm chasing him. Also, I cleaned the tank tonight and moved it when it was empty, but cleaning it next time will be a real pain because the syphon won't work right. I need to find some kind of makeshift stand. Any suggestions? I'm completely and utterly broke right now, so a real stand is not an option.

Anyway, sorry this turned out so long, I'm just kinda depressed that my pretty little apartment looks so torn apart right now.

[SpotsMama]

There's always cinder blocks. Not aesthetic but they work. Maybe you could construct a light weight cabinet around a cinder block core.

[Starchick]

Any idea where I would go to get cinder blocks?

[DavidY]

Sometimes you can find someone giving them away on craigslist or from a demolition site. You can also buy them at home depot for a couple dollars a piece. You know, if the sun was coming in through a sky light, you could always suspend a tapestry or something from the ceiling or walls to block the tank from the light. If done right it could look pretty good too.

[SpotsMama]

Places like Lowes and Home depot sell them. They're maybe a dollar or two each.

I see from another post that you're on the second floor. Weight will be an issue.

Here's a pretty neat home grown platform:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ght=#79504

(EDIT: I ORIGINALLY HAD THE WRONG LINK STORED IN MY COPY BUTTON SO THE EXAMPLE OF A PRETTY NEAT HOME GROWN PLATFORM MADE NO SENSE AT ALL. I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION. THE LINK HAS NOW BEEN CORRECTED.)

I think you could put some - not too many - cinder blocks down for strength then put down a wooden platform to rest the tank on, with a front to hide the cinderblocks. Are you at all handy? Unfinished wood is inexpensive if you're willing to stain and seal it yourself. Personally I love doing that sort of thing.

[steve]

How big is the tank?

[Starchick]

Steve: 30 gallons, so not huge.

SpotsMama: I think I could pull something like that together, I remember someone posting plans for something similar on here, I'll have to search for them.

DavidY: I'd like to do that, but the problem is that the skylight is about 25 feet up, I can't get to it without a serious ladder. My parents might help me out with that eventually, it's just not something I could do immediately once I realized it was an issue.

[DavidY]

You don't have to hang the sheet from the sky light, it just has to be between the sky light and the tank. I'm not sure how your room is layed out but you could run a wire between two walls about 8 feet up. Then tack the sheet or tapestry to the wall above the tank about 10 feet up (use a step ladder) and run it out to the wire and then hang it from there. It would kind of look like an outdoor awning like they have over a sidewalk cafe or something. With such high ceilings like yours it would break up the room a little and add some depth to it. Just a thought, but I think it would look cool.

[SpotsMama]

Katie, I corrected the link to the example of a nice home grown platform in my post above. Hopefully it makes better sense now!

[Starchick]

Cool, I see what you mean, Spotsmama, I'll have to get to the hardware store and see what I can find!

[industrial_girl_2000]

To support a tank properly, I suggest a layer of "particle board" (it's the wood board stuff that looks like little pieces of wood chips mashed together with glue & when you cut it, the sides look layered). It supports a tank really nicely since it is *really* stiff. You can get a piece cut for you at any home improvement lumber store (just ask for "particle board" and when you describe it, the person who is helping you should know what it is right away!). Get them to cut it so you have about an inch & a 1/2 extra of wood all the way around your tank so you have plenty of room for your tank to sit on it comfortably.

A long time ago, my dad made an aquarium stand for my 55 gallon tank & he put a layer of particle board on top of the stand (stand was made out of an old kitchen cabinet with doors in front!). I never had a problem with the tank leaking due to lack of support. The same 55 gal tank lasted for 13 yrs and prolly would have lasted longer if the silicon in between the glass panes hadn't started to rot away (at that point, I upgraded my tank to the 90 gal that Sheba has now).

[DavidY]

If you use particle board you may want to make sure it is well supported underneath as it can be brittle and snap under strain. Also you will want to cover it with something water proof because it will disintegrate if exposed to moisture over an extended period of time. Wood glue is water soluable. It makes an excellent surface because it is perfectly flat and smooth, but it doesn't have the strength of plywood.

[grey goose]

How about just getting one of those folding divider type things and set it up in front of the tank during the day to block the sun?

[SpotsMama]

That's a good idea. here's a link, but you can get these things lots of places:

http://www.homedecorators.com/landingPa ... atch_type=

Here's an image:

[Starchick]

The divider thing would be a great idea if it was tall enough, but given the angle that the light's coming it it would probably have to be about 10-15 feet tall to actually block it. I've tried laying a board across the tank itself but that whole room heats up a lot during the day. As much as it sucks, I think he's going to be better off in the dining room. He'll get less drafts from the front door there as well, so it might be a better permanent spot. I have a slab of particle board that used to be part of a desk that's pretty thick and strong and looks nice, so I have it sitting on that on the floor right now, but I'm thinking maybe that would work as a top to whatever I end up building. I figure I could get a piece of plywood or particle board as the base, then stand the cinder blocks on that, and rest the piece I already have on top. I think my dad has some old paneling stuff I could use to disguise the blocks. Does that sound like it would work/be stable enough? Spotsmama mentioned the weight issue, I guess I need help figuring out how many blocks will give it enough stability and distribute the weight evenly without screwing up the floor. The tank is 12 x 30 on the bottom, and the board I have for the top is 14 x 43.