Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

Hello all,
After MANY hours of thought. I have finally figured out what I am going to do as far as saltwater tanks. I wanted a nice reef setup and I also wanted a setup with some not-so-reef friendly fish (triggers etc). I figured that since a 75-100g reef tank would end up costing hundreds of dollars to fill with the amount of LR i would want to put in it, and the non reef friendly fish that i want get pretty big, I am going to setup a 30L gallon reef tank and later setup a 75-100 FOWLR tank.

After I decided what i was going to do...I had to figure out where I was going to put them! Sometime before the end of this year, I am getting all new carpet put down so putting it anywhere over carpet would be a HUGE hassle when it comes time for new carpet. So that leaves the kitchen. I was thinking about putting it next to the kitchen table so I could watch fishies while i ate.. but that would take of too much floor space and make the table stick out too far. I was looking around and it hit me!! i will stick it on top of the counter. that thing is built into the house and is VERY strong. The upper cabinets come out 12" from the wall and are exactly 24" off of the surface of the counter. This space would be ideal for a tank since directly behind where the tank would go is my laundry room and it has its own breaker and water supply. I am repainting the kitchen anyways so I can install a piece of waterproof drywall behind the tank area so that any spills wont mess up the wall. I can make a nice little hole there so all of my electrical and plumbing can go right out the back so I can flush the tank up too the wall!!! I will have to make the canopy very custom cause I will only have 6" of space above the tank opening. I could maybe put the canopy opening on a hinge like a door so that it opens up completely out of my way and maybe put the lights on a sliding track so I can move them out of the way as well when it comes to cleaning time. Here are two pics of the place i wanna put the tank.

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appriciated!

It still weighs alot even for the size, make sure that counter can hold it. The weight might make the counter lower some and separate from the wall.

250+ pounds. To me that would be a lot for a countertop.

dittos on Snoops comments... and also heat may be a factor in the kitchen if you "kick it up a notch" every now and then. All day cooking during the holdays or weekends might make that room too hot for a tank.

My last concern/ issue would be tank/counter height for viewing. If these two things are not of issue then I say give it a shot.


Just some thoughts.


Tanks in every room

Hell sink it in the wall.

Im about 250lbs and I sat on the counter and jumped up and down....its solid. The counter is glued to the wall at the top...but it sits on top of moduled cabinets that are built with 3/4" wood and then anchored to the wall with 2x4s. after seeing some of the stands people have put 30ish gallon tanks on, I think I am way more than safe doing this. I may add a couple of vertical 2x4s if i see the counter start to sag.

The problem with sinking it into the wall... the washing machine is right behind where it will go and I wouldn't be able to wash clothes so thats out of the picture.

I doubt heat will be an issue since the only time i ever cook a bunch is when I light up the grill. And besides, If I ever had a heavy cooking day...I could easily drop a frozen 20oz water bottle into the sump and let that keep the temp down in the tank.

I know this isnt the Ideal place to put it...But right now Im low on options. In a few years when I save up enough to build a house...you better believe that a few places will be specifically built for a fish tank (can we say 400g anyone?--I can dream)

by the way the counter top is 3' off of the floor so the height is perfect.

Oh and I just checked...the tank would have 4x 3/4" supports going from front to back and a 2x4 right under the rear of the tank. I may consider bracing it a little more just for extra security.

Sounds good to me. I am sure that the responces that you got were just to make sure that everything was thought out so that there wouldn't be any surprises. Have you already gotten the tank?

havent got the tank yet...but im doing some contract graphics work this week and if its enough to get started..I will have the tank begining to cycle this weekend

anyone have a 20g tank they wanna sell me for the sump?....or anything else that might help me along?

i have an old 20 tank you can have for free, it holds water. but you have to come and get it, im hosting the next meeting, so that would be a prime to get it

Sweet I was planning on coming to the July meeting so that will be PERFECT! Thanks a BUNCH!!

no prob