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How to Calculate Max Weight Limit? Using
furniture as an aquarium stand: Not really recommended
4/17/2010 Support for 30 Gal Aquarium (RMF, agree/disagree?) ~ 01/12/09 I current have a 29 gal tank (30" wide) on a sturdy dresser. I would like to get the extra width of a 30 gal (36" wide), but the top of the dresser is only 32 inches wide. I'm wondering if a 36" sheet of plywood under the tank would be enough support to safely deal with the two inches of overhang that would be on each side? If so, what thickness of plywood do you recommend? thanks, Herm <Hello Herm. To be honest, I don't recommend tanks above 20 gallons be placed on any furniture not designed expressly for the purpose. When I was a teenager, I had a 30 gallon tank that was placed on an oak dresser, and everything seemed fine for months until one night the top finally warped enough that the glass base cracked, and of course all the water came pouring out. Putting the fish into the bathtub saved them, but it sure gave my dad a surprise when he came downstairs in the morning! One Imperial gallon weighs ten pounds, so a 30 gallon tank is going to weight 300 pounds (US gallons are a bit smaller and weigh a bit less, but not enough to make a difference). I surely doubt that any dresser is really designed to support that sort of weight permanently, and certainly not with much of a safety margin. Other folks may have other opinions, but me, I'd recommend against what you're doing. Cheers, Neale.> <<Important to pay heed to what Neale states here... the "average" sort of weight per gallon... There is substantial furniture... that can/will take a good deal of weight... keep a system planar, level... but the majority of desks, tables are NOT strong enough IMO/E. RMF>> Questionable Tank Stand -- 07/24/07 Hey Crew, Awesome Site!!! Anyway, I just thought I'd ask you guys a quick question. I bought what seemed good at the time: two small, matching nightstand/dressers for my L36" W14" H18" 40g aquarium. I thought these would be good for $20 instead of the $180 stands they sell at my LFS. What I think I might regret about these things is that they don't meet in the middle, and there's about an inch of space between each and that means the tanks not supported about an inch in the middle. I have had this tank for three yrs., and nothing has happened, but I fear something will. Is there too much stress? Should I get a new stand? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you, Nate <Hello Nate. Let me tell you a story. One night I was asleep and for some reason I was dreaming about rain. But then I realised I wasn't dreaming about rain, I was listening to rain. And the rain wasn't outside the house, but inside my bedroom. Only after a few moments did it dawn on me that my aquarium was leaking. The bottom pane of glass had cracked during the night because the wooden top of the dresser I had sat it on had finally sagged too far and the pane of glass couldn't support the weight of the water any more. The moral of the story is that you shouldn't assume [a] that any old piece of furniture will support an aquarium safely; or [b] that said furniture will be safe tomorrow because it is working fine today. If you're going to rest an aquarium on two separate cabinets, you have the risk of one of them moving relative to the other, placing stress on the bottom of the tank as one end sags lower than the other. As you probably realise with most aquaria they are very strong in terms of resisting the static forces of a body of water but they are incredibly poor at resisting twisting forces because the silicone has poor resistance to this and the glass has none at all. At the very least, you need to have a single piece of strong wood forming a base upon which the tank rests, plus polystyrene tiles on top of that for cushioning. I'd also recommend some sort of bracing to keep the two cabinets from moving apart from each other. But really, this isn't something I'd consider safe. Your own mileage may vary of course, but I've been stung by the "DIY tank stand" disaster and would never try it again. Cheers, Neale.> Will the desk hold? 8/24/07 Good morning! How are you? Great site By the way. Tons and tons of info. I recently bought a 20 gallon long. I will be putting on a desk that has held a 5 gallon and an 8 gallon tall (not at the same time). I weigh like 170 pounds and I sat on the desk with the 5 gallon. The desk did not wobble and it was level with all the weight on it. Should I do any more tests or would you say it's okay? One more thing, can I use a pad of carpet as the cushion between the tank and desk? Thanks, -Edward <Hello Edward. Thanks for the kind words about the site. Anyway, in my opinion/experience, the upper limit for putting tanks on anything not designed for supporting one is about 10 gallons. Above that, and you're asking for trouble. While furniture may hold a bigger tank for a while, eventually the wood or whatever sags, and then the stress on the glass bottom of the tank gets skewed, and the tank leaks. Result: poor fishkeeper gets woken at 4 in the morning by the sound of splashing water and has to quickly carry fishes to a bucket and then mop up the floor. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. So no, I wouldn't do this. Cheers, Neale.> Using large buffet as aquarium stand 8/11/05 I am planning on buying a 90 gallon tall tank (36x18x31) or a 70 gallon (36x18x25) and a custom refugium (15x18x31 or 15x18x25) that would sit side-by-side on the same stand. Would the refugium need to be higher in order to flow back into the tank without a pump? <Yes> Maybe it can be done at this height if the tank is drilled? <Water seeks its own level...> Anyway, my main question: The "stand" I am planning on using is an antique buffet. It is "strong like bull", but I am not sure it could handle the weight of the tanks. <Mmm, the tanks et al. weigh about ten pounds per gallon filled up... I would at least try placing this much weight on the piece of furniture... to try it out...> Considering the different weights on each end of the stand, would this set up be unstable? <Only way to tell is to try...> Would it be better to get a tank with a 48" length (centered on the buffet) and forget using the refugium? How do I determine whether this piece of furniture can hold these aquariums? <Experiment... not with the tanks, but equivalent weight> Do the supports need to be a certain distance apart--or certain thickness? <Likely you will want to place some four by pieces of wood every two feet... under the buffet, to support... on the principal members> I would really rather not get another stand if I don't have to. It will be on carpet on top of slab foundation, and the legs are large and flat. If I decide on the 90 gal, there will be about 180 lbs of LR and 110lbs of substrate. If I go with the 70, it would include 130 lbs of LR and 110lbs of substrate. <And the water at about 8.2 pounds per gallon... about ten pounds per gallon...> The refugium would hold an extra 30-40 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of substrate. The main tank is to be a coral tank and the refugium is to serve as a typical refugium (algae, copepods, shrimp) and a seahorse tank (I am planning to use a breeder box in the refugium to further protect some of the shrimp and pods from the seahorses). Thanks for your time, Angela <Do want to mention that you consider the probable damage to this piece... from moisture, spills... a good, strong stand can be made for not much money... see Ozreef.org for DIY plans here... IMO, leave the buffet for future "Antiques Roadshow" programs. Bob Fenner> |
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