How Much Weight Can A Stand Take?

[CezzaXV]

Hello everyone.

I've not been in the hobby long, but I'm already considering upgrading from my 60 litre to a 125 litre.

Obviously I already have a stand for a 60L and was wondering whether it would be feasible to use it for a 125 or would it not hold the weight? Of course the 125L would be bigger, but if I put a piece of wood on top of the stand and then the tank on top of that, would it hold the weight or is it a bad idea?

 

[Caprichoso]

Hello everyone.

I've not been in the hobby long, but I'm already considering upgrading from my 60 litre to a 125 litre.

Obviously I already have a stand for a 60L and was wondering whether it would be feasible to use it for a 125 or would it not hold the weight? Of course the 125L would be bigger, but if I put a piece of wood on top of the stand and then the tank on top of that, would it hold the weight or is it a bad idea?

There are a few factors that have to be considered. It depends on the type of material the stand is made of, whether or not the stand is level and also how much of the surface area of the bottom of the stand will be touching the ground. If the stand is on wheels I would say no. If the stand is on 4 legs, this isn't really ideal but if it's level, the psi(pounds per square inch) may be reasonable. The best case scenario would be if the whole bottom of the stand is touching the ground and that it is level. You also don't want the tank to be on the edge of the stand or hanging over, obviously. Another option is to brace the stand for more support but I don't know personally how to do that.

Good luck

 

[CezzaXV]

Here's a pic of my tank and stand: http/www.petplanet.co.uk/shop_dev/assets/new_product_images//hagen/57326.jpg

I dont want to put the tank at risk and will pay for a stand if need be, but that'll cost more and I dont want a perfectly good stand to go to waste if it doesnt need to.

 

[nurglespuss]

Personally, with thay type of harboard/fibreboard and chipboard stand (which is a great design and very strong), its designed to take a particular weight and distribute it down its frame evenly, with a tank 'bigger' than its surface area, it can't do this (or not as well), I personally think it would not be worth taking the cance, and there are plenty of folks around looking to pick up a second hand stand! ;p

If I may hijack this thread a little too (sorry!):

I have a 4 foot metal cast stand, with a 106L tank currently set on top, I'm used to these stand being pretty strong (and have heard of sump tanks etc.) - could it also take the weight of a smaller (say 2 foot aquarium) on the 'shelf' provided by the leg supports, but off to one side, not in the middle (where the external filter is)...?

Its for the purposes of a hospital/quaranteen and (hopefully one day!) baby cory tank...

 

[Caprichoso]

Here's a pic of my tank and stand: http/www.petplanet.co.uk/shop_dev/assets/new_product_images//hagen/57326.jpg

I dont want to put the tank at risk and will pay for a stand if need be, but that'll cost more and I dont want a perfectly good stand to go to waste if it doesnt need to.

From looking at the picture, I wouldn't chance it. Only because of that hollow space in the middle, it would make me a bit nervous. You may want to sell your stand and upgrade to a bigger one. Unless you want to do some diy to it or rebuild it, I wouldn't chance it.

 

[Caprichoso]

Personally, with thay type of harboard/fibreboard and chipboard stand (which is a great design and very strong), its designed to take a particular weight and distribute it down its frame evenly, with a tank 'bigger' than its surface area, it can't do this (or not as well), I personally think it would not be worth taking the cance, and there are plenty of folks around looking to pick up a second hand stand! ;p

If I may hijack this thread a little too (sorry!):

I have a 4 foot metal cast stand, with a 106L tank currently set on top, I'm used to these stand being pretty strong (and have heard of sump tanks etc.) - could it also take the weight of a smaller (say 2 foot aquarium) on the 'shelf' provided by the leg supports, but off to one side, not in the middle (where the external filter is)...?

Its for the purposes of a hospital/quaranteen and (hopefully one day!) baby cory tank...

Is the shelf part of the support or decorative? I probably wouldn't recommend putting additional weight unevenly on the shelf. If it's in the middle, and levelled properly, that would be best. Do you have any pics of the stand? Is it welded together?

 

[CezzaXV]

Thanks.

Agreed, it's not worth it, but I didn't want to get a new one and later be told my old one would've done!

 

[Caprichoso]

Absolutely! It's always good to save a penny when possible

 

[nurglespuss]

Absolutely! It's always good to save a penny when possible

Thanks

Yep its an old fashioned welded metal stand:

here's an earlier pic with it in

Cheers! (I would put plywood and styrene under it as per the top)

 

[Caprichoso]

Ok, yeah, I see what you mean. I've seen this done before, the main thing is to have the tank in the middle for even weight distribution. Once you put the wood down, it will have to be level. It would also be good to put a level on the top shelf too just to make sure there isn't anything not level to start out with. You wouldn't want to add secondary weight to it if the top isn't already level. By any chance do you know how many litres or gallons the tank is going to be? That way you'll know how many pounds it will weigh and then it's good to figure out the psi after that.

 

[nurglespuss]

Ok, yeah, I see what you mean. I've seen this done before, the main thing is to have the tank in the middle for even weight distribution. Once you put the wood down, it will have to be level. It would also be good to put a level on the top shelf too just to make sure there isn't anything not level to start out with. You wouldn't want to add secondary weight to it if the top isn't already level. By any chance do you know how many litres or gallons the tank is going to be? That way you'll know how many pounds it will weigh and then it's good to figure out the psi after that.

Cheers!

It would be a standard 24x12x12 so:

Volume in litres: 56.633693
Volume in imperial gallons: 12.459288
Volume in US gallons: 14.962667

which combined with mthe tank on top would be:

around 162Litres...

 

[Caprichoso]

Right, so if my calculations are correct, (I've done this in gallons), your tank would weigh approx 150 pounds filled with water, with 288 square inches. So to figure out the psi, 288 divided by 150= 1.92psi. Which is totally fine. After thinking about it, it would also be ok for you to have the tank off to one side as the welded corner is going to be the strongest part of the frame. It's up to you though. 150 pounds will easily be supported by that shelf as long as it's thick enough. I would suggest a thickness of 1 inch just to be on the safe side.

 

[nurglespuss]

Thanks!

Looks like I'll be setting up a new home for the pitbull plec.

 

[Caprichoso]

You're welcome

 

[three-fingers]

Could you not just reinforce the stand with a few bits of 2x4? Just an idea as I've always wondered .