Some Newb Stand Questions

[JustFrozen]

I'm setting up a store-bought aquarium stand for an acrylic 25 gal tank I purchased off craigslist. My tank is a little abnormal in that it's more extra long vs wide (only a foot of depth front to back but it is 3 feet wide). I've got the stand built, but before I go ahead and start the process of emptying the tank and moving it over, I want to make sure my concerns are alleviated first.

The measurements are good on the surface (I had to get a stand for tanks of much higher capacity to account for the width of my tank, but I suppose that also comes with the advantage of being less worried about the total pressure on it - it can handle tanks hundreds of pounds heavier than mine).

What worried me are two things:

1) The tank tipping over. This is basically a worry based around my toddler pushing on the tank. I'm not sure how easy it will be to push it over when it's full of water but I imagine the whole setup will be top-heavy, and that makes me concerned. The only thing I can think of to avoid this is to install wraps around the stand and tank and bolt them into the wall.

2) The tank sliding off. I know this sounds silly, but I live on the top floor of an apartment and I also have a 2 year running around. Besides the obvious problems of having a tank this size fall off the stand, it could be potentially devastating because of those two things. The tank currently sits on an oak computer desk with Formica top, and I'm able to slide it around. I suppose the same might not be true on the smooth wooden surface of the stand when the tank is full like it is now but it still worries me because I cannot guarantee that my kid won't be pushing on it. The only remedy I've thought of for this aside from using the same solution to problem #1 are putting the tank on a layer of that material you use top open jars with. We have a bunch of that laying around and I can probably line the entire bottom of the tank with it. I don't see how that would make any pressure points and I don't see any way of the tank sliding with that stuff underneath it. I also am worried that this could make prob #1 worse. Gah!

Am I just paranoid? Or are these valid concerns for someone with a 200+ lb tank and a toddler who runs into things lol

Here's a couple quick pics of the aquarium and the stand, for reference

 

[the biffster]

right let me get this right
the tank size is 3 foot long by 1 foot from front to back
so how tall is this tank how tall is this tank

 

[sharpshark]

Doh!, see below...

 

[sharpshark]

I think it will be more stable than you think, it may wobble though especially if it is on carpet and even more so if the carpet is over a wooden floor..

If I were you, I would fix the stand to the wall, this will give you peace of mind if nothing else, once the stand is steady and secure, the tank won't go anywhere. The easiest way to do this is angle brackets (of any type really, even shelf brackets) and fit them to the wall first, then to the inside of the cabinet, you won't see them this way and it's cheap and easy.

Crude drawing alert!!!

Use a mat between the tank and the stand and that will help even it out AND alleviate any worries about it slipping off, and here's a great cheap idea for a mat....

Thought I would share the most simple and cheap and great solution for a mat under your tanks:

Check out your local poundland style stores: one of my locals is selling camping mats at that good ole £1: easy to cut to size, cheap and really really effective.

 

[JustFrozen]

right let me get this right
the tank size is 3 foot long by 1 foot from front to back
so how tall is this tank how tall is this tank

Ok well, hmm maybe its a 30 gallon then lol, it's been awhile since I got it, I must have forgot or one of my measurements are off. I cant check right now but I think its 16 inches high which would make it a 30

 

[OldMan47]

No 2 year old is going to move a 25 or 30 gallon tank simply by banging or pushing on it, no matter how big he is for his age. The darned thing has a total of 200 pounds, almost 100 Kg, of weight of water plus the weight of substrate and the tank itself. A 3 foot long tank that is 12 inches deep and 16 inches tall would require considerable force to move at all once it is full of water. Although you or I might be able to move it, it would not be easy to move and a youngster that age will not move it. In that respect, I am guessing you are worried where you need not be. If your stand has a decent method of bracing against any twisting forces, like by having a cover of plywood on the back and sides, it will not undergo what is called racking. Racking is when a rectangular object takes on a parallelogram shape instead of a right angled shape. As long as there is some sort of surface cover to the back and sides, racking is very unlikely. Almost any commercially available stand will have measures that prevent racking since it is the main vulnerability of any stand.

 

[JustFrozen]

Yeah, you're right. There's no way that thing is going to slide from him pushing on it. Are you saying the same is true for tipping the stand over though? I guess another worry is earthquakes, and we're WAY overdue for another big one out here. I guess I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I should just transfer the tank and see how stable it is - I guess I'll feel a lot better when I can try it and in the worse case I can always transfer it back.

Thanks for the replies

 

[IAmATeaf]

Yeah, you're right. There's no way that thing is going to slide from him pushing on it. Are you saying the same is true for tipping the stand over though? I guess another worry is earthquakes, and we're WAY overdue for another big one out here. I guess I'm just being paranoid. Maybe I should just transfer the tank and see how stable it is - I guess I'll feel a lot better when I can try it and in the worse case I can always transfer it back.

Thanks for the replies

To tip a tank like that over you'd have to lever it from the top edge, a typical 2-3 year old wouldn't be tall enough plus if the lid is always kept on the tank then there's little or no chance.

When my kids were little I kept an eye on them for a week or so, you obviously can't be there all the time but a sharp NO and they'll soon learn that they are not supposed to be doing whatever they were doing.

As to earthquakes, yes it's a worry but apart from maybe extra bracing of the stand I'd say there was little that you can do.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are in an area that is subject to earthquakes of over about 5.0, you need to be far more cautious about a wide stand base than most of us. I have never seen one here above about 4.0 on the Richter scale from the New Madrid fault but I experienced the Sylmar quake at a distance of about 75 miles in the 1970s and would not have wanted to be any closer. That quake, even at 75 miles away, would have challenged any typical tank stand. For that one a nice wide base on a stand would have made things much more stable. I know that in earthquake country, even a water heater needs to be anchored to the building structure to prevent it being overturned. There is no way I will say a tank on any typical stand would be totally safe in such a quake.

 

[JustFrozen]

I live in southern California and we're probably more prone to earthquakes than anywhere in the country. A few months ago we had a 4.4 and I remember the one in '94 that was a 6.7

Also, like I said, we're way over due for one even larger than that. Granted, if something like a 7.0 hits we probably have worse things to worry about but maybe strapping or otherwise fixing the aquarium/stand to the wall isn't such a bad idea...

 

[OldMan47]

I lived in Anaheim when the Sylmar quake took out several freeway overpasses close to the epicenter. If I am recalling correctly it was well over a 7.0 quake. It went on and on for over a minute where I was located. As I said, no typical stand is going to be totally safe in such a quake. Your best bet is probably a stand that uses vertical members much stronger than I would ever consider necessary and cover the back and two sides with a layer of 1/4 inch plywood skin. That way the stand itself will be strong enough to withstand a car driving over it. Now we come to adequately bracing against the horizontal forces.For that, I would build a stand for a larger tank and then center a smaller tank on it. That way the rigid structure would have a footprint that is larger than the tank and thus would be less likely to tip over. Building a shorter stand would also make it harder to tip over. What I am suggesting might be a stand built for a 4 foot long, 18 inch deep tank and then put your 3 foot by 1 foot tank on it in order to add to the stability. The other option would be to follow the pattern of water heater anchors where you literally anchor the stand to the wall so that it can't tip over.

 

[Jonny_russell]

as has been said its very unlikely that a toddler could move it at all

ive had a 3 year and a fruit loop large dog around my 50g and its never budged an inch - although i do tell the 3 year old he isnt allowed to touch the tank - sticky fingerprints and all that !!! (but i have found him hiding in the cupboard underneath on more than one occasion !)

if you have any fears about the tank moving then it would be a very simple job to fix brackets to the stand and attach to the wall, and if you are worried about the tank sliding (never going to happen) then attach an extra piece around the outer edge of the stand that overlaps the bottom of the tank.


my biggest fear with toddlers around fish tanks is them breaking the glass - not likely but more plausible than then moving it

 

[OldMan47]

I don't think you have lived in earthquake country Jonny, just a guess. Things can indeed slip around like that when you get a good shake. I'm afraid that it is all too common to have something sit still, due to momentum, while the earth and the building move around under them. I feel that JustFrozen is being appropriately concerned about things shifting on him. Such things can and do happen in a quake. The real question here is how far we are willing to go to get ready for that possibility.

 

[JustFrozen]

omg we just had one .... that was scary

how ironic .

i ran to the fish tank to keep it steady , i should be grabbing the kids or going to a doorway. i need to get this thing bolted in or something. we've been having more and more of these lately!

edit: it was a 5.9 near the border with mexico

 

[OldMan47]

When a shake actually happens, forget the fish until its over. You and the kids need to come first in any sane situation. We can worry about the fish ahead of time and try to prepare, but the people involved are a far more important consideration during the event. When the people are safe is soon enough to worry about the fish.