Tank on Carpets

[ConnivingFerret]

So I had to move my tank/stand (20H on wooden stand) to a carpeted room today, everything was level before adding water and i kept checking as i filled it. Its completely filled, still level, all fish/plants/equipment moved But ive noticed it does seem to sway front to back with little force. From my googling it seems people are split 50/50 on "oh it will be fine just have to give it time to settle into the carpet", or "omg it terrible its going to topple over" So i was just looking to see what advice/experience u guys have had. Being its on a wooden stand and Extremely top heavy im a little sketched out. it is placed along and outside wall, in a corner section of the room, i made sure it was placed far enough from the wall to avoid the tack strips used to hold the carpet down.
-thanks,
Ferret

 

[itiwhetu]

If you try to rock it you will rock it. As long as it looks level and you are not in an earthquake zone it should be fine.

 

[Colin_T]

The tank and stand should not rock if you touch the tank.

Is the stand good quality or is it held together with staples?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
Tall narrow tanks are more likely to rock back and forth due to the small footprint.

 

[ConnivingFerret]

24" x 12" x 16" for tank. The stand i got from some1 i know, he had a 20H on the top same as me, but he removed the center shelf and had a 10gal on the bottom aswell when he had it, i thought it would negatively affect the structural integrity so i added it back when i got it from him. pretty sure its a petco stand, https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagtiarium-newport-wooden-tank-stand-20-gallons looks like this one

 

[Joe80]

I’ve got a 125 litre tank on thick carpet. I filled the tank up with water, and it rocked quite a lot, which is not safe during water changes etc. So I let it settle for a week or so ( so it sinks into the carpet ), then fixed some stabilisers to the wall behind the cabinet. It’s solid now, doesn’t rock at all.

 

[mcordelia]

I am not advising this, but I had a 55g on a metal stand on hardwood floors that rocked back and forth (enough to slosh) every time someone walked past the tank. The tank did not spring any obvious leaks during its ~5 year existence. I am not advising that you necessarily leave it the way it is, that depends on how much it rocks back and forth, but I do want to mention that the rocking can be based off other factors than just the stand and the immediate flooring material underneath it.

the rocking may be caused by the carpet pad underneath if it is a very thick pad, but more than likely the rocking is due to motion in the subfloor. Is it a wood subfloor or a poured slab? In other words, is there a basement/crawlspace/living space underneath it? If so, there are likely joists, and if the joists run perpendicular to the tank, there is a high likelihood that force on the joists will translate along the entire length of the joists, causing some motion in the floor. this is very common in hardwood floors, and also can be detected in carpeted rooms with wooden subfloors. @Naterjm will be able to tell you more about how floor joists behave underneath a tank.

All that being said, you have a few things going for you: your tank is in a corner against an outside wall, and it is a smaller tank from the sounds of it (anything under 50gal in this context is small). There may not be anything you can do to keep the subfloor from moving, so you may be interested in considering a thin aquarium mat to place under the tank to damp some of the motion that occurs as someone walks past the tank.
If there is no meaningful "sloshing" of the water and only vibrations, then in all likelihood the forces encountered on the panes of the tank are not enough to cause creep or fatigue in the silicone, at least not over a reasonable amount of time. I would re-evaluate the state of the tank in 5 years, but in all likelihood it will be fine.

Also check for levelness. If your tank is level, then you are better off than having a tank that both vibrates AND is not level.

 

[FFGuest6357]

What @mcordelia is talking about is called deflection. When weight is applied to the center of the floor joists, sometimes the floor will temporarily bend down. how much it bends down will depend on the material used for the floor system and how it was built/engineered.

because it’s a tall narrow tank, you can try bracing it temporarily to the wall, keep in mind you will need to allow some vertical movement as the stand will settle into its spot on the carpet. You will also want to use screws for easy install and removal later.

this might be tough though as you cannot brace a tank into dry wall, so you’ll need to find studs

Once your tank has settled and compressed the carpet, you will need to recheck plumb and level, and shim accordingly.

 

[ConnivingFerret]

The wall is dry wall, the tank is pretty level .2 cm difference in water level from front to back when measured tho with a level it looks pretty spot on. Floor is wood, crawl space underneath, I have the tank set perpendicular to flooring so the weight is spread against multiple boards. Normal walking (parallel to tank) cause some movement of water but I wouldn't call it sloshing. It mostly seems to give to front and back movement pretty easily i noticed it when hooking up the pump to it. I'm thinking it cause of the "springiness" of the carpet but being its a rented place im paranoid of it toppling, being its rented too i can't put holes in the wall to brace it.

 

[Colin_T]

What about extending the frame out from the front and back, so it is wider?
Basically add a couple more legs to the front and back and put a shelf on the front to make it look more normal. This would make the stand wider (from front to back) and it would be less likely to wobble or fall over.

 

[ConnivingFerret]

I was thinking of somthing like that using clamps and boards, kinda as like a bikes kick stand until it settles, problem is itll have to stand on its own for a few days till I have another day off of work and can get to a hardware store before closing. Walking like on eggs shells around it and I put some empty cardboard boxes by it so the dog can't bump into it in the mean time.

 

[itiwhetu]

Has any body every had a tank fall off a stand. by toppling it. I know they move a bit, but to get enough momentum to topple it would take a lot of force, I would have thought.

 

[ConnivingFerret]

Has any body every had a tank fall off a stand. by toppling it. I know they move a bit, but to get enough momentum to topple it would take a lot of force, I would have thought.

on its own i dnt think it will wobble enough to topple, im worried tho over time it will cause stress fractures in the wood legs or strip the threads from the bolts. or my husky will go full spaz-mode and crash into it

 

[FFGuest6357]

The wall is dry wall, the tank is pretty level .2 cm difference in water level from front to back when measured tho with a level it looks pretty spot on. Floor is wood, crawl space underneath, I have the tank set perpendicular to flooring so the weight is spread against multiple boards. Normal walking (parallel to tank) cause some movement of water but I wouldn't call it sloshing. It mostly seems to give to front and back movement pretty easily i noticed it when hooking up the pump to it. I'm thinking it cause of the "springiness" of the carpet but being its a rented place im paranoid of it toppling, being its rented too i can't put holes in the wall to brace it.

As Colint suggested you could manufacture something on the stand itself to help stabilize it.

eventually the carpet will compress enough to settle in. So if you do add structure to the stand, use screws so you adjust later if need be once the tank has settled and compressed the carpet fully.

it wouldn’t hurt to go to the local hardware store and buy some shims, or make them yourself if you have the tools to do so. In case you need to make some adjustments in a week or so.

 

[Joe80]

Im lucky and have a solid concrete floor underneath the carpet. It’s sounds extreme but if your worried about it maybe you could cut a section of the carpet away, so that stand is on the more stable wooden floor. Had to do this with fitted wardrobes in work a few times. But I guess this depends on your landlord if it’s a rented property.

 

[Colin_T]

You could put 1 inch thick plyboard under the stand. Have 2 pieces, one at each end of the tank so 2 legs sit on 1 piece of wood.