Tank Stand Stability

[jaywings19]

I have a 72G US bow front all-glass tank and matching wood stand (see picture below) in my living room.

I've had this tank set up and running with Discus for over a year already. Lately, I've been hearing creeking noises coming from the stand when I perform my water changes. I'm sure this has to do with the weight pressure being lowered during draining... and being raised during refill. Perhaps my tank stand has always made these noises, but I wasn't tuned into them until recently.

I'm just wondering if this is normal for (wood) tank stands on such large aquariums to make such noises.

I'm fearing the worst possible outcome right now... coming home to fish and water spilled all over my living room. I also live in an apartment building and can forsee lawsuits from my downstairs neighbor for water damage.

I'm actually considering giving the fish away and selling the tank because of this fear.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Where water is concerned, 72gal of it at that, I would be worried. I mean, the creaking noises may be nothing, and I am sure that since you are worried about it they seem louder and more often??

Is it possible to get another stank for the tank? Maybe even build one yourself? I built the stand for my 75gal and it is stronger than any other stands I have seen in any LFSs. It doesn't make noises when I change the water and I trust it completely.

Surely selling all the fish and tank isn't the only option.....

 

[hello kitty]

surely the company would make a stand that can handle the pressures but maybe try reinforcing it or something try emailing the company to find out

 

[jaywings19]

surely the company would make a stand that can handle the pressures but maybe try reinforcing it or something try emailing the company to find out

Yes, I figured the All-Glass company would have made sure these stands could handle the weight pressure. However, I'm sure anyone can understand my concerns.

I just e-mailed the company to find out.

I have a 16G bow front as well, but it does not make any noises.

 

[hello kitty]

oh yeah defo understand ya concerns i would be the same. cant understand why it would be creaking as would have thought company would do tests and stuff on them to prevent fishastrophies. i hope things get sorted out. is it under warrenty or anything? company may send u new stand if faulty

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I would either reinforce the stand, or perhaps build one yourself. I would do this because I am paranoid and if I heard creaking I would panic. I can feel your worry about fish, the floor and floods downstairs. I worry about my 55g falling through the floor at the place I am at. I can't wait to move to where all my tanks can be on the ground level.

Good luck with the company. They may replace it for you if you can prove that it's no longer safe. They would have liability issues if the stand collapsed as it was built by them specifically for that tank.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Just wondering, even if they did send a new stand, how would you go about switching stands? Seems kinda complicated

 

[FishEnthusiast]

I have thought about that too. I wanted to move my tank to a more strucurally sound part of my house, but I couldn't figure out how to move hundreds of pounds of tank, gravel, fish etc....Even with the fish out and the water drained, it would still weigh a lot!

 

[Tolak]

After seeing how commercially stands are built, I build my own. It seems to be a nice looking stand, I would just reinforce it. Most store bought stands are made of 1"x3" or 1"x4" lumber. Measure it, buy some, cut it to length & double it up. You are creating 2"x3" or 2"x4" support by sistering it up this way. Put in a few diagonals too, there is a reason you see diagonal supports in bridge construction, it's extremely strong. Use screws, they hold much better than nails.

If you plan on moving it, you have to remove everything, including gravel. In your situation, I would get the wood to reinforce it all set up & pre-cut as much as possible. Get a smaller tank, 20 longs are good for this. Put some tank water, filter, heater & fish in the 20. Put the gravel & ornaments in a couple of buckets, keep them wet. Drain the tank, repair the stand, move it to where you want to, add gravel, decos,& 50 gallons of dechlorinated water. Add the fish, filter, & heater, then transfer the fish from the 20. If you were just moving it, you could get it done in one evening if you don't mind staying up late. With reinforcing it I would wait until you have a full day to do it.

This is what I did with my 55 when the stand I inherited with the tank got wet, and "melted" due to being made of composition wood. I've been making my own stands & racks ever since.

http/www.garf.org/tank/buildstand.asp Has the info on how to build one from scratch, if you decide to go that route. Doing a bowfront stand may be a bit trickier, I would give it a shot & I'm no carpenter.

Tolak

 

[Torrean]

I don't know the situation as I am not there, but it sounds to me like your floorbaords are creaking not your stand. I remember someone telling me that anything over 55 gal should go acroos the joists in the floor and should be against a load bearing wall. Does you tank meet these criteria?

 

[Dorkhedeos]

maybe its your floor. try jumping up and down where your tank is, see if it creaks

 

[Jules H-T]

Try and squirt a bit of talcum powder into the stand joints. Also works on beds