has anyone's aquarium ever collapsed?

[stinkpot]

hi all,

i've been ruminating on the 29 gallon freshwater tank sitting here in my apartment.

what happens if the stand it's on collapses? or if someone knocks the thing over? what in the world do i do? how much trouble am i in?

i'd love to hear if this has happened to anyone before here.

the more i think about it, the more i realize it could potentially be disastrous, especially since i'm renting and my floor are hardwood. (at least i'm on the first floor.) i've even started to consider selling my beloved tank.

any advice is much appreciated!

best,
- ld

http://stinkpot.afraid.org:8080/

 

[Creamhorses]

You're looking @ ~250 pounds of weight, maybe less. Try walkinf around the tank with heavy feet......does it move, does the floor sag? If not, I wouldn't worry so much.

Send us a picture of your tank and stand.

CH

 

[R&L]

Your feet would get wet.

If it's on a stand that is made to support the weight i wouldn't worry.

 

[MattAquaBio]

You will be fine. Like they said up there, just have you and one of your friends stand directly beside the tank and maybe walk around with heavy footsteps, if nothing happens, your set.
Tank stands are made to hold it, dont worry about it.

 

[QTOFFER]

If the tank is placed on a properly-designed stand (purchased or DIY), it will not tip over or be bumped off the stand. That's not to say it won't ever break if a toddler tries to climb on top of it, or if you have rowdy dance parties.

Your post brings up some other issues that you should look into especially since your're renting.

1) Check your lease to make sure that aquariums are not forbidden. Some landlords limit the size and number of aquariums because of liability and water usage. If the lease is silent on the issue, you are fine.

2) Look into getting renters' insurance. I have a great policy from Allstate that covers me for property theft and damage liability - for about $160 a year. I sleep better knowing that I am covered for any damage to my apartment and the one below me should my tank ever spring a leak.

 

[Burks]

Really check on your renting agreement. Our's stated that we could have aquariums if and only if we had renter's insurance for $10,000 or hgher.

Even my 10g is hard to tip over with a DIY stand. My cat climbs on it all the time and it hardly even wiggles. That's a lot of weight to be tipping over.

 

[Cinder]

On another site a guy's roommates ex-girlfriend was throwing things around their apartment and tried to push over his 20 or 29 gln. tank and couldn't so she went over to his 10 gln. and was able to push that over. So - even trying hard (and being mad at the time) if it's on an approved stand it isn't likely to get tipped over.

 

[Creamhorses]

Cinder

I take it she wasn't a fish lover. Hmmmmmmmmmmm All is fair in love and war, yes?

CH

 

[Devilishturtles]

On another site a guy's roommates ex-girlfriend was throwing things around their apartment and tried to push over his 20 or 29 gln. tank and couldn't so she went over to his 10 gln. and was able to push that over. So - even trying hard (and being mad at the time) if it's on an approved stand it isn't likely to get tipped over.

Wow! I know I can barely carry a 10 gallon that is 50% full of water (which you should never do, the bottom could bust out, but I didn't have a choice at the time) and I wouldn't even be able to budge a 10 gallon. So I think, like the others said, you are pretty safe.

 

[Cinder]

CH - Isn't it awful when people get angry and take it out on innocent animals? Made me mad hearing about that ex-girlfriend. What really was infuriating is that the tanks were not her ex-boyfriends (who she was mad at) but his roommates!! They were only able to save some of the fish.

 

[stinkpot]

wow, thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies!

let's see, i've walked around my tank and the floor doesn't noticeably sag. (of course, the water in the tank does form small, visible waves.) hopefully, this 100-year old house's floors will hold up.

i do worry about the stand a little. it's one of those black wrought-iron stands that you can find at petsmart. it's a 20/29 gallon stand ... that's rated to 275 lbs. at about 8 lbs per gal (which gets to about an earler poster's estimate of 250 lbs), i fear approaching the stand's limit.

also, i've just checked my lease: unfortunately, it quite clearly states "no dogs or other animals, unless approved by my landlord." my landlord is a sweet old man, but i wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't crazy about my fishtank. i'm very tempted to not say anything and plead ignorance if something happens. of course, that's a terrible backup plan and i'd only stick with it if the chances of something happening are virtually nil (which is why i started this topic).

on the bright side, i already do have renter's insurance up to $15K (i also highly recommend it - it's a really small annual payment for lots of peace of mind.) i am planning on calling my insurance agent soon to ask about their "fishtank induced emergency coverage."

all in all, based on the above feedback, i think i'll keep the fishtank. but, in the off chance that something terrible does happen, does anyone have any tips for mitigating the damage that 29 gallons of water does to hardwood floors? perhaps drop 100 of those dinosaurs that grow in water into the spill?

thanks again for the information in the preceding posts - it's much appreciated.

cheers,
-ld

http://stinkpot.afraid.org:8080/

 

[JRagg]

Renter's insurance doesn't really cover what you do to the place does it? I thought it was only for theft. I guess I never asked about renter induced accidents. I'd check on that, but I'm pretty sure that's what your deposit is for.

My first apartment had a no pets rule, but they could care less about fish tanks. They just don't want animals that are going to ruin the carpet/flooring because even if your landlord keeps your deposit that usually won't cover the cost of new carpeting.

 

[Musket]

If you are really worried about the stand, just get a new one.. Or build a wooden one.
Let us know what your insurance company says about "renter induced damages" IE from fish and pets. I'd like to know about this. Our floors are concrete under the carpet *and you can feel it where the pad has worn down*
I would suggest you have a wet/dry vac or a carpet cleaner to quickly suck up any spilled water. Either are good to have anyway. Who wants a dirty carpet?

 

[SkullJug]

If you hardwood floors are well polished and don't have a lot of gaps between the boards you won't do a lot of damage unless the water sits on it for a fair while.

We recently had a baby bath incident in our house in between stripping the carpet and getting the floors polished. I had the water cleaned up about two hours after it happened and left 3 fans oscillating over the floors, didn't even leave a mark!!