Moved My Tank

[CluelessInNY]

So I built this new stand designed for 20 gallon tanks. I got it at PetSmart on sale and I rushed hime built it. I went through all the trouble of draining my tank into 5 gallon buckets, and BY MYSELF, I lifted the tank and placed it on my new stand...TA DAAAAH!!!!
PROBLEM: The stand designed for 20 gallon tanks is not long enough!!!! So my question here is...how safe is my tank on this stand? I centered it so it has an even overhang of TWO inches on either side. I feel both dumb and angry about it. I should've looked at the dimensions before buying it, but angry that it said it was designed for 20 gallon tanks (apparently 20 gallon HIGH tanks)
Is this safe? It's been on there a week and so far no leaks or stress showing on the glass, but I am afraid the weight overhanging will cause a stress fracture.

 

[meegosh]

I would move it something more stable ASAP, if it were me. I read up when I was building my stand that the weight of glass tanks (like the store bought ones with black or oak trim) are actually on the corners. That is why the plan I used to build my stand had you use two 2x4s for each "leg" of the stand.

This could be wrong, or I could be confusing it with something else (acrylics). I believe it to be true though because you can have cast iron stand with open bottoms (Ie, you can look up and see the bottom of the tank), because the weight is transfered to the corners, not the whole span.

I would still be VERY nervous about coming home to a soaked floor! Good luck!

 

[Ziggy953]

I have to agree. The weight distribution for a store bought tank is on the rim (plastic part of the tank) They are not designed to be balanced with the ends hanging off. I would get the tank on a more stable stand as soon as you can!

 

[CluelessInNY]

It's not horribly overhanging and I checked the load distribution...it seems nice and even, but I see your points.

 

[meegosh]

Oh yeah, I see what you mean It doesn't seem like much, I know, but I would hate to see it crack on you!

 

[roka64]

Not to mention, getting bumped and sliding off.

 

[dskidmore]

I had no good stand for my 10 gallon in collage. I made a tray the size of the tank, and balanced that on a smaller platform. Worked great at supporting the edges of the tank and redistributing the weight. Of course, the bigger the tank is, the more the board will bend and make that less useful, but with a very small amount of overhang it might be an option.

If you have your recipt, you could try taking the stand back for an exchange.

 

[FishEggs]

if i were going to keep and use that stand, i would at the very least get some 3/4 inch plywood and cut 2 pieces to the size of the tank or just a bit bigger and glue the faces together so it would then be 1 1/2 inch thick and put that under the tank.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

I would think that a sheet of 3/4" MDF would work

 

[FishEggs]

MDF is not as structurally strong as plywood especially when exposed to moisture.

 

[cmor1701d]

We're only talking about 160# aprox. 3/4" mdf or plywood would be fine for that tank. I would coat it with varthane or similar and put a lip around it to keep it from slding off.

 

[roka64]

To add to the lip on the top, I would add a lip on the bottom, to keep the board from sliding....

 

[dskidmore]

To add to the lip on the top, I would add a lip on the bottom, to keep the board from sliding....

After you fill the tank with water, it's not sliding anywhere. I did have a lip on top of mine, although I made the whole thing too big and ended up filling the gap with decorative marbles. I made the lip tall enough to cover the plastic stripping on the tank, for astetic reasons.

The tray also came in handy when needing to move the tank. (I was in collage, went home every summer and took my tank with me.) I didn't have to worry as much about stressing the tank during the move, as it was always going to be supported on all edges.

 

[Christine22780]

I dont think its that bad... I setup another tank this week the same way. Does your stand have a lip that holds the tank in place? Mine does have that. Also, it looks like its fine from the front and back,if it was hanging all around Id not keep it. The lip is important.