29g All-Glass Aquarium & rock/sand weight

[ringwurm]

My 30lbs of hirocks came in last night and and it is all in the tank now w/ 25lbs of sand. I would like to add 30lbs of live rock which would make a total of 60lbs of rock! This makes me nervous so I would like to know if anyone else has the same tank and how much rock/sand they have in it?

I checked out the all-glass aquarium website but it didn't say anything in regards to the amount of weight it can hold. Is there a chart on the net somewhere I can reference?

[MT79]

I have 45Lbs. LR, 45Lbs. of sand in my 29 gal. Should be no problem

[fishfreek]

YOu will be fine. The weight is not directly down on a single point so its evenly distrbuted. If you acutally calculate how many lbs are being placed on each square inch of the bottom glass you will find its acutally a fairly small amount.

[ringwurm]

It seems like there are a few pressure points under the rocks where they sit on the glass. I guess the sand backfills around them and adds support.

[TheMadNucleus]

Also consder that the rock and sand take up volume thereby displacing some water. The rock density/weight is only slightly greater than the water that it is displacing. So for example, if your 60lbs of rock and 25lbs of sand (85lbs) displaces, let's say, 8 gallons of water (just an educated guess) that would mean you are replacing 8 gallons * 8lbs/gallon or 64lbs with 85 lbs so the additional wheight the tank has to support is only about 21 lbs when you add 85 lbs of sand and rock.

As others have mentioned - I think you'll be fine.

Tom

[Brisc0]

Its pretty amazing how strong everything is, we calculated my 105G setup to weigh in just over one ton. Hard to believe when you sitting there looking at it.

[ringwurm]

Thanks for all the input. I'm going to go get some rock later this week and see what happens. (I am going to have my wife call the insurance company and see if there is anything extra we need if we have a fishtank)

These forums rule. People don't flame you when you ask stupid questions! 8)