weight and support

[tornadonick]

joined 2 days ago and already 50 posts lol.
This is probably going to be extremely difficult to answer. But as some of you may have heard from me rambling about it everywhere, but i am dying to get 1 more cichlid tank, but have know where to put it. One option I still have, but havnt done anything because i dont thnk it will work, is to put it on my desk. I have a very sturdy corner desk that I could potentially put a 55 gallon on and have room to work. Problem i am seeing is that i dont think it will support that much weight. How would i go about figuring this out without destroying a new tank and my desk. will try to get some pictures up later. do any of you DIYers have knowledge on what is needed for support when making a stand.

 

[Viper]

I have my 50 gallon on a small classroom-like desk in my room. What I did to see if it would hold the weight is get a couple family members and/or friends to all sit on it at the same. This is definitely not the most scientific and the weight isn't distributed as evenly as it would be with the fish tank.

But if you hear it start creaking or sagging in any way as you approach the weight of a full tank, then it probably wouldn't be good to put it on there.

I'm sure there are more accurate ways that people can come up with, but that's how I did it...

 

[tornadonick]

I think that it would probably hold it for a little while, but dont know if it will continue to hold. If it where solid oak or something maybe but this is a newish desk made out of that fake wood, plywood whatever you want to call it, and i know that isnt as strong. Although... that is what my 29g stand is made out of.

 

[Viper]

Yeah my desk is older and likely sturdier than today's desks. If your's is made of that particle board or thin plywood, I definitely wouldn't trust it.

 

[BigJim]

Figure that tank will weigh about 550lb when all is said and done. Unless you've got a heavy metal office desk or a solid wood desk, I probably wouldn't trust it. Try standing on the desk and see how sturdy it feels.

You could build a stand for a 55g with a few 2x4s and some good screws.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Build a 2x4 support frame/structure under where you plan to put the tank and use wedges to close any gaps. If the desktop is particleboard, a peice of 1/2 plywood between tank and desktop will help distribute the weight better.

The stand aside, many don't consider the floor structure and if it will support the weight too.

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[tornadonick]

I would just make a new stand but i dont have the room, one other thing i will say is that one side would be heavily supported. Probably around 15 inches on the end. I am trying to figure out what i can do to make a brace underneath it.

will get pictures as soon as i can but it is going to take a little work to get the picture that i want at the moment.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Pretty easy test... get two big guys (or girls) and stand on it. If it will support two big guys (250lbs+ each), I'll guarantee it'll hold that tank. Have you seen the stands that a lot of tanks come with in the stores? They're made out of 3/4" wood!

 

[tornadonick]

ya, but they are putting pressure on it length ways which is a lot stronger. this would be putting most of its pressure horizontally. I am also worried that if it does look strong enough, it could still slowly lose its strength from the stress. eventually quitting.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I would just make a new stand but i dont have the room, one other thing i will say is that one side would be heavily supported. Probably around 15 inches on the end. I am trying to figure out what i can do to make a brace underneath it.

will get pictures as soon as i can but it is going to take a little work to get the picture that i want at the moment.

If it's got good support on one end, figure out where the other end will fall and brace it there. As for the putting weight on it for 5 minute goes, that's not going to be a viable test over the long term. Stands are engineered for a certain weight/distribution, your desk isn't built for that.

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[tornadonick]

I think i have decided that i am going to brace it, now i am trying to figure out how I can do it without sticking a big pole/board down the bottom. Easy to work around but just an annoyance.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I think i have decided that i am going to brace it, now i am trying to figure out how I can do it without sticking a big pole/board down the bottom. Easy to work around but just an annoyance.

When you say "work around", do you mean leg room?

Should be a straight forward build. Rectangular or right angle triangle (RAT will allow for leg room) framed from 2X4's and a piece of 1/2" plywood (cut to outside dimentions) screwed to the side. A rectangle would be easier, as you could just size it to just side in and use wood wedges to compress it (ie carpet, etc). A right angle triangle. Would need to be solidly bolted to a wall.

Remember, the brace only needs to be as wide as the tank (maybe a bit less) and I think most 55's are 15" front to back.

 

[tornadonick]

I think i might have it figured out, but still not really certain I will be putting it up at all. the left side has 2 boards running down that the drawers sit in, that is the support for that end. WE have some scrap angle iron that i can run across the bottom of the desk that i would then just need to build legs for.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I think i might have it figured out, but still not really certain I will be putting it up at all. the left side has 2 boards running down that the drawers sit in, that is the support for that end. WE have some scrap angle iron that i can run across the bottom of the desk that i would then just need to build legs for.

That might work, but just putting some angle under there won't support the front and back. You need to support both ends of the angle iron.

If it were me, I'd put some weights where the tank is going to be and test for a couple of weeks. Less mess to clean up if the desk fails .

 

[tornadonick]

________________
I-----I I
I I I
I-----I I
I I I
I-----I I
solid=angle iron
dotted=droors
I=supports

this isnt really to scale but you get the idea, the top of the desk would be essentially sitting on the angle iron, and there will be 2 sets of iron of course, the width of the tank.

AS i said, still just toying with the idea and hopefully going with it in the next couple months