Bottom Glass Breaking?

[venymae]

Quick question. How much weight can you put in a a cheapo 10 gallon aquarium? It has the black plastic frame that lifts it off the stand and I have no idea if it's tempered glass. I am wanting to put several large rocks in but I really don't want to bust out the bottom of my aquarium. Google did not give me any good answers...
Anyone have any experience in this area?
Did you break your bottom, if so how?
Did you put a ton of rocks in and were fine?
I'd love to hear your experiences with this!

 

[azmodan]

Most people use something like eggcrate between the glass and any heavy rocks. Pretty cheap at places like Home Depot. Not sure on the exact amount of weight you could put in a ten gal though, sorry.

 

[Mebbid]

I actually worried about this same thing when setting up my cichlid tank with an obscene amount of stone.

I found a video where a guy took a 10g tank and then set it on 2 2x4s. After that he proceeded to stack approximately 150lbs of rock on a single base stone in the tank. After that he stood on it and the tank didn't care. Weight on the bottom of a tank is generally not something people need to worry about.

 

[Brookster123]

I folded up a towel and placed it under as a sort of suspension, take great care not to get it wet though...

 

[tnfinfan]

I doubt you could fit enough rock in your tank to break the bottom. Glass is amazingly strong. Now, if you drop the rock on the glass bottom, that's different. That's how aquariums get broken.

 

[Masha]

Wait...there is a gap between the bottom glass and the surface it stands on? Created by the frame?
That makes a difference, I would think. If the glass is not flat on the stand's top surface.

 

[Brookster123]

Wait...there is a gap between the bottom glass and the surface it stands on? Created by the frame? That makes a difference, I would think. If the glass is not flat on the stand's top surface.

All my tanks have 1/4" space under them.

 

[tnfinfan]

Wait...there is a gap between the bottom glass and the surface it stands on? Created by the frame?
That makes a difference, I would think. If the glass is not flat on the stand's top surface.

Um, that's how tanks normally are. The weight is on the frame. Most aquarium stands don't even have a flat top -- just a frame that the aquarium frame sits on. The glass doesn't need additional support.

 

[Masha]

Oh.
Over here, tanks don't have frames, most of the time so I'm not aware of that

 

[Ian086]

I had one of those frames too and I removed it, it came off VERY easily. The bottom of the glass now sits flush on the stand. I have a couple of rocks but they are not that big. With the glass sitting flush on the stand, the tank will easily hold the weight, just make sure the stand can!!

 

[tnfinfan]

Frameless tanks are not framed tanks with the bracing removed. They have thicker glass and are designed to hold together without additional bracing. Removing the bracing from a framed tank is taking away structural support. While it might work, this is not a safe practice.

 

[Rpbustillo]

You can use a 3/8" foam pad under the tank for additional support. I've had about 30lbs of rock and 20lbs of sand in a standard 10g tank with no problems.

 

[Mebbid]

Wow, you guys really worry about this too much. Assuming you don't drop anything on it to break it the bottom of the tank is the least of your worries for tank failure. They are all designed (even the cheapo ones) to hold an immense amount of weight and no the glass is not meant to be flush against the bottom. The tanks only need support around the frame and in fact I would imagine putting something under it to support the bottom of the glass would make it less secure.

 

[Jmunroe]

Wow, you guys really worry about this too much. Assuming you don't drop anything on it to break it the bottom of the tank is the least of your worries for tank failure. They are all designed (even the cheapo ones) to hold an immense amount of weight and no the glass is not meant to be flush against the bottom. The tanks only need support around the frame and in fact I would imagine putting something under it to support the bottom of the glass would make it less secure.

This is true. Listen to Mebbid on this. By removing the black trim you are taking away structural support. It's not there to just look pretty it helps hold the tank together. The bottom glass is more likely to crack by sitting it on a flat surface. Most flat surfaces are not flat, even though they look and feel flat with the naked eye. You can't put enough rocks in a 10 gallon tank to break it. If you are looking to cushion the rocks somehow, don't put anything under the glass or try to support the bottom glass from the outside. Place your sand or gravel in the tank first, then your rocks. This will distribute the weight. But you are worrying too much. As long as your not dropping the rocks in and your placing them in, it will not break.

 

[Jmunroe]

And just to let the people that have removed the trim and set their tanks flat on a flat surface know, that's just a wet disaster waiting to happen. Empty your tank, replace the trim, and refill your tank with the rocks and water. If you don't have the trim anymore you may want to consider replacing the tank. 10 gallon tanks are cheap, as cheap as 10 bucks if you find a dollar a gallon sale. That being said it could last forever that way or it might break tomorrow. Not a risk I would take, 10 gallons of water may not seem like much but it can do a lot of water damage.

 

[venymae]

Alright thanks everybody. If I break my tank I will report back with frowny faces! If not...hooray! I'll post a picture of my new set up (if I can figure out how)