Placement of aquarium - help!

[ambier]

Hi,

Our new place has a random built-in wall shelf that divides the living room and kitchen. Our first thought was that an aquarium would be the perfect thing for this shelf. Well, as it turns out the new 10 gallon aquarium is 10" wide and the shelf is only 9.5" wide. So it hangs off each side by about 1/4". Do you think this is safe or risky? I have seen some tall 10 gallon aquariums that measure 24x8x12 which would be perfect for the spot but they are quite pricey. Your thoughts are very much appreciated.

Thanks,
A

 

[meegosh]

Any way you could fasten a piece of plywood to your 'shelf'? The weight of the tank is transferred to the edges of the aquarium (the black trim) so I would be a little worried. If you could get it all on a piece of plywood the wood would transfer the weight to the shelf. That would be a lot cheaper than buying a new tank.

Any other thoughts guys?

 

[Joker741]

I agree. That 10 gallon with decor probably weighs in at just over 100 pounds. That much stress on the bottom glass could cause a mess on your floor and dead fish. Try to get the bottom black trim completely onto something.

 

[Nippy Fish]

I really don't think you'll have problems with only a 1/4" overhang with a 10 gallon tank. I've had more and had no problem. If you're really worried though you could put a piece of cork board under your tank, but a 1/4" is really nothing with only a 10 gallon tank.

 

[meegosh]

I would disagree with nippy, the tanks are designed so that the trim transfers the weight of the tank. Granted a 10g is not a large or heavy (compared to say a 55g) but still 100lbs is a decent amount of weight. Sure you could probably get away with it but I personally wouldn't risk having a soaked floor and a broken tank over buying a $4 piece of plywood and placing it under it.

Its your call ambier!

 

[ambier]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone - I think I am going to buy a piece of plywood as recommended to go under it although I don't think I can screw it into the built-in shelf though? I have a young son so don't want to take any chances of it breaking or tipping over. If I could find an aquarium with a more slender width I think I would just buy it but the only tall 10 gallon I found doesn't include a hood. And I dont really want to go smaller than a 10 gallon because I don't think I could maintain it...

 

[RazorbacksFan]

Thanks everyone - I think I am going to buy a piece of plywood as recommended to go under it although I don't think I can screw it into the built-in shelf though? I have a young son so don't want to take any chances of it breaking or tipping over. If I could find an aquarium with a more slender width I think I would just buy it but the only tall 10 gallon I found doesn't include a hood. And I dont really want to go smaller than a 10 gallon because I don't think I could maintain it...

Screwing into the built in shelf would depend on whether you would want to leave the screw holes if the tank was ever moved (i.e you rent or something along those lines). I however would just put the ply wood on the built in and call it a day I do not think screwing the plywood down have much effect on the stability at all, it's still going to have a hundred or so pounds on top of it and be supported completely aside from the 1/4" on each side. Plus keep in mind that it's only a ten, it's not very top heavy so I'd say you're good to go.

 

[jinchi]

My only thought would be that the shelf might buckle due to the weight of the fish tank