I'm not really familiar with aquariums, but is the stand supposed to be this way?

Question

I have a new 55 Gallon All-Glass aquarium. I bought it with a wooden stand and canopy.

Ok, question ... the stand is basically a cabinet. For a 55 gallon full of water, its going to be very heavy. Is it a safe design to leave the stand completely hollow? The only thing supporting the tank is around the bottom perimiter. Couldn't the bottom just collapse?

Answer 1

You're stand should be just fine, like Soop said, most stores are not going to sell you a stand that wouldn't work for the tank. Let me give you some examples here oh what you are looking at from an engineering prespecitve.

I asked a question in engineering and I work with three Solar Engineers that are certified in structural analysis and my answers I got were outstanding and on target.

First look at the weight of the water itself. Water weighs 8.333 lbs per gallon. Times 55 you have roughly 457 lbs worth of water, plus the tank weight, let's estimate that to be about another 75 lbs. So alltogeather, exerting force on your stand surface is say 525 lbs spread over a four foot area. You have roughly 10 to 11 lbs per square inch pressure on the stand, which should not be overly stressful on that surface. Distrubute that same weight over a second floor if you are above, and that doesn't even require you to place that near a load bearing wall. Your stand should be just fine and I would be shocked if it collapsed. You have nothing to worry about collapsing your stand or the floor.

If you really aren't convinced, I put a 180 gallon tank, calculated weight on the floor is 2250 lbs, and with an inch and a half of plywood over 6' 3" it's like less then 20 lbs per square inch on the floor and I'm in a second story floor. Haven't had anything collapse on me yet :)

If you need further assistance you can get better answers at fishless cycling.com or just use the link on my profile.

JV

Answer 2

If the stand is specifically designed for aquariums, the designers already worked that out. They constructed it with a specific weight in mind, so it will be fine... The bottom could just collapse, but it is receiving the same amount of pressure as the sides of the tank... they don't break.

Nosoop4u

Answer 3

I'm sure if the two were designed to go together, the manufacturer has calculated the weight of the filled aquarium and It should hold fine. Also, the packaging for your stand may have a weight limit listed on the box.

Answer 4

it depends on what type of wood was used and if you see enuff nails in the cabinet. you also need to make sure it wont tip over if its on carpet. i had the same problem. i have a 55gal tank and its on carpet my husband had to anchor it to the wall just to make sure it wont fall. If the base of the stand is thick then it should be fine.

Answer 5

Well, while we can never be guaranteed, we would all like to hope that the manufacturer understands the weight requirements and has built the cabinet in accordance with those requirements. If you are concerned, I would suggest contacting the manufacturer to see if you can get a guarantee. But, you do need to remember one thing when it comes to structure. Various building competions have proven that it is not the material that has to do with strength and endurance, but how the item is built and its structure. There is furniture constructed out of cardboard that can easily handle human beings usage. There has been furniture created out of egg cartons, styrofoam, etc. It all has to do with the way the item is constructed, not the material content. I would tend to trust that the manufacturer knew what it was doing. Quite frankly, I would be more concerned that my floor was strong enough to hold the weight.

Answer 6

ask the guy





coperhead