Anyone anchor their tanks (stand) to the wall?

[beviking]

My two boys are...well...boys, and in a few years they'll be playing around, possibly bumping into the stand (I'll preach about NOT hitting it but we all know, if you tell 'em not to...) and I was wondering if I should anchor it and if others do. I don't think it's necessary being 48" X 18" (it's a DIY from 2X4's and 3/4 plywood) plus it will be around 1,000lbs and a little difficult to tip from just a bump, but I'm curious as to what everyone else does/thinks.

[Bruddah Chrispy]

I was sitting in front of my tank last night when I felt a slight tremor. Having been through an earthquake or two it got me wondering if I should get some earthquake straps for the tank/stand.

[OrionGirl]

I've thought about anchoring my tank, but haven't. Mine's on a DIY stand, 2x4's, about 30 tall. No kids, but a rambunctious hound dog who doesn't understand that the world is not as tough as he is. He'll whack the sides with his tail, and I swear the tank trembles. Hasn't tipped yet.

I guess I would look at how hard you have to push to move something like that. I know I can lean on my tank without moving it one bit, and I weigh more than the dog. I think you'd need to make a pretty concentrated effort to budge our tanks, not something accidental. Maybe tackling the 40, head on? If that's likely to happen, I don't know if an anchor would really help much, or just result in a big hole in your wall as a bonus to a ruined tank. Anything smaller than a 20, yes, anything bigger should weigh enough to keep itself in place, I think.

Interesting to see what others say!

[pinballqueen]

I can't think of anything, short of actually BUILDING the tank into the wall, that would keep a thousand pounds from moving if it wanted to... however, it would take some collossal force to push a tank hard enough to tip it over if it's that size, unless the stand were really tall and light (making the whole unit topheavy). I know that a bungee strap wouldn't hold my car in place if it started rolling, so I would assume a tank of nearly the same weight (yeah, I have a tiny little car...) would plow right through darn near anything it wanted to if it were on the way down....

I would worry more about a kid bumping into the corner and injuring himself or putting a stress crack in the tank, both of which are much more likely scenarios than the whole thing toppling over...

[gcvt]

I don't have any kids, but I do have earthquakes. So, I use this strap setup from Home Depot:

http://www.motorworld.com/gcvt/pets/fish/pics/quake_strap.jpg

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Aloha e gcvt,

Do you strap it around the tank or the stand?

[andruboz]

i nailed mine to the wall using a few connecting pieces of 2x4.
but since my house is particleboard and aluminum, and my stand is redwood 4x4's, i am not sure which is holding which up. still felt better with it nailed down though.

[irishspy]

Originally posted by Bruddah Chrispy
I was sitting in front of my tank last night when I felt a slight tremor. Having been through an earthquake or two it got me wondering if I should get some earthquake straps for the tank/stand.

I don't know if anything would be sufficient for an earthquake, given the force they generate and the facts that a tank/stand is top-heavy and seperable. Back in 1994, we experienced the joy of the Northridge earthquake (around 6.4, IIRC). We were miles from the epicenter and her house sat on fairly stable ground. The quake still threw her 60-gallon tank off the stand and onto a glass coffee table. The aquarium shattered and there was water and gravel everywhere. Thankfully, there were only two small fish in there at the time.

--Anthony

[gcvt]

Originally posted by Bruddah Chrispy
Aloha e gcvt,

Do you strap it around the tank or the stand?

It's connected to the upper part of the tank itself. It's extremely sturdy and $12 isn't bad for peace of mind!

[OCSupertones]

dont forget about filters, if you use a HOB it might look different since they would be HOF (hang on front) filters :)

[aljen]

Your boys cannot knock a 1000 pound tank off its stand, or tip the stand over, unless your boys are very strong and heavy, AND your set up is unstable.

In general, you must secure both the tank and the stand to the solid surface to attain the necessary stability.

Let me ask someone this: How do you reasonably secure a tank onto its stand?

[gcvt]

Originally posted by aljen
In general, you must secure both the tank and the stand to the solid surface to attain the necessary stability.

Actually, that depends on how your stand is built. Many stands, for example, have a lip around the top so that the tank sits down in the stand, as opposed to sitting on the stand. With that type of configuration, the tank cannot slide off the stand so the stand wouldn't necessarily have to be tethered to the wall studs etc.

[Orbitorly]

Yes kids are kids, hehe :D


If's it around 1000 lbs, I would worry more about the kids hurting them selfs. That's alot of wieght to tip over. And if you did nailed it to the wall or floor and the tank still tipped over there would be big holes in your wall and floor.

[slipknottin]

It depends most on the height and depth of the tank.

Any tank more than 20" high and less than 18" deep needs to be secured to the wall.

[cacti]

Tiny tanks of 100 gallons or more can be easily fastened to the 2x4s in the wall if you wish in earthquake country. Medium sized tanks of 200 or 300 gallons you can also attach to the wall 2x4s but you will need to attach them to quite a few of them to be secure. :)

[slipknottin]

Unless you have some weird shaped tank, a tank 200-300 gallons isnt going anywhere no matter how bad the earthquake.


Id be more worried about my house than my tank.

[Orbitorly]

Yeah I'd worry more about the house. :D

[Gumby7]

Originally posted by gcvt


Actually, that depends on how your stand is built. Many stands, for example, have a lip around the top so that the tank sits down in the stand, as opposed to sitting on the stand. With that type of configuration, the tank cannot slide off the stand so the stand wouldn't necessarily have to be tethered to the wall studs etc.

My stand has a 1-1/4" structural lip that serves to hide the black plastic tank trim AND prevent the tank from sliding off (a real risk in seismically active areas).

Because my 48g is only 12" from front to back the stand will be anchored to the wall. A 12" stand is too unstable around here.

I am on the safety committee at work and got a lot of dumb remarks about having the steel 7' high book shelves and banker box racking anchored. Earthquakes come in all sizes. Most will just toss your furniture around and cause the fluorescent fixtures to fall out of the suspended ceiling. You are more likely to get hit in the head by this junk (why you dive under your desk) than have the building collapse in the rare big one. Besides how much are screws these days?

Gumby

[aljen]

People often overallocate resources attempting to prevent disasters that have such a low probability of happening that it ought to be ignored. When the "big one" hits, I hope the biggest shockwaves go in the opposite direction. I've lived through two major earthquakes in SoCal. I feel optimistic about being able to survive another one without strapping down my tanks or the stands.

[beviking]

Awesome replies, thanks everyone! No, I don't think the afformentioned set up needs securing, however, I currently have a 55g (12.5" wide)on a wooden LFS stand that I believe could tip if not secured. Food for thought for those interested. To push on the front of the stand or tank in a rythmic sequence (as a kid might do) starts the water "sloshing" and given enough pushes, a tank could come over.

"This public safety message has been brought to you by me and in no way ties me to or makes me liable in any way to any accident past or present involving any type of container filled or partially filled with water!" :rolleyes:

Oh yeah, BTW, cacti, I take offense to your statement "Tiny tanks of 100 gal or more...". If a "tiny" tank fell on you then it wouldn't be so "tiny" would it? :p