Toddlers and tanks tipping

There is definitely than concern. even a 10g tank can weigh upwards of 100 lbs., so I could see it coming down with a little bit of work by a toddler...I would suggest making rooms with tanks off-limits. I know that this may not be possible due to tank placement, so hopefully someone else has better input.

Making sure the tank is on a very stable base is your best bet, as well as monitoring children around the tank. For the most part, the tank itself is stable--try pulling on the top, and see how hard it is to pull it off it's base. So, if the stand is stable, the tank will be stable as well.

I have seen children pounding on the sides of a 55 that was on a thin divider--it didn't look stable to me. The tank was sloshing wildly, but it didn't tip (this was at a restaurant, so it may have done so later).

I have a ten gallon set up on our kitchen bar right up against the wall, this way my now 7 yr old and 4 yr old can look at their fish all they want. The 72 is against the wall in a corner of the living room. Wall on one side huge entertainment center on the other with just enough room to work around (can't fit beside it though). They just get a stool to sit on and watch the fish with out touching the tank. Works for us, but i wouldn't trust a smaller tank on a stand where they could get to it.

You could put eye bolts on the back of the stand and the wall behind the tank, a pair on each end. Then use some small gauge wire to bind the two together making it much, much harder to tip it over.

Alex

I would make sure that if your stand is not VERY stable, that you anchor it to the studs behind it. My 2yo loves to climb up anything he can to get a better look, but there's no way he could tip my stand (it's an old hutch base and is very wide compared to the tanks). If I had a standard sand for my smaller tanks, I'd be very worried about it.