In my dream world, I will be getting a 75-90 gallon tank. I found a guy that does iron work and is willing to make a custom stand for me to hold the aquarium. After some research, I have found that an iron stand might not be a good idea because of the weight of a tank that big and that the bottom of the tank won't have enough even support. Is this true? If so, what if I had a piece of granite made to put on top of the iron stand to support the weight? Would that provide even distribution?
Stand question
- Thread starter elkhound
- Start date
On most aquaria (that I've seen - glass ones, at least), only the frame makes contact with the supporting surface, and that's a pretty small area. As long as the frame is supported evenly, you should be OK. You do want pretty even contact around the frame edges, though. Some people use styrofoam or some other semi-rigid padding under their aquaria to help distribute the load more evenly.
A bigger concern may be with the contact the aquarium makes with the floor. If the legs are, say, 1/2" diameter rods, the legs will be pressing into the floor with something like 1300 psi. You'll want a larger surface at the base to spread the load to the floor.
A bigger concern may be with the contact the aquarium makes with the floor. If the legs are, say, 1/2" diameter rods, the legs will be pressing into the floor with something like 1300 psi. You'll want a larger surface at the base to spread the load to the floor.
Agree with Pretender. Most likely your "friend" would use angle iron, not rod. Still, he'll know how to best distribute the weight at the feet. He could make it with 6 legs instead of 4 easy enough.
If he doesn't already know, I would stress the need for lateral support (cross pcs to prevent the tank from rocking forward or backward, left to right). "X" bracing across the back and sides for instance would work.
If he doesn't already know, I would stress the need for lateral support (cross pcs to prevent the tank from rocking forward or backward, left to right). "X" bracing across the back and sides for instance would work.
Elkhound,
In addition to that already stated, the stand cannot flex. This also requires that you set it on a perfectly level surface. Many floors aren't level so be sure you shim the stand as needed (at the legs, not under the tank) before filling. My brother had bought a large tank (300 gal +) with the factory stand. When he set it up in his basement the bottom cracked due to stress. He then built a cement block platform, topped with plywood to make up for any uneven areas of the blocks, and laminated a sheet of plexiglass across the bottom.
In addition to that already stated, the stand cannot flex. This also requires that you set it on a perfectly level surface. Many floors aren't level so be sure you shim the stand as needed (at the legs, not under the tank) before filling. My brother had bought a large tank (300 gal +) with the factory stand. When he set it up in his basement the bottom cracked due to stress. He then built a cement block platform, topped with plywood to make up for any uneven areas of the blocks, and laminated a sheet of plexiglass across the bottom.
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