tank might fall!!!

shista

Member
i ahve a 44 gal pendagon tank with 30 pounds of LR i just relized that it is sitting in a little wooden table with 4 legs can it collapse?? there is no way i can move it its really heavy.
 

jerthunter

Active Member
If you are worried about it collapsing but are unable to move the tank you could consider adding support to the table. Brace the legs with some two by fours or something. Just be careful how you add the support, you do not want to cause the legs to collapse by trying to fix it..
 

acekjd83

Member
water = 8lb/gal... 44*8=352. round up to account for the weight of the tank, so roughly 400-450lbs. SO, unless you'd feel comfortable standing on it with two of your closest friends, then you should probably drain your tank and either reinforce or replace the table. trying to work on a table with a 400 pound box of water on it is, well, ill-advised.
 

jerthunter

Active Member
I agree that it would be best to remove all the water from the tank and then move the tank to an adequate stand, however given the proper safety precautions reinforcing the table beneath the tank would not be impossible nor would it be extremly dangerous. The key point is given the proper safety precautions.
 

murph

Active Member
You may be able to use automotive jack stands to support the existing table from under neath depending on how high off the ground the table is now. Just an idea, I have no idea if it will work.
 

jerthunter

Active Member
Originally Posted by Murph
You may be able to use automotive jack stands to support the existing table from under neath depending on how high off the ground the table is now. Just an idea, I have no idea if it will work.
The was exactly one of the ideas I was going to post but I was unsure of the setup. Although an automotive jack may not be the best idea since they have such a small area of contact. There are other types of hydralic jacks that have a much larger flat surface area, a motorcycle jack comes to mind, however it would seem a bit pricey to me to just buy one for that purpose. If you do use a automobile jack, try to put one at each corner, also do not jack the table up, just raise the jack or even jackstand until it touches the table but does not lift it. However not everyone has a bunch of car jacks lying around like I do so this will depend on what you have.
 

1journeyman

Active Member
When in doubt, drain it and fix it. A cup full of spilt water makes a mess. A gallon of water is a project to clean up. A tank spilling???
 

scubadoo

Active Member
If you decide to replace the stand you best remove ALL the water and contents. Moving a tank with water can weaken the structure causing a leak or you can have total structure failure. A hex tank should NEVER be moved unless emptied due to the shape and NUMEROUS seal joints.
IMO...I would stear clear of quick rigged engineering fixes. Purchase an adequate stand. Small system and the removal of the contents should be easy and not too time consuming. Anything that is worth doing is worth doing right.
Rig that stand with jacks applying an uneven pressure and or causing an unlevel situation could send your tank crashing.
Do not start banging on that table trying to add support...BAD IDEA
JMO
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
Never ever move a tank with water in it...not even a little. Drain the tank and move it, but I'd get it off of that table asap. IMO tanks should never be placed onto furniture with "legs."
 
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