Baby Proofing and Aquarium

[GreenSorceress]

I have a glass 55 gallon and an acrylic 36 gallon bowfront. I also have a daughter who is starting to walk/climb. Does anyone have experience securing aquariums to the wall so they won’t tip? Both are on wooden stands so I could drill into those and attach to the wall potentially. Though it will be a tight squeeze since I can’t move the tanks to do this. Is there anything I could do to secure the aquariums themselves to the walls? Any and all advice is welcome. 

[lefty o]

look into earthquake straps etc that they use to secure stuff in homes in cali.

[DaveO]

Here's a visual to help demonstrate how easy it is. First find a stud in the wall. Then pre-drill through the stand into the wall. This one is metal, but it works just as well for wood. Use a drill bit that is smaller than the screw so that the threads grip the stud well.

[Scapexghost]

I dont think i could knock over a tank on purpose so i doubt the baby could knock it over on accent. Take every precaution of course but i wouldnt lose sleep over it. Securing dressors and tvs would be more urgent.

[ange]

I would not personally be concerned about either unless they are on a stand where the bottom could potentially be compromised (ex: those metal Imagitarium stands). Adding weight at the bottom of the stand (cinderblocks are great for this) to stabilize would be what I do. Aquariums tend to weight roughly 10x their capacity, as in a 39g will weigh around 390lbs before you think about the stand. That alone helps it to stay in place.

[jwcarlson]

I'd personally be more worried about them clubbing it with something and breaking the glass.  We gated off areas where we had things that couldn't be secured when we had kids (like a big 73" projection TV).  I couldn't reliably connect it to the wall.  You can probably secure the stand relatively easily, but I'm not sure how you'd do that for the aquarium.

[Billipo]

When I was a kid, my Mom was ironing clothes in the room where we kept our fish tank. My baby sister grabbed the spray starch bottle and threw it at the tank. I still remember the slow water drip from the crack in the tank and my Mom calling Dad at work to hurry home to fix it.

Another repressed memory surfacing. 😳

[NOLANANO]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:03 AM, GreenSorceress said:

Both are on wooden stands so I could drill into those and attach to the wall potentially. Though it will be a tight squeeze since I can’t move the tanks to do this. Is there anything I could do to secure the aquariums themselves to the walls? Any and all advice is welcome. 

If you can't move the tanks on purpose, your baby won't be able to accidentally make them fall.  The bigger concern as others have said would be the glass getting hit by a stray object or the kid climbing on a chair or something to put stuff in the tank.

Edited January 2 by NOLANANO

[GreenSorceress]

I can’t move the tanks but  I could tip them over. And a toddler climbing up the side could potentially knock over a top heavy item. I’ll look into the earthquake straps that might be the best option. 

[govsfabshop]

When i originally setup my 55 puffer tank it was on carpet and even with the stand on 1" thick hardwood boards it had a tendency to move a bit more than i would like, especially when working around it.  in fear the puppy would jump up to see what was going on in there and take the whole thing down i secured to the wall with some unused furniture safety straps (like to keep cheap book cases from toppling over) i found at work. Definitely slept better at night having them on there. 

 

I would also suggest if you run airlines keep them high and use check valves just in case something gets yanked on!

Edited January 3 by govsfabshop