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Aquariums on metal-slotted surfaces?


sparklymoonshrimp
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Hello Everyone,

This might be a silly question... I have a shelving unit that I'm wanting to put two 5.5g aquariums on (side by side, on the same shelf). The shelving unit is metal, with a slotted surface. Is it necessary for me to put something underneath, like wood, so that the surface underneath is not broken up and is instead smooth? Or are the 5.5g tanks light enough to not be a concern? Thank you!

 

 

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probably not a concern if they have a rim. If they are rimless, they want a perfectly smooth surface. what weight is the shelf rated for? I recently put a 5g on a cheap particle board cabinet. In about a month the top had deflected under the weight enough that the drawer under the  tank would no longer open, and I had to move the tank.

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2 minutes ago, Brandy said:

probably not a concern if they have a rim. If they are rimless, they want a perfectly smooth surface. what weight is the shelf rated for? I recently put a 5g on a cheap particle board cabinet. In about a month the top had deflected under the weight enough that the drawer under the  tank would no longer open, and I had to move the tank.

They do have rims, fortunately, and the weight capacity for each shelf is 350lbs which is great. I thought I read that uneven surfaces could cause leaks in your aquarium, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn't potentially damaging my tanks by doing this. 

Do you mind if I ask how the tank being rimless affects what surface they should be on? That way I know for future reference. Thanks for your help. 🙂

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In a rimmed tank the glass is held above the shelf surface, and the rims distribute the weight evenly, avoiding a point load on the glass. Rimless tanks sit directly on the shelf surface. Glass is strong but brittle, so if you imagine setting a tank on a small (very small) rock, while it is empty it will be ok, but once you add water the weight of the tank will punch that little rock thru the bottom of the tank, causing a failure. It becomes the princess and the pea!

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2 hours ago, Brandy said:

In a rimmed tank the glass is held above the shelf surface, and the rims distribute the weight evenly, avoiding a point load on the glass. Rimless tanks sit directly on the shelf surface. Glass is strong but brittle, so if you imagine setting a tank on a small (very small) rock, while it is empty it will be ok, but once you add water the weight of the tank will punch that little rock thru the bottom of the tank, causing a failure. It becomes the princess and the pea!

@Brandy - I had no idea the difference between the two! Thanks for the explanation that even I could understand. 😉 

...leaning something new here every day!

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2 hours ago, Brandy said:

In a rimmed tank the glass is held above the shelf surface, and the rims distribute the weight evenly, avoiding a point load on the glass. Rimless tanks sit directly on the shelf surface. Glass is strong but brittle, so if you imagine setting a tank on a small (very small) rock, while it is empty it will be ok, but once you add water the weight of the tank will punch that little rock thru the bottom of the tank, causing a failure. It becomes the princess and the pea!

Yeah, the DIY guy on YouTube builds all his own stands, and had a tank explode sometime later, because a pebble came off his shoe when he was climbing on the stand, and it was making contact with the glass. Also make sure stands are level, regardless of rimmed or rimmless ... probably a non-issue for 5 gallon tanks, but could be for larger tanks. 

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2 minutes ago, Bill said:

Yeah, the DIY guy on YouTube builds all his own stands, and had a tank explode sometime later, because a pebble came off his shoe when he was climbing on the stand, and it was making contact with the glass. Also make sure stands are level, regardless of rimmed or rimmless ... probably a non-issue for 5 gallon tanks, but could be for larger tanks. 

What if your house isn't level? 😅 I'm moving soon, but the apartment/house that I'm currently living in is slanted (it was built in 1880 or something like that). We live on the top floor and realized that the floors were slanted when our office chairs wouldn't stop rolling across the floor (while we were sitting in them) unless our feet were firmly planted to the ground. In my 10g aquarium, the water level is noticeably higher on the right side. 

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1 minute ago, sparklymoonshrimp said:

What if your house isn't level?

Use wood shims. If it's crazy out of level, you may need something else like 1x6 or whatever, with wood shims on top to make small adjustments (I think they're like 1/4" or 1/3" max) but I've never had a floor that unlevel. I use the black composite wood shims from home depot or lowes, they are strong and you can break them off easily. 

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Many of my aquariums clearly are not level and it would better if they were, but over the last couple of decades of keeping wonkily leveled aquariums, none have leaked or broken (fingers crossed). I get it close, put water in the tank and move on.

 

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