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I AM STARTING TO WORRIE I POSTED ABOVE ^ ABOUT MY TANK AND STAND WHICH I THOUGHT!! WAS FINE NOW ALL U GUYS ARE POSTING UR COMMENT THINK IM GONNA HAVE TO DIG DOWN DEEP IN MY POCKET AND BUY A FULL STAND TO HOLD ALL THE TANK!!

fishie and tank, are you talking to me or oscars?

And I'll go with the hardwood idea then (it was a hypothetical question anyway, but in case I need to put it into practice.)

Funny....thought that was exactly the same thing I said

I said;

As stated before

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There is always a bigger fish...

only time will tell if ur tank will be fine...but i rather not wait for it...i say...buy a stand that fits the tank.

dont forget all the extra weight of gravel, rocks, wood, plants and fish (if u have enough it can add quite a bit of weight)

As the weakest link in an aquarium is the seals. Any over hang will eventually cause a drastic problem. No glass aquarium should ever have any overhang of any type. It will cause the seals to weaken, and eventually cause a leak.

Funny....thought that was exactly the same thing I said . Take some cardstock and tape and make a "tank" using the tape as the silicone seal and the cardstock as the glass. Place it on something that doenst fully support it (with a cookie sheet or something underneith so you dont make a mess ) then start to fill your "tank" with flour or sand or something....the tape will easily give way, that's what's likely to happen with a tank. Which is also the reason you dont want to move a tank that's filled with water even if you can lift it. The water shifts and places stress on the seals.

^_^ [hr width='40%']"There’s an emptiness inside her. And she’d do anything to fill it in.
And though it’s red blood bleeding from her now. It's more like cold blue ice in her heart.
She feels like kicking out all the windows. And setting fire to this life."

the corners of the tank have to be supported. if you leave it with nothing at all under the edges you will have problems. i have seen some of the over hang stands mentioned and they have a board that completely covers the bottom of the tank which distributes the wiegt to the stand.

As stated before, the over hang is definitely a problem. As the weakest link in an aquarium is the seals. Any over hang will eventually cause a drastic problem. No glass aquarium should ever have any overhang of any type. It will cause the seals to weaken, and eventually cause a leak. Thus, resulting in an devistation of losss of fish and such.

Always support the entire tank! Never have any overhang of any kind that is not supported!

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There is always a bigger fish...

If your tank is sitting directly on the stand, with just the odd sheet of polystyrene tile for cushioning, then this setup could be a tad risky.

If you can't afford a full sized stand for the tank just yet (and stands are notoriously expensive) then one solution is, as cited above, to get hold of thick slabs of wood that are very slightly bigger than the bottom of your aquarium. Kitchen worksurface top offcuts (which are about an inch thick) are good for this, provided that they're durable, and preferably 3 ply plywood for strength. Three of those one on top of another should provide enough support for the time being.

Another alternative solution: make your own stand. You'd be surprised how many people press stacks of breeze blocks into service for this purpose!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Isn't that funny, oscars? But, the bottom tier of the stand is about 3 or 4 inches off the floor and the overhand is relatively small. Do you think a brick or a block of wood would be ok?

As many of you know, many tank have those nifty little iron stands that have room on the bottom for another tank. I have a stand designed for a 20 gallon long tank 30"x12" I want to put a 30 gallon 36"x12" on the bottom. The problem is that it would stick out 6". If I centered the tank so it only stuck out 3" on each side, would the tank support itself, or eventually crack? Otherwise, I could stick a block of wood or something under it.

Last edited by djtj at 02-Jun-2005 16:49

I've considered this option myself, but I've also heard horror stories that made me think it was a bad idea. Glass tanks are meant to be supported around the edges rather than in the middle, so having edges with no support is causing undue stress which is just asking for trouble. A tank hanging off the edge of its stand may be fine for months, even a year or more, but a simple vibration or bump, or anything that seems innocuous could cause it to crack if it's not being supported properly.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

http://www.all-glass.com/products/aquariums/images/2636_bowfronts_lg.jpg

Like the All-Glass Bowfront. There is overhang, however the bottom of the stand distributes the wieght. Six inches of over hang and no weight distribution is a whole 'nother issue



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If you sing to me in French.

How could a stand be made to be too small?

But its seems as if this tank was not built to support 6 inches of overhang. I have seen tanks with overhang, however they came with a stand specifically made to hold the tank.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

mi older bro has a four footer on a stand thats about 2 foot long so he has 3 layers of hard wood each layer about i inch in thickness

Oscar, how long have you had the tank with the overhang?

i disagree Babelfish my LFS sell stands that are meant to have "tank overhang" as part of there design like my £200 sold oak stand which was on display with my tank on it

Not a good idea .
The tanks weakest point is the seals, therefore they need the most support. By leaving the tank hanging off the side of the stand you have hundreds of pounds pressing against the weak part of the tank....sure to cause trouble.
Using wood to support may work, so long as you select a piece that is thick enough that it will not bend causing further issues with pressure points.

^_^ [hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

my tank is 36x12x15 and sticks out 4" either side of the stand i have no problems!!!!

go for it