Aquariums and industrial caster wheels

[metasyntactic]

So, I know this sounds like a recipe for disaster but hear me out. I'm currently working on designing and welding a steel frame for a 220 gallon aquarium. The aquarium will be set into a book frame but I'd like to be able to wheel it out. I had assumed it would be impossible but I stumbled on a video of someone doing just that to a 125 gallon tank (admittedly that's almost half the size).

I did some research :reading: and found a supplier for industrial Polyurethane caster wheels rated to 2,200 lbs. I reached out to the supplier and they assured me that 6 to 8 of them would be more than enough to handle the 3,500-4,000 lbs of a filled 220 gallon aquarium plus sump.

I'd be epoxying my rockwork in place and reinforcing it with ceramic plugs and eggcrate to fix it in place. There would be torquing on the base of the aquarium, that would be a real concern but I could have my frame stabilize the top of the aquarium and minimize that. The aquarium is over hard wood floor sitting over the concrete slab of my basement so there isn't any worry of floor joists buckling. It would certainly make leveling it more of a challenge but I could look into high capacity leveling screws. I'm much less convinced that it's impossible, maybe just unwise.

Are there any other concerns I'm not taking into consideration? I know many of you will just tell me to build the aquarium somewhere it's easily accessible and that's perfectly reasonable, sound advice. There is definitely a lot of risk. I'm still curious about how feasible it is.

 

[mcgyvr]

Sounds acceptable to me..

 

[homer1475]

I would be more worried about what the wheels will do to the hardwood if it truly is hardwood. If you have laminate wood floors, I would not even consider it.



Other then that, if you have wheels that will hold the load and a steel stand where racking or shifting is not an issue, I say go for it.

 

[cincyjim]

Agreed that the flooring will take a beating but I would also be concerned of the water weight/force shift as I was moving the aquarium. I'm not sure if the water moving back and forth would weaken the integrity of the aquarium. Just a thought.

 

[lapin]

Most aquariums are built to be stationary. Once you start moving them around problems arise. Material thickness is calculated with a certain safety factor. That safety factor is based on stationary water force. Once you move an object that has a liquid in it, the force is multiplied. Starting force, stopping force.......ect.. If it was me I would get a tank that is over built. Not so worried about the glass popping, as the seams separating from lack of surface bonding area.

 

[sde1500]

Seems like those wheels would work, but definitely wouldn't be kind to the flooring. I feel like I'd just end up splashing water everywhere trying to roll my aquarium.

 

[scenaria]

I can chime in here.

I have a Lighting and video production company.

We have a few road cases that weigh around 1200 pounds each. They sit on casters.

The problem we have when moving these road cases is momentum. It takes quite a bit of force to get the case moving and once it’s rolling.... it wants to keep going.

I think with a small tank it would be ok, I Don’t think I would attempt this with something as heavy as a 200 gallon tank.

Just my 2 cents

 

[mcgyvr]

I can chime in here.

I have a Lighting and video production company.

We have a few road cases that weigh around 1200 pounds each. They sit on casters.

The problem we have when moving these road cases is momentum. It takes quite a bit of force to get the case moving and once it's rolling.... it wants to keep going.

I think with a small tank it would be ok, I Don't think I would attempt this with something as heavy as a 200 gallon tank.

Just my 2 cents

I made a lot of assumptions here based on their first sentence about being a recipe for disaster in my initial lame/early morning answer that I shouldn't have...
I assumed that they were aware of what would be required for starting/stopping forces of so much weight and the post before that about the "sloshing" that creates.. Those are just so obvious to me that I made assumptions I maybe shouldn't have..


I wouldn't be concerned about the floor though like others as its was stated as solid hardwood on concrete slab and combine that with multiple wide surface poly wheels there is no reason for concern there IMO..
One may have a hard time believing the point loading in a ladies stiletto heel is likely to impart more force there than the setup being described.....

 

[willembad]

I have been running version 2.0 of my 90 gallon for about 6 months now in a cabinet on wheels. The tank was previously against a wall for 15 years or so and I decided I would never do that again without being able to clean behind it. It was a MESS!

The current cabinet houses the tank, a RODI system, ATO, 29 gallon mix tank and a sump. So far, so good and I would recommend it without reservation.

 

[sde1500]

One may have a hard time believing the point loading in a ladies stiletto heel is likely to impart more force there than the setup being described.....

Yea, but you try telling a lady that.

 

[squeakymcmurdo]

My 30 gallon is on casters. I always empty the water most of the way before moving it.

 

[newbie2014]

Yea, but you try telling a lady that.

Best reply so far.............:beer:

 

[lapin]

One may have a hard time believing the point loading in a ladies stiletto heel is likely to impart more force there than the setup being described.....

Gives the floor that used and abused look. Character.

 

[metasyntactic]

I have been running version 2.0 of my 90 gallon for about 6 months now in a cabinet on wheels. The tank was previously against a wall for 15 years or so and I decided I would never do that again without being able to clean behind it. It was a MESS!

The current cabinet houses the tank, a RODI system, ATO, 29 gallon mix tank and a sump. So far, so good and I would recommend it without reservation.

View attachment 392284

View attachment 392285

That is exactly why I want to mount it on wheels. I had the same experience. And, if I'm mounting it in a bookcase and I have any type of spill or something, I want to be able to get at my tank without entirely taking apart the book case.

 

[Smokey Stover]

IDK, I wouldn't risk something that big and top heavy, Sloshing water. I can imagine moving it out and a caster stops/sticks on a crack in flooring or a crumb or grain of sand and it could topple forewards, Very dangerous. JMO

 

[cincyjim]

I made a lot of assumptions here based on their first sentence about being a recipe for disaster in my initial lame/early morning answer that I shouldn't have...
I assumed that they were aware of what would be required for starting/stopping forces of so much weight and the post before that about the "sloshing" that creates.. Those are just so obvious to me that I made assumptions I maybe shouldn't have..


I wouldn't be concerned about the floor though like others as its was stated as solid hardwood on concrete slab and combine that with multiple wide surface poly wheels there is no reason for concern there IMO..
One may have a hard time believing the point loading in a ladies stiletto heel is likely to impart more force there than the setup being described.....

Then how do you explain the grooves left in the hardwood flooring that's been created by moving the fridge forward and backwards. Same principals apply to me.

 

[uclamatthew]

I would be very worried about the load concentrated on a few points, especially dwelling in the same spot over time. On solid concrete, no, but even the hardest wood is going to compact over time.

 

[willembad]

So far, so good and I would recommend it without reservation.

I guess it will be prudent to qualify my statement. I live in Florida and my home has a concrete slab-on-grade foundation. There might be structural issues with this idea on other floor systems due to increased point loads and reduced tributary area for the load imposed. I was just stating that it works for me.

I do remove as much water as possible to rolling trash cans prior to moving the cabinet and I move it in one direction only to access the rear of the cabinet and built-in plumbing connections.

 

[scenaria]

Take a look at “leveling casters” I just put some ratcheting ones on a 105 sitting on an 80/20 aluminum frame. They are wicked cool. Ratched the foot up and u have a caster for moving. The. Ratchet it down for leveling the tank. The ones I got handle 500 pounds each. They are t cheap but work really well. The bonus is the tank is perfectly level. The foot is almost 2 inches in diam.

 

[Sk8r]

We had to move an 1800 lb tank (2 women, one over 70) to redo a floor. We put an array of teflon glides on, to get it to the rough floor, and dewatered the tank down to 6", then used a dolly to raise the tank enough to switch glides out to felt. Shoved it into place, on the new laminate floor, and rewatered it. Never removed the fish, just corals and some rock. You MIGHT be able to use that technique to deal with your situation. We fastened 1/8th inch plywood to the floor as a ramp between flooring types, then removed it. We've left the very thin glides under the tank as a may-need-again, but not immediately. I just offer it as an alternate possibility.