How much does a 90 gallon tank weight?

[jaydub74]

I'm thinking about setting up a 90 gallon aquarium and using an existing piece of furniture as the stand. Its a well constructed piece but I wanted to get an appox weight before moving forward.

thanks
Josh

 

[beaglelax]

i belive one cubic yard of water is 1 ton , and that about what is in a 90 gallon + or -

 

[xcreonx]

Water weighs around 8lbs / gallon + lbs of rock and sand.

 

[lancer99]

Plus the weight of the tank itself, ~160 lbs.

 

[beaglelax]

lots of weight make sure that piece of furniture is braced right too, so that it will support the glass at the right points

 

[cd77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11069492#post11069492 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beaglelax
i belive one cubic yard of water is 1 ton , and that about what is in a 90 gallon + or -

Hmm.. A cubic yard of water is a little over 200 gallons, isn't it? A gallon of salt water is about ~8.5lbs I believe, so a cubic yard would be ~85% (ish) of a ton. Maybe I'm having a bad math day

 

[kathainbowen]

Estimate 8.5-8.8 lbs per US gallon of water and mutliply that by 90.

Contact your intended tank's manufacturer to find out the specific dry weight of the exact model of tank you're looking at (AGA should still list the weights in their little catalogue). Acrylic and glass tanks will vary, so be very specific about the tank you're getting to get the estimated dry weight.

Are you going to use sand for the tank or go bare bottom? If you're going to go with sand, estimate AT LEAST 60-75 lbs.

For live rock, I like to estimate based off the high end of live rock. Figuring 1.5 lbs per gallon of live rock at a bare minimum for biological filtration rules of thumb, and you'll have AT LEAST 135 lbs in there. A 90G can hold probably about 180-200 lbs of liverock easily, depending on your tastes.

Add that all up.

So, giving a "ballpark estimate," look to anywhere between 1000lbs to 1300lbs.

 

[jaydub74]

So after doing the math we're looking around 850 lbs including the tank (not including rock) The stand Im considering using, is solid wood not that cheap chip board - do you think it can handle the tank? I have load tested it with three adults and it seems fine.

The stand shown in about 5 ft. long and 19 inches wide.

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[assassinco97]

I really would encourage you not to use a piece of existing furniture to support the weight of a 90g. Most commercially manufactured furniture is not designed to cope with the stress placed on the joints and supports that a 90g will exert. I would assume the reason for the use of the furniture would be cost. But trust me the cost of a decent stand or building one yourself (See the DIY forum) is alot more reliable than trusting a store bought piece.

 

[kathainbowen]

The big issues with store bought furniture is that store pieces are built to be exceedingly cost efficient, maximizing the profit in return for the cost of fabrication. This means that store pieces aren't heavily reinforced for holding large weights, nor are they made of the best materials, including an over reliance on *dramatic music* MDF. MDF does have its uses in a variety of furniture applications, particularly in the current "new minimalism" phase where the clean lines of veneered furniture are valued over homemade craft pieces in more traditional design. However, as many people know, MDF isn't that strong, nor does it deal with getting wet.

 

[reefergeorge]

That piece of furniture looks a lot sturdier than my old 75 gallons stand. It was made of mdf and some of the seams were only overlaped 1/4 of an inch.

 

[jaydub74]

Im not set on using it however its not a store bought piece of furniture - it was custom made, no MDF. Its solid Spruce.
I'm a little concerned about the legs however the rest seems sturdy.

 

[AndyB4784]

I'd guess not more than 850 lbs with tank. keep in mind that the rock is going to displace a lot of water. 100 lbs of rock should displace around 20g or so depending on the rock's density.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Two problems I see with using it:

1) It has feet, which means the the entire weight of the tank is going to be on those legs and feet. Tank stands distribute the weight evenly throughout the perimeter of the base. Basically, more surface area touching the ground is good.

2) You will ruin that piece of furniture. You will get salt spills down the front of it, And the humidity and inevitable spills might hurt the wood. If you ever remove the tank, you will have a warped salty outline of where the tank used to sit. I just threw away a desk that had a nanocube on it for a few years.