Stand with wheel
- Thread starter Titeo
- Start date
reefgems
New member
I was thinking the same thing for years. You could move it around on a nice smooth concrete floor. I would guess 6 or even 8 wheels would be better. If 140g tank weighs 3000 lbs, 8 wheels = 375 lbs per wheel. I bet you could find something that holds double that (for safety), there has gotta be something for industrial applications out there
I would enjoy seeing pictures if someone has done it.
I would enjoy seeing pictures if someone has done it.
reefgems
New member
Actually I just found this website in another thread in this forum which sells welded steel carts. It seems like you could adapt these carts to smaller aquariums easily and even some larger aquariums.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-carts/=56v17u
Also given the cart cap. in lbs, the best one hold 3600 lbs and has 6" wheels, 48"x24" with a nice lip so the tanks don't slide off. plus other sizes
I think I might get one of the smaller ones and throw my 10g's or some QT tanks on it.
Mobile tanks!
http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-carts/=56v17u
Also given the cart cap. in lbs, the best one hold 3600 lbs and has 6" wheels, 48"x24" with a nice lip so the tanks don't slide off. plus other sizes
I think I might get one of the smaller ones and throw my 10g's or some QT tanks on it.
Mobile tanks!
I'm planning on wheels on my new stand
I'm planning on wheels on my new stand
I'm not building a terribly large aquarium, only a 40 breeder display. There is a business 3 doors down from the warehouse I work at that specializes in 'flight boxes', mobile P.A. cases and such, and they have casters and wheels that support up to 1500Lb per wheel (at a cost)
What I have purchased from him is 4 german engineered swivelling casters. The rubber on them is non marking, and soft enough to not dent or gouge my floor, but hard enough to roll easily. They have a low profile at only 2" from the floor to the top of the mounting plate. And they are rated for over 225Lb each. Of course all of this comes at a price, as they are Can$30 each (over 3 x the price of the chinese knockoff)
I'm planning on wheels on my new stand
I'm not building a terribly large aquarium, only a 40 breeder display. There is a business 3 doors down from the warehouse I work at that specializes in 'flight boxes', mobile P.A. cases and such, and they have casters and wheels that support up to 1500Lb per wheel (at a cost)
What I have purchased from him is 4 german engineered swivelling casters. The rubber on them is non marking, and soft enough to not dent or gouge my floor, but hard enough to roll easily. They have a low profile at only 2" from the floor to the top of the mounting plate. And they are rated for over 225Lb each. Of course all of this comes at a price, as they are Can$30 each (over 3 x the price of the chinese knockoff)
That might work, but personally I would probably do some heavy mods to those carts. I didn't go too deep into the website, but it seems that most of the carts are 34" to 36" high. Also, the 'wife acceptance factor' would be very stressed by having that in my living room.
For my display I don't want a stand over 29" so that I can get a top down view into a shallow tank.
I definitely want a custom stand, which will require buying casters and not a finished cart.
If anyone is interested in more info on the casters then PM me and I can put you in contact with the supplier (BTW his best bud is a reefer too)
For my display I don't want a stand over 29" so that I can get a top down view into a shallow tank.
I definitely want a custom stand, which will require buying casters and not a finished cart.
If anyone is interested in more info on the casters then PM me and I can put you in contact with the supplier (BTW his best bud is a reefer too)
Tang Salad
Algae skeptic
I think finding strong enough casters would be the easy part. The hard part will be finding a tank with seams strong enough to withstand the 1,500 pounds of sloshing water.
Is this enough for a 140g tank ??? http://cgi.ebay.com/4pc-4-STEEL-WHE...dZViewItemQQptZBI_Casters?hash=item518f5f136a
jimzin15754
New member
Those casters look plenty strong imo. I would definately us at least 6 tho. The question at this point isnt the capacity of the casters but the capacity of the stand. I dont think its possible to build a stand that wont sag in the middle without direct support . that is and still have an access door. The water sloshing about the tank is also a good point. But some dividers in the tank while moving would help with that. Even if they werent solid I think they would reduce flow thoughout the tank.
effect on the floor?
effect on the floor?
One thing i don't see mentioned is the effect on the floor you're going to be on. 3000 LBS/8 wheels, that's 375 lbs. Not too bad, right? Now, the contact point of the wheel on the floor is going to be somewhere around 1 or 2 square inches. That's 180-370 PSI. The equivalant of focusing the average weight of an adult male (or more) on a postage stamp. Larger diameter wheels and softer wheel material increases the contact point to better distribute the weight. Most wheels i've seen for this type of weight are for industrial applications so they're hard plastic rather than rubber, which reduces the contact point. Your preference is to make the tank lower, but that implies smaller wheels too, smaller contact point.
You should probably have a steel frame that the casters are on rather than trying to put the casters directly onto the cabinet since cabinets aren't designed to be supported by a few contact points but rather distribute the weight across the floor evenly. I wouldn't try this on a normal framed floor in a house, just concrete. Don't roll too fast.
effect on the floor?
One thing i don't see mentioned is the effect on the floor you're going to be on. 3000 LBS/8 wheels, that's 375 lbs. Not too bad, right? Now, the contact point of the wheel on the floor is going to be somewhere around 1 or 2 square inches. That's 180-370 PSI. The equivalant of focusing the average weight of an adult male (or more) on a postage stamp. Larger diameter wheels and softer wheel material increases the contact point to better distribute the weight. Most wheels i've seen for this type of weight are for industrial applications so they're hard plastic rather than rubber, which reduces the contact point. Your preference is to make the tank lower, but that implies smaller wheels too, smaller contact point.
You should probably have a steel frame that the casters are on rather than trying to put the casters directly onto the cabinet since cabinets aren't designed to be supported by a few contact points but rather distribute the weight across the floor evenly. I wouldn't try this on a normal framed floor in a house, just concrete. Don't roll too fast.
jimzin15754
New member
One thing i don't see mentioned is the effect on the floor you're going to be on. 3000 LBS/8 wheels, that's 375 lbs. Not too bad, right? Now, the contact point of the wheel on the floor is going to be somewhere around 1 or 2 square inches. That's 180-370 PSI. The equivalant of focusing the average weight of an adult male (or more) on a postage stamp. Larger diameter wheels and softer wheel material increases the contact point to better distribute the weight. Most wheels i've seen for this type of weight are for industrial applications so they're hard plastic rather than rubber, which reduces the contact point. Your preference is to make the tank lower, but that implies smaller wheels too, smaller contact point.
You should probably have a steel frame that the casters are on rather than trying to put the casters directly onto the cabinet since cabinets aren't designed to be supported by a few contact points but rather distribute the weight across the floor evenly. I wouldn't try this on a normal framed floor in a house, just concrete. Don't roll too fast.
I agree totally, was assuming concrete floor from the get-go. My bad
coralnut99
New member
+1 The "slosh effect" shouldn't be underestimated. Additionally, if someone is thinking of doing this on carpeting, I can guarantee the casters will be imbedded in the carpet in a matter of a day, making that first move precarious at best.
stugray
Premium Member
Another point that I haven't seen made above:
Regardless of how many wheels you have, unless the floor is perfectly flat, - all the weight will rest on only three wheels at any given time. ( that is also assuming that the stand is perfectly rigid - as it SHOULD be )
Think about the geometry & a floor that is not perfectly flat.
Stu
Regardless of how many wheels you have, unless the floor is perfectly flat, - all the weight will rest on only three wheels at any given time. ( that is also assuming that the stand is perfectly rigid - as it SHOULD be )
Think about the geometry & a floor that is not perfectly flat.
Stu
I wanted to use some casters, but all the ones I found were way to much money. So since we have laminate floors, I've used the plastic sliders under all 3 of our tanks, 55g fresh, 40g and now a 60+g with 29g sump. The lighter tanks were fairly easy to move, as long as you go slow. They were moved around several times. I put them on my latest tank, but don't plan to move it much at all due to the size and live rock display. We just wanted the ability to move it w/o having to drain it completely and disassemble it if we needed or wanted to (planning to paint the room in the future). But I wouldn't try it with anything heavier than what I have now.
ONEWAY
Premium Member
I have trouble moving my 30 gallon rubbermaid can that is on a wheeled dolly with water 3" from the top over a concrete floor without spilling it. It may be easier to move the house around the tank, this will ensure no water will be spilled, if you decide to do this please post some pics.
widmer
Drug Enthusiast
Stu brings up an important point. We've probably all been to a restaurant where the majority of our table's weight was resting on two legs, with it teeter-tottering between the other two. Finding wheels where two have enough combined strength to hold up the tank, probably not a problem. But having a stand that won't warp a tiny bit under the pressure and therefore potentially cause the tank to twist apart slowly at the seams? ...
