Tank on wheels?

[EyeCandy]

I was wondering if anyone ever tried to put their reef tank on wheels? I'm looking to upgrade my tank, but my step dad wants the new tank to 1)look cool with big industrial type wheels and diamond plating on the sides and 2) make it mobile so it can be kept off the slate flooring and be able to move it away from the wall if needed. It is realistic? Can it be done? I currently have a 60 gallon tank so it would probably be around that size, but not over 150 gallons.

 

[bgraves]

I thought about installing wheels on my stand so it could be moved if needed, however the weight of the tank filled with water, live rock and everything else it took a large wheel to support the weight. I also have it on a wood floor and didn't want to indent the floor. You have a sweet idea. I have seen golf carts with some nice wheels. I think it would look cool.

 

[billdogg]

i wanna see the arms on the dude who's gonna move a 150 - we're lookin at what - like 1500lbs?

 

[Chef Choy]

just thinking, but I would rather have all that weight evenly distributed over 4-6 foot rather than a few inches in 4 different spots........make sense?

 

[Imzadi]

I have a metal tubestock stand. It is 4 - 3/4" x 3/4" points of wieght on the floor. It would work actually BETTER for me. if you built a cart for the tank to sit in, you could recess the whell a long way up, and almost not even see them. I did that with a 100g tank, that I turned into a Koi pond on the back patio. I could move them around as I needed to. 1000 lbs is not a lot of wieght on good wheels. People can push a car, and it wieghs a ton or more.

I left a little bit of water in the Rolling Koi pond one year... well, it rained, then froze, then snowed, and stayed snowed. The bottom corner popped out of it, and was done, so I made the hole a little bigger, put a couple inches of gravel in it, landscape fabric... filled it with topsoil... now I have a rolling Herb Cabana!!!

Anyway, the wheels I used were full swivel, 800lbs per. So it would handle 3200 lbs total. And moved like a breeze full. It was just the schlosh at the end when it stopped that always got my toes wet. lol

 

[rdelong]

It can and has been done. Check out part number 2487T33 on McMaster-Carr as a caster example that has the capacity and construction for such an assembly. I'd only move one on a smooth level floor with a stand that had a solid bottom except for the overflow cutouts so the tank is not edge loaded and can't rack while being moved.

 

[Entropy]

I think you are going to end up spilling a lot of water unless you run a low water level. Also depending on how high the stand is you are talking about a very top heavy setup. It might not be an issue, but I am picturing getting it rolling and then hitting a Lego, or doll part that jams a wheel (well maybe you don't have a daughter ). To dangerous IMO.

 

[EyeCandy]

Hmm. Thanks for the input. There are no toys or lego pieces laying around, so that wouldn't be a problem Entropy, hehe. The uneven slate would be a little dangerous to move the tank on though. I have thought about the weight if I were to upgrade to something larger. However my step dad was able to lift and shift my 60 gallon + 30 gallon sump away from the wall when we had to paint that room a few years ago so it can't be that heavy. Maybe cuz he use to be a body builder, I dunno! I was thinking a 120 because it is still 4 feet long. I'll have to do some more research.

 

[Jova]

I've thought about doing the same thing myself, but all things considered: I don't think it would ever really work that well. That kind of weight placed on four wheels would most definately cause damage to almost any type of flooring. Also, I'd be far too worried that the wheels would fail at some point, and if only one of them failed and the tank shifted in that direction, chances are the tank would also fail and you would end up with a mell of a hess.

 

[james3370]

i posed the same question to a friend once & he suggested having the wheels on hydraulics so they could be raised up till the stand was sitting on the normal edges when not being moved. that takes out the worry of the weight being supported in 4 small areas & also the tank "rolling away". definately think it'd be detter done on a steel stand vs a wood stand

could it be done???? yeah probably
did i feel like investing the time in doing it?? not really

LOL

another option would be to leave cutouts in the bottom & use one of those hydraulic pallet jacks to move it when needed since they lift straight up & should definately support the weight. not sure what those cost though.....

**edit** $300ish shipped off ebay....not as bad as i was expecting
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350202228118