The wheels on the tank go round and round :P

[Chef Reef]

heh i was looking at the DIY fourms and came across this ( a poorly done stand rig thing..)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1303762

And at first i thought he put wheels on it from the pic, and i saw later that it was just steel bolts. Well it got me thinking.. (bad thing for me, im usualy wrong ) has anyone tried putting wheels on there stands bottom so that they can move the tank around if they dont like its place later in life? im not talking about bigger systems (55-75 gals or more) becuase i dont think they would hold or roll for that matter.. but could it be done with smaller systems maybe a 30 gal perhaps ?

iunno just thinking of some more crazy ideas at 4am..

 

[NanoKat]

Yup! Just did my 20g on a new stand with wheels. Here's the link to my thread...which was titled regarding my Eco System Pro 40 which started the whole shebang:

My Eco System/Wheels on stand Project...

We're redoing our flooring in a couple of months and I was dreading moving the tank...so came up with this little brainstorm since I was replacing the stand anyway.

Since it's a particle wood stand, I drilled holes for the bolts on each wheel and attached them inside with large washers to give them more structural stability. The wheels also lock in place which isn't necessary on our existing carpeting, but may come in handy on a laminate floor.

 

[Chef Reef]

nice. thats exactly what i was talking about. i guess i'll have to look into it when i get a new stand. Do they roll pretty easy? does the water splash around at all?

 

[NanoKat]

If I ever have to move it on this carpet, I was thinking I would have to empty about 2 gallons to allow for "sloshing"...but that's about all I do for a water change, so I'll just do it at the same time! Can't wait to get the new flooring and it'll move much easier...as I said, thus the locking casters. Makes me glad to have a nano...this would be just plain scary on the bigger tanks!

 

[Chef Reef]

id love to be able to do it on my 75 but i dont think that is possible. at least not without BIG ugly wheels..

 

[NanoKat]

Yeah, these wheels have an 80lb capacity per I believe. The monster ones that are about 3" diameter would probably be necessary then, and then it's a matter of whether the corners of the stand can withstand (get it, with-"stand"....ha ha!) the stress being only there and not across the length.

 

[Husky_1]

I used those slider things on my 38g, it was nice because I could move the stand out to work in the sump, which was behind the tank. I thought of it after I had to use them to move some furniture around for the carpet guys. Mine were on the tile, but it worked fine.

 

[Chef Reef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11694978#post11694978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoKat
Yeah, these wheels have an 80lb capacity per I believe. The monster ones that are about 3" diameter would probably be necessary then, and then it's a matter of whether the corners of the stand can withstand (get it, with-"stand"....ha ha!) the stress being only there and not across the length.

good point, i wouldnt have thought about the stress from only beinging on the corners.

- Husky, i thought about the slider things but i have carpet :/

 

[macawmagic]

nobody said you only had to use 4 wheels...use 6, 8, 20...but I dunno. I've put big wheels on many magic props before...but I just don't know that I would want my fishtank on wheels...think about how much a fully stocked tool box weighs though and those are usually on 4 or 6 wheels. It'd probably work...just not the norm!

 

[Chef Reef]

ya i think im just gonna put some on my 30. and when the 75 is fully running hopefully i just like where i placed it and never want to rearange.. speeking of, i just rearanged my house for the past 3 hours

 

[Husky_1]

Just be careful when moving it around, and make sure you get casters that lock. I would hate for someone to push your tank over.

 

[Chef Reef]

ya i can just picture my kid running it to it or the horse, i mean dog... *mental note to make sure of locking casters*

 

[coralfragger101]

This idea is not impossible on larger tanks at all. My 150 gal tank sits on a custom steel stand and only the four legs touch the floor. If built properly, wheels that could withstand the weight could easily be hidden within the cabinetry.

At conception, I thought about adding the wheels but didn't simply because I knew the tank wasn't going to be moved from its present location.

 

[Von_Rahvin]

why not industrial rollers? you could do a series of rollers and build a metal subframe. this way your stand is sitting on a rolling platform?

 

[Chef Reef]

only problem is i dont want it to be that noticeable.

 

[macawmagic]

you could easily design the stand around the wheels so that the "skin" of the stand was only 1/4-1/2" off the ground, but the actual bottom of the stand was 4-5" that way you would only see a little gap under the stand.

If you want to do it, it is possible. But it will take a good amount of work and a custom stand.

 

[NanoKat]

That's what I was thinking for a larger (30g) tank...there are metal stands that do only sit on the four corners, so obviously it must be possible. Maybe a metal subframe with the casters attached, then a skin of wood around it to skirt down over the wheels so that they don't show much if at all. The only issue would be getting to them to lock them down once in place.

 

[coralfragger101]

My metal frame has a skin made of pressed wood that has been laminated. Magnets were embedded within the wood prior to lamination. They simply stick to the frame and can be pulled off in seconds for lots of working room under the tank. I did not add wheels but if I would have then pulling the skin off would allow the wheels to turn as well during moving. Then just align the wheels parallel with the tank, lock them in place and pop the skin back on.

 

[NanoKat]

Magnets...that's a great idea...I think we should make a prototype and market these babies!

 

[coralfragger101]

Here's your prototype. I ran out of mica so the left side wasn't finished when this photo was taken. Even the corner pieces are embedded with magnets so that just pop off for ease of getting a mag cleaner into the corners. The bit of coralline that remains in the corners is then hidden by the corner pieces.