Wheels under aquarium stand - thoughts?

[xaflatoonx]

Have a 90g setting up.
Gonna have 100 lbs of rock and 80 lbs of sand.
Then sump and equipment in stand.

Question : can I take a plank - screw 7-8 wheels to it. And THEN put stand on it and set up the fish tank?
The objective is to make the tank mobile. In case we wanna shift the furiture around.

Ofcourse will put the wheels to balance the weight equally across the plank.

Thoughts?

 

[JR8999]

I'm no engineer but I'm thinking you'd need some pretty sturdy wheels and associated planks etc....you're going to be pushing around in the neighborhood of 1000lbs.

 

[davocean]

Do you have quakes where you live?
What will you do if a wheel eventually rusts/fails?
How will you level stand?
My first thoughts.

 

[pinnatus]

Moving a full tank will put a lot of stresses on the tank that are not normally there. Water sloshing back and forth, torsion stresses from the tank twisting as it is moved across a floor that is not perfectly flat, etc. These can crack the glass or fail the seams. Overall, I think it is a bad idea. It can be done, but the stand needs to be very strong and very rigid, the wheels would also need to be very strong, and the floor needs to be very flat and able to take the weight without giving.

 

[thegrun]

With stand and sump you are going to be moving 1500 pounds or so. If the wheels and plank can handle the weight and your stand was sturdy enough to take the weight you could probably move the tank if you drained 1/3 of the water and avoided sudden moves so as to not strain the tank and stand. I would not advise it, but it should work. The biggest concern would be the tank itself as the move would likely cause a large wave.

 

[xaflatoonx]

All valid points.

I would think the wheels would be placed at the pressure points of the stand - mainly the boundary and the center. If we increase the amount of wheels to 15 for example - I would assume the weight distribution would work. But I don't know for sure and definitely dot want to risk a cracked glass.

No quakes here in Houston by the way.


I guess once you go live with a tank that size - it's permanent.

 

[Sk8r]

I don't think anything less than a sort of roller used for massive mechanical units could hold up. The stand may get wet. Wood, especially pressboard, can fragment. Or crack in two.

My stand is mobile: It supports 100 gallons of water, plus rock and sand, figure about 800-900 lbs, and the tank itself weighs about about 160 lbs or more, which makes it over a thousand pounds. On setup, I put a number of the largest Teflon round glides under it, on corners, and middle. One day I will replace the carpet and install a wooden floor. TO do that, I will build the wooden floor near the tank, cut the extant carpet to a trim, drain the tank temporarily into buckets, get some help to push, and gently ease the tank from the last of the carpet up onto the new wood laminate. Then it will move fairly easily back to a secure section while I complete that corner. Back it goes, in goes the water, viola! Mobile tank, no wheels.

 

[mcgyvr]

If we increase the amount of wheels to 15 for example - I would assume the weight distribution would work. But I don't know for sure and definitely dot want to risk a cracked glass.

We don't know either as you have said nothing about the specifics of the wheels (castors)..
One only really needs 4 casters that are appropriately sized and suitable stand construction.. Assuming total weight of 2000lb then I'd highly suggest a "minimum" 1000lb dynamic load rating for each if using 4 to get a 2x safety factor.
Then there is multiple choices in wheel materials/widths,etc... all will effect how well it works/rolls.. Then 2 would need to swivel possibly and even have locks..

If you don't mind some splashing and can move it very slowly/cautiously then its typically not a problem.. getting it "moving" is the worst part/highest stresses

 

[davocean]

Keep in mind also, if you move it, the wheels will ride whatever deviations you may have in your floor, that could potentially flex your stand w/ water weight on top.
Not so critical in a trimmed/braced tank, rimless flat bottom may be an issue.

 

[reepher315]

I think its a bad call. Too many negatives. Sure it would make moving a tank easier. But risking alot of money/creatures isnt worth it to me.

 

[Timfish]

It can be done but the stand would need to be built sturdy enough so it would not flex. You would only want 4 wheels unless you can guarantee you will have a perfectly flat surface. You can not use any wheel that might flatten over time so any type of rubber or plastic wheel is not usable. And you still have some of the safety issues with the tank as pointed out above.

 

[JMorris271]

All aquarium manufacturers place a sticker on their tanks warning not to move the tank containing any water. But hat's just their opinion.

 

[E46Twist]

My years of engineering tell me that you are looking at some pretty substantial wheels. A fully loaded 90gal DT system can easily weigh into the 1/2-1 ton range and would require some pretty beefy wheels and tires long term. Also if you don't evenly load the thing you will get stress points and bending.

I'd say forget about it on any thing over 40gal unless you were actually thinking about fabing a purpose built rolling stand.

 

[phillrodrigo]

I like the idea but if one of the wheels fall off later on your so screwed.

 

[foundnemo11]

Wheels under aquarium stand - thoughts?

Yeah you might need to get two car axels if you want wheels on it

 

[JoelA7]

+1 to the Magic Glides. I have a whole bunch under my tank which without water is about 500 lbs. I could push it around myself although not without effort. Once in place I shimmed it level.

If you want wheels you can do it. But need good quality and very strong. If you are ok building a metal stand check out 80-20 aluminum. They have all kinds of wheels to go with their bars and braces. I used their material to hang my radions and it's really slick.

 

[daquan44]

I Built my last two stands with wheels on them. Got the wheels from homedepot. They supported my 130 gallon. However, I could not move the tank when filled with water, which made the wheels semi pointless. When 1/4 full I could move the tank. I have a YouTube video on the stand with wheels.

 

[discoreefer]

+1 on bad idea. I think the inertia of all that water moving would add a lot of stresses on the tank itself.

 

[dthorn]

One of the most important things to consider hasn't been mentioned yet. The floor better be really sturdy. most tank stands have solid flat bottoms for even weight distribution. With legs or wheels all of the weight is only spread between the points contacting the floor.

You could just do what most folks do and if you ever need to move it use that as an excuse for an upgrade. Having three stands in my living room and in need of new carpet makes me wish I could move my tanks. As others have mentioned it can be done but really risky, just make sure you really like where you decide to put it.

 

[Flippers4pups]

So how in the world do you level a tank, on a stand with wheels people?! Lets look at the big picture: Wheels and axle strength, wheel attachment point stress, weight distribution issues, deflection in the stand, deflection and stress issues with the tank glass and seams, stress points on flooring/ subflooring and LEVELLING ISSUES!

Unless its a small tank with not much of anything of value in it, I would most certainly "steer" clear of that idea. (Pun intended)