I'm thinking of building a dual stacked aquarium setup with my current 150g tank on the bottom. Given that it's almost 3ft wide, I think that it would be very difficult to fully access the back corners of the tank in a conventional stacked setup (e.g., to clean the overflows or catch inhabitants). Hence my idea - what do you think about mounting the lower tank on industrial strength drawer slides so that it could be pulled forward for better access/maintainence? I would envision partially draining the tank before sliding it out.
Aquarium on drawer slides - crazy idea?
- Thread starter the_deeb
- Start date
If you can find slides that hold that amount of weight there's no reason it shouldn't work. You may have to double or triple the slides on each side. Also assuming you can build a strong enough shelf.
Hello; If you find slides strong enough then be especially aware of changing the center of gravity (CG). Tanks with water are heavy and pulling out a slide with a tank will alter the tipping point.
I have three sets of craftsman tool boxes. They have sliding drawers. One day I pulled out one to many tool loaded drawers and the whole box started to tip. I caught it before it went over by pushing the drawer back. lesson learned.
adjustable/foldable legs attached to the slide should address the tipping problem and providing more strength to the drawer slide?
Hello; Yes that is one possible way to avoid tipping. My thinking was a strong wide base firmly attached to the structure.
This should work just remember this is going to cost a fair bit of money.
These are the ones I would use here.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#drawer-slides/=19qj8ah
The only thing I can see going wrong with the legs attached to the slides is if it ever does tip over a bit you are going to have one back of a time getting it back in
These are the ones I would use here.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#drawer-slides/=19qj8ah
The only thing I can see going wrong with the legs attached to the slides is if it ever does tip over a bit you are going to have one back of a time getting it back in
Good point, I had the same thing happen with my snap on box.
Attaching the whole thing to the floor or perhaps a set of wheels under the shelf would do the trick.
I've worked in dozens of plants in numerous companies, most of which had warehouses that stored objects on shelves from 100 to 1,200 lbs. None had movable shelves. That's what pallets and forklifts are for. Objects are picked up and moved, not slid out. Shelves are for small things.
For that reason I'm skeptical anyone has designed shelves for this purpose other than in special situations, like morgues. (However, this tank would hold at least 5 times the weight a morgue shelf might be rated for.)
Having said that, the only plausible way to do it imo is using a pallet set on tracks (like the way coal used to be brought out of a mine.) A wheeled pallet would in theory work, but without pre-set tracks, it would be almost impossible to move it back in place exactly where you wanted. The tank would not be usable to steer as any pressure on the top and sides (especially if it's partly filled) would cause fractures or stress the seals.
You could attach handles and use the pallet to push and pull (the tank as it sits on it) while the track would reduce the friction and keep it aligned. That's basically how movable shelves (and drawers) work. Would probably need an industrial grade pallet and wheels.
In short, the bottom of the structure would simply be an empty space where the tank would fit. No tipping concern since it's not connected to the stationary structure (above,)
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
For that reason I'm skeptical anyone has designed shelves for this purpose other than in special situations, like morgues. (However, this tank would hold at least 5 times the weight a morgue shelf might be rated for.)
Having said that, the only plausible way to do it imo is using a pallet set on tracks (like the way coal used to be brought out of a mine.) A wheeled pallet would in theory work, but without pre-set tracks, it would be almost impossible to move it back in place exactly where you wanted. The tank would not be usable to steer as any pressure on the top and sides (especially if it's partly filled) would cause fractures or stress the seals.
You could attach handles and use the pallet to push and pull (the tank as it sits on it) while the track would reduce the friction and keep it aligned. That's basically how movable shelves (and drawers) work. Would probably need an industrial grade pallet and wheels.
In short, the bottom of the structure would simply be an empty space where the tank would fit. No tipping concern since it's not connected to the stationary structure (above,)
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
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The wheels may cut paths into the floor in time.
The drawer slides could probably be used as tracks to guide the tank even if they could not bear the weight of the tank itself. As long as the weight of the tank is held by the wheels, the track of the drawer should be enough. You could also hang the tank from cables and swing it out into position to allow it to be cleaned with a pulley, although that may be ugly.