Aquarium Weight

[Fujimoto]

Hi! So I have a large built in desk in my room that currently has three aquariums on it. A 5 gallon, 10 gallon and 20 gallon long. The 20 gallon has funny looking silicone on the bottom, and it makes me uneasy when I clean it that the bottom might burst out. The petco near me is having a sale on tanks right now, so I plan on getting a new 20 gallon to switch it out with, but my question is, do you think the desk would be okay if I got a 29 gallon instead? It would still fit fine but my parents say it might be to heavy. The desk is really sturdy. Its custom built and attached to the wall. The top of it is like two inches thick and it has cabinets underneath. It doesn’t move at all right now. Thank you!

 

[Aaron619]

Seems like a lot of weight on one desk if your going to get the 29 id maybe suggest getting its own stand for it just to be safe

 

[tlindsey]

I agree with your parents the 29 gallon may be too much weight combined with the other aquariums.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I use a rule of thumb on tank weight. For tanks under 56 gallons I figure ten pounds per gallon. For bigger tanks I figure twelve pounds per gallon. For really big tanks, say over 125 gallons the pound per gallon ought to go way up.
So you will be adding a potential of 90 more pounds for a total of maybe 440 pounds of tanks. Add to this any other stuff you keep on the desk. My numbers could be off some as I usually figure in gravel, equipment and such. Could be the desk can take the weight, but no one can tell you this sight unseen. Even if I was on scene I would be making a guess.

I can tell you this from experience. Back when I was young I put small tanks on a nice table. The table held but the water damaged it. You will have splashes and accidents. The water will get under the tanks and stay. If the surface is wood there will be damage. If some sort of plastic surface you may be OK. Being a built in it will be expensive to fix if it can be fixed at all. Discoloration very likely but warpage might happen. Is it solid wood or something else.

Get some pictures from under the desk.

 

[tlindsey]

but no one can tell you this sight unseen

Absolutely agree.

 

[jjohnwm]

I have an old desk that originally came from a police station; it was a half-century old when I got it in the 80's. It supports a 40-gallon breeder without issue, which still leaves a ton of surface area for actual desk-type work. It's solid oak and built like a bomb shelter; weighs about 420 pounds empty. Even so, I dismantled it and re-did all joins with glue before re-torquing. It can never be disassembled again.

Before you consider trusting a piece of modern furniture for this purpose, you need to at least post some pics of construction details and tell us materials etc. Nowadays stuff is built just barely strong enough for it's intended purpose, if that. Supporting an aquarium is not the intended purpose.