Hi everybody. I've just bought my first aquarium and know very little about keeping fish. I was hoping to put the aquarium on some shelves that we had built in. The shelving should be sturdy enough to take the weight of the aquarium (200kg), but one of the salesmen at the pet store was warning us that aquariums this heavy are only safe on aquarium shelves that you buy. He was explaining that it wasn't the weight that we should worry about, but the fact that the shelves have to be extremely flat or else the glass may crack. Is that true? The shelves that we had are just made of mdf, so there will always be minute dents on the surface. Is that really an issue? I can't find any information supporting this on the internet but I don't want to fill this aquarium and start my new venture to have it all fall to pieces with time. If anyone has any advice for me I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!!
shelving support for aquarium
- Thread starter deems
- Start date
deems;4941923; said:
What size fish tan is this? Can you upload a picture of the wall that the shelves are on and the setup that you wish to create? I have an idea of what you're talking about but there are some factors that i would consider...
These are meant in the best of intentions and are not menat to offend you. I'm speaking from knowledge and logic that I would use when considering a setup...
1. MDF is crap for shelving for one. If you got any water on it start to crumble quickly.
2. I would consider some sort of Solid wood Shelving. With supports attached ONLY to studs with a length "Double of the widtd of the shelf, running from the wall at the studs to the Front of the Shelving.
3. Making sure that the Shelving is properly installed and supported will aid in levelness of the shelf and tank itself, but using a sheet of Polystyrene (Styrofoam) under the Tank will absorb any imperfections in the surface of the wood shelving. An eight by four sheet, one inch thick, can be purchased from Home Depot (or other stores) for $8usd... Defintely money well spent and invested....
4. How big of a tank are we talking here? Water weighs about 8.34 lbs/ gallon.