Don't know what else to tell you... I would just cut the carpet exactly around the stand so you can't tell that it's actually cut. Thick carpet is an inherently unstable base. You could try bolting it to the wall too I suppose.
Tank is very shaky...
- Thread starter Kingst3r
- Start date
Hello; A thought not directly on topic, but inspired by the fact that the tank is on carpet. Some amount of water will find it's way out of the tank for sure. Even if you are lucky enough to not have a leak, water will be spilled during water changes and other activity around the tank. This will soak the carpet and pad under the stand and will not dry out well, if at all. If you happen to have hardwood floors under the carpet, they will be damaged along with the carpet. (This I know from experience.) If the flooring is any of the composit materials, they tend to swell and break down from constant moisture. Basically carpet and aquariums do not mix well. When I moved into my current house a while back, I cut out the carpet from the area where my tanks will go. I put down vinyl type tiles and siliconed a plastic quarter round barrier around the edge of the area to keep spilled water away from the remaining carpet. I also drilled a hole thru the floor in a corner to give a large amount of water a path out.
It is likely that the damage you are concerned about from the tank tipping and spilling is going to happen slowly over time simply by the tank being on carpet.
It is likely that the damage you are concerned about from the tank tipping and spilling is going to happen slowly over time simply by the tank being on carpet.
all those "not an options" can all suddenly become required if the stand or tank fails. a wobbly stand puts extra pressure on the tank seals so they rupture. better to do the right fix now than multiple repairs later.
ruptured seals, especially near the bottom, means you'll probably need to pull up your carpeting anyway to avoid mold. wouldn't you rather pull up dry instead of fishy wet carpet?
you need to define your wobble. if it's just some give under the stand, you could be ok. the little bit of wobble from carpet compression/decompression will fade some as time goes on and the carpet fibers flatten as it wobbles. a simple bump probably wouldn't do it, but repeated rocking might send it over. i.e. an earthquake or small child pushing it back and forth to watch the waves.
if your stand is flexing, you have a problem. you may be able to add braces inside the stand, maybe not. if this is the case, and a new stand is truly not an option, I'd break down the tank. too much disaster potential.
it may even be a bit of both, especially if it's a cheapy pre-built stand.
ruptured seals, especially near the bottom, means you'll probably need to pull up your carpeting anyway to avoid mold. wouldn't you rather pull up dry instead of fishy wet carpet?
you need to define your wobble. if it's just some give under the stand, you could be ok. the little bit of wobble from carpet compression/decompression will fade some as time goes on and the carpet fibers flatten as it wobbles. a simple bump probably wouldn't do it, but repeated rocking might send it over. i.e. an earthquake or small child pushing it back and forth to watch the waves.
if your stand is flexing, you have a problem. you may be able to add braces inside the stand, maybe not. if this is the case, and a new stand is truly not an option, I'd break down the tank. too much disaster potential.
it may even be a bit of both, especially if it's a cheapy pre-built stand.
I would attach it to the wall.. Im not being mean here but it could dump over and hurt someone bad. Plus cleaning up a broken tank mess,you can clean the carpet but the flooring will never be the same from water damage.. Just my opinion ,you can try what you like...
Thanks for all the responses guys, we def have to think of what to do. I think we might put it on a peice of wood to disperse the weight or move it to another safer spot and possibly cut out the carpet. If its on wood, that should make it more stable and hopefully flaten the carpet fibers and then it would be sturdier. If we try to find another spot it would be away from the door and avoid someone knocking it over all together. There are no kids or anything, just being by the door we thought someone would hit it without thinking. If we move it putting it on wood or cutting the carpet out wouldnt be bad either. The best option tho is ditching all that and adding a 75g gallon for more weight 
Yeah he kinda wants to changed is room around, so hopefully we can put it out of the way and put it in a spot were he can upgrade easily.
If the bottom of the stand is a flat board then it might not be heavy enough to completely compact the carpet and allows for a little wobble. You can fix that by adding feet to the bottom of the stand, that way the weight isn't spread over the whole base but is focused into just a couple square inches compacting the carpet and giving you more stability.
