Weight on tanks when full?

[zippity]

Guys: I just inherited from a friend a 28 gal tank, is there a website or a formula to find out how much each tank weighs when totally full, so I can find out if I can put this new tank on a stand i have in my bedroom but I am not sure if the wheels will withhold all this weight?

Thanks!!!

[PaleoFishGirl]

~ 8 pounds per gallon so 224 lb or so

[Mettle]

I wouldn't personally put a tank on anything with wheels. But that's just me...

[zippity]

thats my thoughts too so i may turn it over and take wheels off for 224 lbs is pretty heavy for this stand, it is well built but i do not trust the metal pins or screws that hold wheels on. thanks paleo and mettle, got to go get started cleaning it up, oh yea was thinking of shell dwellers for this tank, any LFS with them? Where I can get snail shells for them and a good price for the sand???

Thanks.

[Jim]

What are the dimentions of the tank?

I'd get a metal stand from Big Als.

[darkdep]

Or build one from 2x4's.

DEFINETLY don't put it on something with wheels.

[zippity]

no, wheels are taken off, and i got on top of the stand, me and my 14 year old son, jumped up on it a few times, very sturdy it is holding over 350lbs, just the wheels scared me so they are defintely off now.

[garnpet]

Here is a site that tells the weight including tank and water...

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/tipsandtables/l/bltanksize.htm

[zippity]

thanks garn....awesome site to check that out, interesting to see all the weight down on my floors, lol.

[squeeker]

quick estimation on weight of a full tank is 10 pounds per gallon, which takes into account the weight of the water, tank itself, stand, filter, etc.  Plus, a bit of overestimation is a good thing from an engineering perspective!  Gotta have that margin of safety!

[Jim]

and the gravle...

[squeeker]

Well, technically speaking, the gravel would displace a certain amount of water.  Gravel and water are both pretty heavy, so the weight mostly cancels.

[zippity]

hey if you guys want to laugh, here goes, so the tank i got was used, i check out the sealants, look sgreat, i test it in my bathtub for two hours fully loaded, no problems, and then BAM, with tank full and sitting there for about two more hours, she decides to start leaking and I  mean big time leaking, so i think with about 330 lbs of water in it, i had about 100 lbs of it on my floor which i had to clean up till 2am this morning, so does anybody know where i can get it resealed and for how much?

[darkdep]

That's not funny...so sorry to hear about that.

Resealing is something you can do yourself.  All you need to do is scrape away all the old silicone and put new stuff in.  Use GE Silicone I in the blue tube that is available at Home Depot or Wal Mart for about $4 a tube.  

Alternatively, I'm sure someone on here would be willing to help you out if you're uncomfortable with this.

[zippity]

thanks, will buy some tonight.....as for scraping, is it with a blade or can i use a scraper that is used for polyfila(drywalling)? Do i do the whole tank or just in the places where i have seen the leaks come out of, it is on only one side?? Or is it just best to do all of it just in case?

[darkdep]

Because of the fact that it's an inherited tank, and it has a leak, I would highly recommend you do the whole thing.  New silicone will not stick to old silicone properly.

You can use whatever works for removing the old silicone.  Try to avoid scratching the glass, obviously, so use plastic if it works.

Do all 4 corners and the bottom (8 lines total).  Just smack it on and smooth with your finger, and let it dry.  Some will say 24 hours, but personally I'd wait 3 days.  Then give it a water test in your tub X=)

[darkdep]

Good luck!  It's not technically difficult, it's just a little scary because everyone is afraid of making the problem worse.  Please let us know how it goes!

[Nerine]

Speaking of tanks on wheels...I had a tank on wheels!! I used to have my 55 gal on a stand that had piano casters it was WONDERFUL! but any old wheels won't do! need heavy duty ones
Good luck with your resealing...I personally waited a week for the silicone to cure haha I was super-paranoid about leaking! I've re done several tanks and so far haven't had any problems at all so I'm sure you'll be just fine!

[darkdep]

Nerine:  Don't laugh about being super paranoid...being in a rush with anything in this hobby can lead to disaster

[zippity]

well the sealing has been done, did a terrible job i think, after all my first time, will wait till tomorrow night to fill her up again, so that will be 48 hours from the start time. Just bought the 10 gal and 55 gal tanks and stands from aSmallFish, so now i got 3 tanks on the go, whewwwww good thing God put 28 hours in a day.