how to tell i my existing cabinet can hold a 4x1,5x1,5 tank?

[gregorsamsa]

Hi.

I have an existing cabinet holding 2 2ft acrylic tank. am thinking of removing them and placing a 4x1.5x1.5 12mm glass, glass tank soon.

My worries are that it might not be able to hold the weight of a new tank. further since it is 12mm glass it is definitely heavier excluding the water.

i have checked the frame of my cabinet (its about 5 ft long). It is a rectangular frame (lapped jointed) topped by a solid ply wood surface with laminate finish). This top is supported/conjoined by/with 4 vertical 10mm thick wood.

is it safe? or do i need to get a seprate stand?

regards

Jiesheng

[liuhao]

how heavy is your 2x2 ft tank comparing to the 4 feet tank?

dun worry about the tank thickness. the weight of bare tank itself is nothing comparing to the weight of gravel (50kg+) plus water (200kg).

it's very hard to tell if a carbinet is solid enuf. my carbinet is not even solid wood but can take my 3 feet tank (total 200kg plus) without problem. it's much more solid than it looks like.

[bclee]

A 4x1.5x1.5 tank probably weighs >300kg. Try getting 5 70-kg adults standing on that cabinet see whether the cabinet holds out... :P

BC

[Simon]

the construction of the cabinet will prolly tell u if it can hold the tank. example solid teak cabinet can withstand heavier load than compared to a plywood cabinet. Also the bracing in the middle of the cabinet will prevent the top from warping.. if in doubt, dun try it. No worth the try that might result in having your entire setup crashing down

[gregorsamsa]

Hi,

Simon, what do you mean by center bracing? do you mean to say a cross frame?

Anyway, i will KIV the advice. The problem now is that i have a cabinet that cannot be placed anywhere else but to valuable to throw away.

Thanks and warmest Regards
jiesheng

[Simon]

[quote:a612afe74d="gregorsamsa"]Hi,

Simon, what do you mean by center bracing? do you mean to say a cross frame?

Anyway, i will KIV the advice. The problem now is that i have a cabinet that cannot be placed anywhere else but to valuable to throw away.

Thanks and warmest Regards
jiesheng[/quote:a612afe74d]

JS, take a look inside the cabinet, what you want to know is the internal structure of the cabinet... (framework)

Why don't give the cabinet away? instead of throwing?

[juggler]

jiesheng:

Was the cabinet meant for supporting a tank in the first place? How about getting a carpenter/ contractor to evaluate and help reinforce if needed?

Some rough calculations:

From density of glass at http://www.allmeasures.com/Formulae/...15/density.htm , I calculated that your new 4x1.5x1.5 tank weighs about 55kg without the glass bracings. Your existing acrylic tanks are lighter, and contain less water and gravel than the new setup. If your existing tanks are 2x1x1 sizes, then both tanks together can hold about 120L of water, that is half the new 4ft tank (254L). So add another 100~120kg that the cabinet got to hold.

You work out further... cheers!

[gregorsamsa]

Hey thanks alot for the help.

i calculated that the weight to be 340 kg with water and 6 bags of gravel.

thanks again for all your advice.

regards

Jiesheng