Safety of tanks

[Sharefish]

Hi everyone,

I have a braced fish tank (40 L, 21W, 40 H) and I put the tank on 2 cheapo plastic stools and the bottom middle of tank is not supported at all cos the stools top part cannot get close enough to touch. Legs taper out thats why. Will change it soonest of course but got me thinking Just where is the pressure on the tank concentrated? Anyone knows?

Also got a 60L by 30W by 45H braceless fish tanks..are braceless tanks safe? Looks kinda scary and naked to me. Should I buy braces for it?

Which brand do you guys think is renowned for its safety? Jebo?

Thanks much for any advice
Ron

[Shadow]

I have a braced fish tank (40 L, 21W, 40 H) and I put the tank on 2 cheapo plastic stools and the bottom middle of tank is not supported at all cos the stools top part cannot get close enough to touch. Legs taper out thats why. Will change it soonest of course but got me thinking Just where is the pressure on the tank concentrated? Anyone knows?

Never try this but I will put wooden plank if were you, 40L is at least 40kg with full water only. If you add the glass weight, substrate, rock, may end up 50kg or more

Also got a 60L by 30W by 45H braceless fish tanks..are braceless tanks safe? Looks kinda scary and naked to me. Should I buy braces for it?

There are 4ft braceless, so 2ft is nothing depending on who make it though

Which brand do you guys think is renowned for its safety? Jebo?

ADA

[bossteck]

Weight of tank needs to be distributed evenly across the support it sits on. Having the tank weight concentrate on a point is not a good thing to do. That's why most people have styrofoam under their tanks. This does 2 things, it distributes the weight evenly, it evens out the surface on which the tank is sitting on.

[Sharefish]

Thanks Guys, moved the smaller tank today to a proper fish stand with styrofoam. Thank God its been ok for so long!! But the bigger tank has a corner crack now cos I turned it on its side to try to empty the water....think its a cheapo tank.

Kiasu, so will use it as storage.

Cheers
Ron

[JadeIceGreen]

ADA tanks are guaranteed for 3 years, or is it 5?

[Viper007]

ADA tanks are guaranteed for 3 years, or is it 5?

What if as above it broke (human cause)... will ADA do replacement huh??

[tawauboy]

product guarantees are given for manufacturers faults. not user error or wear and tear.

[Viper007]

product guarantees are given for manufacturers faults. not user error or wear and tear.

When glass crack or breaks can manufacturers tell is manf fault or wear and tear?

[tawauboy]

if it fails within days of delivery, then you should be able to claim warranty.
if the failure happens later, then it will be tough.

after all, there are checks during the glass manufacturing process as well as during tank manufacturing process.

[Viper007]

if it fails within days of delivery, then you should be able to claim warranty.
if the failure happens later, then it will be tough.

after all, there are checks during the glass manufacturing process as well as during tank manufacturing process.

Ohh I see. Ok thanks actually I'm planning to buy a 3st ADA tank! The warranty would be good.

[newtank]

warranty is good at point of sales, but like some bro mentioned, after a year and your tank leak....what do you do?

[ankank]

To answer the original question in a more scientific manner:

Just where is the pressure on the tank concentrated?

The pressure is always concentrated around the points where the underlying surface is supported (by legs or side walls). Unless this surface is solid (a brick wall) or very nearly so (a concrete shelf), a flexible surface (steel, wood, plastic) will bow between the points it is rested on. Think of a plastic ruler you pinch between two hands.

It is a common misconception that styrofoam will even out the pressure across the surface. A glass tank is not flexible enough to follow the bow of the surface its resting on. A foam mat's only purpose is to avoid pressure hot spots, e.g. from sand grains, and for that a foam mat of a few millimeters is sufficient. Beyond that, additional thickness of the foam in between the tank and the surface is counterproductive.

The best you can do is to maximize the pressure area around the points where the surface is supported. To do this, minimize the flexibility of the surface (i.e., use a thicker wood plank), and minimize the thickness of the foam mat between. But a non-flexible tank will never evenly spread its weight across a flexible surface it sits on.