My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

We have a 20 gallon long tank. My current tank base is hollow with a
door in the front to keep equipment. The weight of the tank is
distributed around the perimeter of the base. (It doesn't have legs--
the whole perimeter of the rectangular shape touches the floor.)
Since our floors are uneven, I had to shim it with cardboard to make
it stable. I can latch/nail the door shut so the door doesn't act as
a lever to destabilize the weight, and keep the chemicals on a high
shelf. But even with that, I'm concerned that it might be possible to
tip it over. (Heck, just start picking away at the cardboard shim....)

All suggestions appreciated!

-- Amy, asb@cc.gatech.edu

p.s. He loves the fishies. Stares at them and stares at them and
smiles. :-)
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asb@cc.gatech.edu (Amy S. Bruckman) wrote:

My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

We have a 20 gallon long tank. My current tank base is hollow with a
door in the front to keep equipment. The weight of the tank is
distributed around the perimeter of the base. (It doesn't have legs--
the whole perimeter of the rectangular shape touches the floor.)
Since our floors are uneven, I had to shim it with cardboard to make
it stable. I can latch/nail the door shut so the door doesn't act as
a lever to destabilize the weight, and keep the chemicals on a high
shelf. But even with that, I'm concerned that it might be possible to
tip it over. (Heck, just start picking away at the cardboard shim....)

All suggestions appreciated!

-- Amy, asb@cc.gatech.edu

p.s. He loves the fishies. Stares at them and stares at them and
smiles. :-)

Do you have a wall behind the base? I have a similar (I think) base -- I anchored it to the wall studs with a steel angle bracket and some deck screws. While this particular anchor hasn't been put to the acid test, a similar anchor on a 7' bookcase earned its keep when my son tried to climb it to get a book on the top shelf. He learned "it's not a good idea to climb the bookshelves" when
one of the shelf supports snapped and dropped him and quite a few books to the floor, but didn't have to learn that "the hospital is a sucky place to spend a week when 100+ lbs of bookcase lands on you".
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Screw it too the wall, either throught he backing of the cupboard (with
washers on the screw heads) or with those litle plastic blocks or right
angle brackets. If its freestanding you could even screw the tank base to
the floor at each corner.

"Amy S. Bruckman" <asb@cc.gatech.edu> wrote in message news:c8ds6q$m6l@pufnstuf.cc.gatech.edu...

My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

We have a 20 gallon long tank. My current tank base is hollow with a
door in the front to keep equipment. The weight of the tank is
distributed around the perimeter of the base. (It doesn't have legs--
the whole perimeter of the rectangular shape touches the floor.)
Since our floors are uneven, I had to shim it with cardboard to make
it stable. I can latch/nail the door shut so the door doesn't act as
a lever to destabilize the weight, and keep the chemicals on a high
shelf. But even with that, I'm concerned that it might be possible to
tip it over. (Heck, just start picking away at the cardboard shim....)

All suggestions appreciated!

-- Amy, asb@cc.gatech.edu

p.s. He loves the fishies. Stares at them and stares at them and
smiles. :-)
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On 18 May 2004 16:37:46 -0400, asb@cc.gatech.edu (Amy S. Bruckman)
bubbled forth the following:

My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

We have a 20 gallon long tank. My current tank base is hollow with a
door in the front to keep equipment. The weight of the tank is
distributed around the perimeter of the base. (It doesn't have legs--
the whole perimeter of the rectangular shape touches the floor.)
Since our floors are uneven, I had to shim it with cardboard to make
it stable. I can latch/nail the door shut so the door doesn't act as
a lever to destabilize the weight, and keep the chemicals on a high
shelf. But even with that, I'm concerned that it might be possible to
tip it over. (Heck, just start picking away at the cardboard shim....)

All suggestions appreciated!

-- Amy, asb@cc.gatech.edu

p.s. He loves the fishies. Stares at them and stares at them and
smiles. :-)

Assuming standard stud type wall, take a 2" x 2" board the same width
as the stand and screw it horizontally to the wall behind the tank.
Make sure you get it screwed into at least 2 studs.

Next, 2 short pieces of pine/oak 1" x 2" or 1" x 3" stained to match
the stand are screwed onto the sides of the stand and to the ends of
the 2" x 2".

A less visible approach is to cut the 2" x 2" shorter than the stand,
then use a metal "L" bracket screwed to the back of the stand and the
end of the 2" x 2" board.

If the tank is close enough to the wall, you can just run long screws
with washers through the back of the stand into the 2" x 2".

Another option is to use "L" brackets and fasten the base of the stand
to the floor, assuming you don't mind putting holes in the hardwood
floor.

HTH

Jerry
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On 18 May 2004 16:37:46 -0400, asb@cc.gatech.edu (Amy S. Bruckman)
wrote:

My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

We have a 20 gallon long tank. My current tank base is hollow with a
door in the front to keep equipment. The weight of the tank is
distributed around the perimeter of the base. (It doesn't have legs--
the whole perimeter of the rectangular shape touches the floor.)
Since our floors are uneven, I had to shim it with cardboard to make
it stable. I can latch/nail the door shut so the door doesn't act as
a lever to destabilize the weight, and keep the chemicals on a high
shelf. But even with that, I'm concerned that it might be possible to
tip it over. (Heck, just start picking away at the cardboard shim....)

All suggestions appreciated!

-- Amy, asb@cc.gatech.edu

p.s. He loves the fishies. Stares at them and stares at them and
smiles. :-)

Amy,

Our 13 month old is in a similar situation... only we made it worse...
we put a 45 gallon in the nursery..

The baby stores sell devices to do what everyone else has
suggested.... we got one for the changing table, and now have two on
the aquarium stand. One on each end of the stand.

We had no issues until he learned to stand and walk, but he is
learning "No" and actually obeys, too... (usually)

He does love the tank, and the fish, he has even managed to climb on
toys to look inside. He has mastered the door on the stand. When he
is trying to get to the stand or tank, you can see the water moving,
but the braces seem to be holding so far.

As for the shimming... you might be better off getting a 1/2" piece of pressboard cut slightly larger than the base of the stand (1/4 inch
more.) Using wood shims, staple-gun/nail them to the new base.

It's a bit of pain now that the tank is working... but it has been
worth it to us, the tank is level, and isn't going anywhere until we
are ready to move.

Good luck....


--Tony
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Amy:

My son is just learning to crawl, and I'm concerned that he's going to
pull our fish tank crashing down on his head! Can anyone recommend
a tank base that will be really stable on an old, uneven hardwood floor?

The first thing coming to my mind was also some sort of a bracket
screwed into the top of the base (just under the aquarium itself. The
other respondant's suggestion of L- (or right angle) bracket at the
bottom doesn't seem like it would keep the unit from being tipped
over. OTOH if it was something like 12" per arm and made of ~1/4"
steel like the ones providing support to the shelf at the customer
service window at the store......

Easiest thing is probably to screw two long wood screws into the wall
studs behind and just under the tank. Ones with hex heads might be
easer, especially if you have (or can borrow) a ratchet driver. (Straight/slotted screw heads and Phillips [cross] can slip,
especially is tight spaces. Also have to remember the wood studs are
probably several years old and wood will get harder as it dries.
(Drilling a pilot hole roughly half the diameter of the screw's
diameter can help make the screwing-in easier.)

The length of the screw is important. You want to go into the stud at
least an inch, the drywall is roughly a half-inch thick.

You can use a carriage washer to help distribute the support -- is a
large diameter washer with a smaller hole (whatever is needed to fit
the screw head).

-
» barry.martin■AT■thesafebbs.zeppole.com «

* "How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?"
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Thanks for all the great advice!
Looks like I have a weekend project on my hands. :-)
-- Amy

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