100 gallon tank dimensions weight and 60 gallon stand?? Help.

[NeonFlux]

What up, guys!

Wooo hoo!! Yo fellas, today this morning I went for a walk and guess what? I saw a pretty big tank on a street laying near the dirt grass parking area near a home. Man, like I was gonna let it go, but then it was way too freakin' irresistible LOL what can I say.. So.. I GOT IT . It appeared to be used as a turtle tank, saw some turtle shedding in the tank. Tank is all drained up and got some colored gravel inside. Thought it was a 80 gallon initially, but holy cow.. when I got home with it and counted the gallons it holds, it's definitely 100 gallons, I'm sure. It's 48" and a half inches length, 18" width and 26" height. Just picked it up several hours ago! SWEET! Win! I always wanted a 100 gallon. Sure, I already have a 250 gallon tank, which is pretty massive in my opinion, but it was kind of like my dream when I was a kid to have just a 100 gallon. 250 gallon was my pop's but he passed it down to me.

Anyway, yeah, time for some pics!

Check it out.






Luckily, it's not leaking thus far. I was worried initially that perhaps it had a leak.. and thought that was the reason why the owner placed it outside to be picked up and dumped away possibly.. Nope, tank is still in great condition, no cracks, minor scratches. Frames are not bad. Gonna put it to good use soon! All I gotta do now is just wait it out a couple days to see if it leaks, if not, awesomeness; then I'm definitely going to clean the whole thing out.

So yeah, the big questions. Alright I'm thinking about replacing my 60 gallon long that's 48x15x17, which is currently my low tech planted bala shark tank, for the 100 gallon. So he's definitely gonna get more room to turn and swim up/down. Not too crampy and he'll feel more pleased with his space. I might also put my growing datnoid in as well one day, maybe; and put my bala in the 250 gallon. Thing is, will the 60 gallon tank stand be strong enough to hold the 100 gallon tank? I mean, it's dimensions doesn't seem to be that ridiculously bad. The width of the 100 gallon tank is about two inches bigger than the stand's width, the stand is 48" and a half inches long exactly like the tank. And 26 inches tall. However, can the stand hold it? If not, what ways do you think I can get it to hold 100 gallons of water plus the weight of glass tank itself to avoid it from collapsing?? I'm guessing one way to help is to place pillars of bricks under the tank to provide good stability and foundation?? Also to use the the bricks on the back to fill in the missing two inches? Or use some other equipment? Just my random idea. Somewhat on a low budget right now so not really thinking about a 100 gallon stand.. but if it's a must, then I guess I'm gonna have to shell out a bit of money.. Anyhow, I'm thinking about creating 3D backgrounds.. seems pretty cool. I wonder how difficult it is. Oh and I plan to keep the tank somewhat bare. Maybe just the slightest amount of sand to barely cover the bottom. Some bit of rocks and wood for a natural look, nothing way too heavy.. gonna have to think it through.

Anyhow, any advice, ideas, and tips would be much appreciated!

Thanks a bunch guys.

Cheers.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Here is your answer. Build a stand. I will assume if you are trying to make a 60 gallon stand work that money must be tight. The wood required will be pretty cheap and most places will cut it for you. I would not try to make it work especially using bricks or something. All that hassle won't be worth saving $30 on some 2x6s and screws. Heck you could even sell off your 60 gallon and stand to easily cover the costs of building the stand and have money left over to put towards better filtration.

If you absolutely have to make the 60 gallon stand work the only reasonable method would be to put down a 3/4" or so piece of plywood that is the dimensions of your 100 gallon and then shore up the overhang with some 2x4 or something. In the end you will still be buying wood.

You don't want your awesome free score to turn into ruined carpet or other water damage because you have it up on bricks and it pops a seal.

 

[celebrist]

Nice score. Same dimensions as my 90 but a couple inches taller sounds like. I hope the stand works itself out okay

 

[Drstrangelove]

Without seeing your existing stand, I would advise against using it. What you are asking is: Could the stand (when new) handle 67% more weight than it was advertised for? Rarely is the answer yes to questions like this, and even if so, it's less likely now that it's no longer new.

In addition, the fact that the edges are not completely supported means that a used (and old?) tank will have some unplanned stresses on the seams. None of that is good, although it might work.

It could be fine, but it's an expensive problem if it's not.

The cheapest stands that I used were cinder blocks (the 8" x 16" hollow ones.) Very inexpensive, easy to put together, easily capable of holding large amounts of weight, and sturdy stacked 3 high.

If you have some skills and tools, a little time and a little cash, building a proper wooden stand will be cheaper than buying a new one, and probably a bit less expensive than the cinder blocks. So there are 2 options.

 

[NeonFlux]

Hey guys, thanks a lot for getting back to me. I really appreciate it and I want to apologize for not getting back sooner. Been busy with college classes, studying, homework, exams, etc hope you guys don't mind. Anyhow, time for some pics again!















The corners seem to be a bit weak? They look a tad bit separated. Screw in some nails so they can strengthen up and hold each other more? Hammer in some more wood on the back to fill in the two extra inches that are needed, right? Cinder blocks better instead? What should I do next?? Sorry buddies, I'm a total beginner at carpentry! Please go easy on me. Thanks!