Aqueon rimmed tank too short stand ok?

Trever · Jun 7, 2022

I have a 40 gallon breeder to use as a sump. It fits perfectly in the bottom of a stand I have. Except, the stand is for a longer tank (75G). Thus my 40G breeder sump would be fully supported on all four corners and three full sides, but not one of the short (end) sides. This tank is tempered glass all around if that matters, rimmed top and bottom.

I do NOT want to put it on plywood or similar. Just the stand.

Is this likely to be ok?

I find many other similar posts but not the same issue.

Lost in the Sauce · Jun 7, 2022

Would it be ok?

Probably.

Would I do it? No. There a many ways to support it, I wouldn't take the chance.

Trever · Jun 8, 2022

@Lost in the Sauce sure, reasonable enough.

Interestingly enough though, I spoke to Aqueon technical support today. They said that as along as the tanks are supported at the four corners, that's to spec/good as far as they are concerned. It is fine. The tanks should be supported at the corner and past the corner about 1", the details of this have to do with understanding the rim. Basically you want all of the rim on the rail. But they indicated there are in fact tanks set on stands designed this way- open in the middle underneath, etc.

Long story short, given the width of my stand rail, it should be just fine. Especially since 99% of the time, my tank won't be full- maybe slightly more than half full, I suspect when I've finished designing it will have ~8-9" of water in it (depth).

Yay!

Lost in the Sauce · Jun 8, 2022

Trever said:
@Lost in the Sauce sure, reasonable enough.

Interestingly enough though, I spoke to Aqueon technical support today. They said that as along as the tanks are supported at the four corners, that's to spec/good as far as they are concerned. It is fine. The tanks should be supported at the corner and past the corner about 1", the details of this have to do with understanding the rim. Basically you want all of the rim on the rail. But they indicated there are in fact tanks set on stands designed this way- open in the middle underneath, etc.

Long story short, given the width of my stand rail, it should be just fine. Especially since 99% of the time, my tank won't be full- maybe slightly more than half full, I suspect when I've finished designing it will have ~8-9" of water in it (depth).

Yay!

Cool, make sure to post pictures when it's all done

nereefpat · Jun 9, 2022

Trever said:
@Lost in the Sauce sure, reasonable enough.

Interestingly enough though, I spoke to Aqueon technical support today. They said that as along as the tanks are supported at the four corners, that's to spec/good as far as they are concerned. It is fine. The tanks should be supported at the corner and past the corner about 1", the details of this have to do with understanding the rim. Basically you want all of the rim on the rail. But they indicated there are in fact tanks set on stands designed this way- open in the middle underneath, etc.

Long story short, given the width of my stand rail, it should be just fine. Especially since 99% of the time, my tank won't be full- maybe slightly more than half full, I suspect when I've finished designing it will have ~8-9" of water in it (depth).

Yay!

I agree. It will be fine.

Soren · Jun 9, 2022

I also agree it will be fine if all 4 corners are fully supported.

In my basement fish room, I have 4 double-stacked 40g Breeder setups. The stands are metal frames exactly the same size on the shelves as the footprint of the tanks. Even though there is technically a metal frame bar that runs under all of the edges as well as supporting the corners, there is flexibility in the middle that means the shelf primarily supports the tanks only on the corners. I've had these tanks set up for a year at my place with no issue and I got them from someone who had a large fish room using them in the same manner for several years.

That being said, it would not hurt to run extra plywood or framing boards in your stand to ensure full support and prevent the stand from warping and allowing for uneven support on all 4 corners. @Lost in the Sauce has it right: limit risk whenever simple, at least for peace of mind if for nothing else.