Thinking of doing something potentially dumb

[brewmaster15]

So I have an experiment I want to do and need to set up a temporary fishtank. I could build a quick stand for a 29 gal tank out of 2X4's in no time but I have this perfect filing cabinet...in the perfect location, and the perfect size... I am so tempted to try seeing if it holds the fishtank.... its only a 29 gal tank...so 8.3 lbs X 29 gals =240 gals plus the tank weight, so maybe 260 lbs. The filing cabinet is pretty sturdy. I have used all manner of furniture, desks and chairs for Fish tank stands in the past but I have never tried a filing cabinet. Which is why is so darn tempting!

What do you think?

tank.jpg


al

[brewmaster15]

From what I can tell the corners are reinforced channels as these kinds of cabinets are often stacked on each other.


al

[Second Hand Pat]

Have the kids sit on either end and see what happens Al. Quick and dirty test.
Pat

[pmkappy]

Hey Al, Given the standard 29g is 30"x13" = 2.7 SF. 260 LBS divided by 2.7 gives you a live load of 96.3 LBS per SF. A man who weighs 200 LBS produces a live load of 200LBS per SF. So put a piece of 3/4" plywood on top to distribute the weight, then stand on it. If it holds your weight your good to go. PMK

[Jenene]

There must be an engineer among this crew... Kyle having just complete first year of Electrical engineering won't be much of a help here...

[Keith Perkins]

You might want to throw a piece of plywood the size of the top of the file cabinet on it to keep the cabinet top from bowing in, but I would think the cabinet would hold the tank easily.

[Jenene]

You never mentioned what's going in there Al? Do tell please!

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Guys, Good ideas all. I think I may also add a piece of 6 mil plastic and let it over hang a few inches. Just in case. I'm pretty good at not flooding the floors, but having papers in that cabinet is probably asking for a multi-tasking misadventure.

[brewmaster15]

You never mentioned what's going in there Al? Do tell please!

Nothing too sinister or diabolical Jenene. I have some unused solar equipment (panels/batteries/inverters etc) and I want to run the tank on Solar power completely. Just for kicks and to see whats practical and whats not.

al

[Discus-n00b]

Wouldn't this be a static load though? A live load will help tell you if it's just going to crumble in an hour or an instant but it won't offer you any kind of idea over time other than the initial will it crumble. Regardless I think you will be fine, but just saying for anyone reading this to apply to other applications of aquarium installation in a home, a human weight test (4x 200lb men on a coach type of scenario) should not be used to determine where your big tank should live upstairs.

Sounds like a great experiment. Would there be a way for you to track costs of the tank vs a normal one to see if it may be viable to run full solar?

[brewmaster15]

Wouldn't this be a static load though? A live load will help tell you if it's just going to crumble in an hour or an instant but it won't offer you any kind of idea over time other than the initial will it crumble. Regardless I think you will be fine, but just saying for anyone reading this to apply to other applications of aquarium installation in a home, a human weight test (4x 200lb men on a coach type of scenario) should not be used to determine where your big tank should live upstairs.

...

Very good comment Matt!

Sounds like a great experiment. Would there be a way for you to track costs of the tank vs a normal one to see if it may be viable to run full solar?

That I can't tell you at this point. I can tell you up front that if you go out and buy new solar panels, new deep cycle batteries you will probably never ever pay for your investment for this one tank verses what electricity costs over time. But I am going at from a different angle as in, I paid little or nothing for my equipment. and if you put some effort into it...this stuff is readily available and becoming more available. Theres also ways to optimize this system that could very well make it doable on a larger scale very economically...hence my small scale experiment.

al

[Clawhammer]

I think it will work. These things are stackable and filing cabinets get heavy when full...

[brewmaster15]

example...

100 watt 12 v panel... cost zero. Got it free on Craigslist because it was cracked...


panel.jpg

It works fine. I have been using it months... I just needed to to put a coat of Clear UV resistent sealer over the surface. The way solar panel cells are wired being cracked in most cases means very little. This one is set up as trickle charger for my trailer battery.

al

[Ewhonest]

Is it a hon file cabinet or a knockoff? Jobs are tough but with a full load of files that's a lot of weight.

[fishbubbles]

I just set this stand up to set up a few 29's and a 40 for a breeding/grow out system. Seems to be holding fine for me if anyone wanted some cheap ideals.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Edsal-72-...5WGB/202067995