# Tank Overhang



## keano (17 Oct 2018)

I have a spare ADA 30cm cube and so was looking at making a Beta tank for the lads bedroom.

The only furniture i can find in the UK to match his black furniture is an argos bookshelf but the depth is 29cm.

question is twofold.

1- Would an overhang of 1cm have any negative impact on the stress of the joints on the silicone (overhang of 1cm and glass thickness is 5mm).

2- Are there any commercially available stands sold sperately that would support this stand? Tried EA and youre told to speak to stockists, online stockists only sell tank only or tank and cabinet.

cheers


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## Edvet (17 Oct 2018)

Dont think it wll be a problem, but you could always support the tank with an extra layer of plywood matching the tank between tank and furniture if you feel safer.


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## Hendre (23 Oct 2018)

I have a +-1.5cm overhag on my shelf with a 60x30x30 tank. I think you should be fine!

Edit: I wish my parents got me ADA tanks


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## alto (23 Oct 2018)

Rimless tank manufacturers will strongly dissuade this - warranty voided for good reason - just pick up a decent cutting board etc that matches tank dimensions & don’t forget the “garden mat”


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## AverageWhiteBloke (23 Oct 2018)

keano said:


> 2- Are there any commercially available stands sold sperately that would support this stand? Tried EA and youre told to speak to stockists, online stockists only sell tank only or tank and cabinet.



Hiya mate, Complete Aquatics will do you the cabinet on its own. I'm in the same boat as you, I bought an Opti White 300 Cube in Biotopias closing down sale and have been itching to set it up but I can't find a cabinet to sit it on. The only issue with the Aquascaper 300 cabinet is it doesn't come with a door or they would have my money now. If this isn't an issue for you you're good. With the cube being so small I don't really want any equipment in the tank to distract so wanted to use an external canister with co2 set up and external heater which I have kicking around so no door is a deal breaker for me especially in the living room. I know what you mean about finding anything 300x300, I've looked everywhere including kitchen and bathroom cabinets but nothing. I think I'm going to end up using a 600mm TMC cabinet I have and putting a middle support in just in case and off setting the tank, maybe stick a potted plant next to it or something. I wouldn't over hang personally just in case, especially upstairs. Apart from anything I reckon that it's going to be top heavy and prone to knocking over. Maybe only 20ltrs or so in there but when that comes through your ceiling you're going to know about it.


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## Possessed200 (3 Dec 2018)

keano said:


> I have a spare ADA 30cm cube and so was looking at making a Beta tank for the lads bedroom.
> 
> The only furniture i can find in the UK to match his black furniture is an argos bookshelf but the depth is 29cm.
> 
> ...



Hey, I've got a Argos bookcase 29cm depth and just ordered a tank to fit in the bookcase, 74cm(L) x 28cm(W) x 30cm(H).

It's going to be a paludarium, supposedly the bookcase shelves hold 20kg max each. I'm having around 12cm of water which is around 24 litres or 24kg. So I'm wondering how to strengthen the shelf to hold it. To around 30 - 40kg.

I've found that some people use a strip of wood and some brackets to stop the shelf from sagging, YouTube link: 

Think I'll be doing the same to one of the shelves, maybe adding brackets to the wall as well to be safe.

For the over hang it should be ok, another option would be to add some plywood that's the same size as the tank and glue it to the shelf for peace of mind.

Haven't really found any aquariums on bookcases apart from Maidenhead aqua oak.

I'd love to know what you did to the bookcase to make it stronger.


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## Possessed200 (18 Dec 2018)

If you're still interested, I've modified my argos bookshelf (I'll upload pictures in my journal)

I used contact adisive to glue two of the shelves together, doubling makes the shelf hold twice as much supposedly according to: http://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/

I used the middle shelf that was screwed in and I've screwed the other shelf to the bookcase as well.

Then I've put 300kg rated brackets into the wall that also holds the shelf. (Better safe than sorry.) Probably not needed but hay ho.

Then I siliconed the joints inside of the bookcase where the tank will be, incase water spillages which could really weaken the chipboard.

It's ok for now but if I was going to put a decent aquarium on the bookcase I'd build a good solid stand around the bookcase (2by4 wood) rather than buying one from a retailer.


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## Zedan (23 Jan 2019)

I've had plenty of tanks with a small overhang. The biggest danger is bumping it and damaging the join. It shouldn't cause stress at the joint if it's a cm or two.


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