Cali Kid Corals

Seismic considerations for aquarium?

tygunn

tygunn

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So being that I didn't grow up here I'm new to earthquakes.

Does anyone do anything special to help prepare their tank for an earthquake?

Should I bolt the stand to the wall so it doesn't topple or move? What about the tank sliding off the stand?

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Okay seems securing the tank is a good idea. Haha.

Interesting though, the way they built those stands almost doomed the unsecured tank. The legs were secured to the ground and the leds were attached to the side of the stand along the axis of motion. The tank never actually appeared to slide off the stand, but instead the stand appeared to fail where the legs attach to the top.

The stand for my tank seems especially well constructed out of solid plywood so I don't think it'll fold over like that.

My thought was to secure the back of the stand to a wall stud, and then to add some brackets to prevent it from sliding off the stand.

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aqua-nut said:
I posted this some time back. Worth showing again considering how many quakes are in the news lately.
Click to expand...
That video makes me cringe on so many levels, none of which is my worry of aquarium being secured. So the set up with an aquarium that's on a very high stand and extremely thin, so best case scenario for your stuff toppling over. Then they did the shake of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, and even with that best case of failure there was at worse some splashing. The the "host" says "can we crank it up?" at which point we get a failure/fall, so who knows how strong of a tremor that was really representing, but it looked significantly stronger than the Kobe quake which was around the same strength as SF's last two big earthquakes in 1906 & 1989. Also don't know if it's just me but when the one aquarium fell and broke the stand looked like it has a rather high rim around the stand. Also what are those grey strips right at the leg bottoms? Some sort of wedges preventing the stand from sliding around increasing the chances of a tip over?

So to recap
1) This show engineered this to fail
2) Even so, it shows that a really horribly tall thin stand can stand up to a fairly major earthquake
3) Anything stronger though... worrying about your tank should be the least of your worries
4) If things start to shake up good... maybe staying seated right next to your tank isn't such a good idea, see #3

I wouldn't bolt it to the wall. Plus I wouldn't be surprised if the stand being bolted to the wall would allow the tank to topple over more easily being as the whole house will shake including the stand but the tank is free standing (especially if you have a tall skinny tank like the video)
 
sfsuphysics said:
That video makes me cringe on so many levels, none of which is my worry of aquarium being secured. So the set up with an aquarium that's on a very high stand and extremely thin, so best case scenario for your stuff toppling over. Then they did the shake of the 1995 Kobe earthquake, and even with that best case of failure there was at worse some splashing. The the "host" says "can we crank it up?" at which point we get a failure/fall, so who knows how strong of a tremor that was really representing, but it looked significantly stronger than the Kobe quake which was around the same strength as SF's last two big earthquakes in 1906 & 1989. Also don't know if it's just me but when the one aquarium fell and broke the stand looked like it has a rather high rim around the stand. Also what are those grey strips right at the leg bottoms? Some sort of wedges preventing the stand from sliding around increasing the chances of a tip over?

So to recap
1) This show engineered this to fail
2) Even so, it shows that a really horribly tall thin stand can stand up to a fairly major earthquake
3) Anything stronger though... worrying about your tank should be the least of your worries
4) If things start to shake up good... maybe staying seated right next to your tank isn't such a good idea, see #3

I wouldn't bolt it to the wall. Plus I wouldn't be surprised if the stand being bolted to the wall would allow the tank to topple over more easily being as the whole house will shake including the stand but the tank is free standing (especially if you have a tall skinny tank like the video)
Click to expand...

Yeah, the tank I'm working with is a cube tank, not a really tall top-heavy tank like what they've got in the demonstration video.

I've got slider pads on the bottom of the stand, primarily to raise it up a bit so the inevitable spills on the tile floor don't get trapped under the stand.

Maybe a better approach would be to use a strap to help keep the stand from moving around a lot? In other words leave a couple of inches of give?

I'm wondering if the weight of the tank is enough to keep is ON the stand, or if I should be worried about it sliding off the stand...
 
I can't disagree with anything Mike said. There is a lot of over the top drama in that video.

Anyone have any data about the two most recent big California quakes, Loma Prieta and Northridge, with respect to aquarium failures? Any personal stories about their tanks during/after the quake?

I don't think attaching the stand and tank to the wall would do any harm. It might even help. It can be seen clearly in the video that the fail tank went from being all straight like | to more of a > shape. There are so many variables it's hard to totally account for them all.
 
tygunn, I was posting while you were! If you have pads under the stand, I'd really consider attaching the stand to the wall. In a minor quake in the LA area I had a friend who's refrigerator slid out into the middle of the room! Best to have them stay where they belong!

Weight will have no effect keeping a tank on the stand. Look at the pics from Loma Prieta! Houses were dislodged from their foundations! When new houses are built in California there is lots of attachments so the house will stay with the foundation. The motions of the quake toss things like houses up in the air and then move the ground laterally. They survive much better if they are attached.
 
We just moved here from Ohio two months ago (really? It's been that long already?) and of course aren't used to earthquakes. I bought these just in case and attached them to the sides if the stand at the top. The instructions say to leave at least one inch of slack. Better safe than sorry IMO.
2yvaze7u.jpg


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Those straps instantly make me think the cabinet will jerk and slide the tank right off the top!

Anyway you look at it, with an earthquake there will be water on the floor for sure and at a certain point, the tank is the least of the worries.
 
aqua-nut said:
tygunn, I was posting while you were! If you have pads under the stand, I'd really consider attaching the stand to the wall. In a minor quake in the LA area I had a friend who's refrigerator slid out into the middle of the room! Best to have them stay where they belong!

Weight will have no effect keeping a tank on the stand. Look at the pics from Loma Prieta! Houses were dislodged from their foundations! When new houses are built in California there is lots of attachments so the house will stay with the foundation. The motions of the quake toss things like houses up in the air and then move the ground laterally. They survive much better if they are attached.
Click to expand...

Yeah I definitely don't want a large box weighing hundreds of pounds to start sliding around.

I guess ultimately what I wonder is whether the tank and stand together will act as a single unit when responding to shaking, or if I need to do something special to try and keep the tank itself on the stand.
 
aquatic mouse said:
We just moved here from Ohio two months ago (really? It's been that long already?) and of course aren't used to earthquakes. I bought these just in case and attached them to the sides if the stand at the top. The instructions say to leave at least one inch of slack. Better safe than sorry IMO.
2yvaze7u.jpg


Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I used similar straps to secure my tall TV to its stand.. I'll have to see if I can find more studs by the tank. It'd likely be better to have it strapped with two than one.
 
tr1gger said:
Those straps instantly make me think the cabinet will jerk and slide the tank right off the top!

Anyway you look at it, with an earthquake there will be water on the floor for sure and at a certain point, the tank is the least of the worries.
Click to expand...

That's my worry with strapping the stand to the wall. :) I don't want it to be akin to yanking a tablecloth off a table leaving the dishes behind.

The key would seem to ensure the stand and tank can move as one without coming detached.
 
Agree that the video was a bit of a joke.
But I really don't think that quake simulator was any good. Simple slow back and forth slide.
Those dummies in the chairs were barely moving.
I have been in 2 big ones. It is not like that.
Seen cars jumping around in the parking lot. Had big wide shelves come down at work.
Sure seems to me like there is a very good chance that an unsecured tank would topple.

I just connected the top of the stand to the wall, not the tank itself.

BTW: Another issue is some kid pulling on it, (or some drunk falling and catching themselves.)
For a small tank and light stand, that could topple pretty easily.
 
rygh said:
Agree that the video was a bit of a joke.
But I really don't think that quake simulator was any good. Simple slow back and forth slide.
Those dummies in the chairs were barely moving.
I have been in 2 big ones. It is not like that.
Seen cars jumping around in the parking lot. Had big wide shelves come down at work.
Sure seems to me like there is a very good chance that an unsecured tank would topple.

I just connected the top of the stand to the wall, not the tank itself.

BTW: Another issue is some kid pulling on it, (or some drunk falling and catching themselves.)
For a small tank and light stand, that could topple pretty easily.
Click to expand...

What did you use to secure the tank stand? Furniture straps?
 
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