Questions regarding very large tank

[Luke]

Hey all,

I've come across a bit of a problem as of late. I'm heading down to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks, and someone there is selling an 8x3x3 tank for all of $200. By my calculations, that's somewhere in the ballpark of 535 gallons. However, there are two problems with this beast.

One, I did the smart thing and measured my doors, and it just plain won't fit through them (they're 32''). Second, the thing will weigh a stupid amount; I'm thinking somewhere in the realm of 4500 pounds running fresh water and more if I decide to go salt.

The two questions are:

1) Has anyone here every disassembled a tank and put it back together? It's the only way this thing will get in my basement.

2) Does anyone know the effects on the foundation of a house of putting that much weight down? I would like to get in contact with a structural engineer before I go all gung-ho on this project, but if anyone has any experience with something of this size, I'd appreciate any input beforehand.

Thanks in advance.

Luke

[i have crabs]

too much hastle if you ask me, i have a 8'x30"x24" and is was a beast to move 30 feet from the door to the stand, i wouldn't even try that tank on a upper floor of a house without some major upgrades to the floor, the price to get it rebuilt and stuff seems like too much hassle for me.

[reptile guy]

you should have no problems setting it up on your foundation as long as the stand has a flat bottom and not on legs (although that might be fine as well). Maybe see if a glass shop in the area is capable of coming by and pulling it apart and re siliconing it for you

[reptile guy]

will increase the cost but I wouldn't trust doing it yourself on a tank that size

[Luke]

Hey all,

Thanks for the advice. I did some poking around, and it turns out that the measurements given were off. As such, it is 8'x31.5''x2', which works out to about 315 gallons (still big, but somewhat more reasonable and won't require stripping down and reassembly). In regard to the weight, I'm thinking it would be identical to having two 150 talls side by side. I'll let everyone know what shakes out.

Luke

[sphelps]

seems kinda sketchy to me, $200? Probably scratched up and a lot of water to put into something that cheap. It'll be cheaper to build a new tank on site that you know is safe than bring in a structural engineer to evaluate your foundation. Not to mention the hassle of moving that thing, I wouldn't even try as moving it won't only be next to impossible, it's dangerous and you risk weakening it or breaking it.

For a tank that size one of the cheapest parts of the setup is the tank, might as well go new with warranty. That's a lot of water and I've seen even new tanks that big rip apart at the seems. Scary but true. If you wife listen to what she has to say I know it's hard but let's face it they're usually right :mrgreen:

[bullit67]

I would stay away from it it is not worth the hassle. it will cost you more then it would to buy a new one that will fit through your doors by the time you ship it home then take it apart and put it back togeather and then have to fix a leak and the mess it makes.

OH and by the way it will weigh alot more then 4500 lbs if it is 500 plus gallons that is 5000 lbs just for the water never mind the weight of the tank a tank that big is going to be 500 plus pound.