Working Out Weight Of Tank

lisavye · Nov 1, 2008

Hi everyone
I'm new here so apologies if this question is in the wrong place or has been asked before.

I've now progressed from cold water fish to buying my first tropical tank! All my daughter's fault as she has the most beautiful fish and I think i've caught the 'bug'! LOL

I have just purchased an AquaStart Aqua One 500 bow fronted glass tank (65L - W50cm x H52cm x D35cm) and I am trying to work out how much the tank (when full) with sand and decorations and fish. filter. heater etc will weigh.

I know from reading posts that water is 1kg per litre - so in my case that's 65kg, 3 x 2.5kg bags of sand = 72.5 kg - but (sorry if this is a stupid question) but how do I take into account the weight of the actual tank, the log and the stones plus the fish (and the lid, heater, filter, light etc).

I don't really like the stand that is available for this tank so was looking at maybe purchasing a piece of furniture - my old octagonal cold water tank sat nicely on a cabinet but this tank is too big.

Thanks so much for putting up with what is probably another silly question from a newbie.
lisa :blush:

drobbyb · Nov 1, 2008

Welcome to TFF! Unless you are sitting it on a shelf you should be fine.

OldMan47 · Nov 1, 2008

That is a very good question to be asking LisaVye. Welcome to the forum by the way. I always start by estimating the actual weight of the tank by picking it up. If you can't pick it up that tells you8 something too. If you take all the stuff like filter, heater, hood, decor, etc. and put them in a bag or box you can probably guess that weight fairly closely. Then just add on the gravel and water estimates that you have already made. The end result may surprise you a bit but it is better to err on the safe side when you are setting up a new tank. The fact that the gravel will displace a little water should not lead you to try to subtract out any water weight. If you are cutting things that close with your stand, you are not allowing enough margin for error. Some day you will want to put a 2 litre bottle of water on the top of the tank and everything will collapse if you cut it that close.

Tolak · Nov 1, 2008

Anything you put in the tank displaces water, sand is about 50% heavier than water when dry, rocks are 2-2.5x as heavy as water. I'm guesstimating the tank to be about 20 gallons, I can lift a 20 with one hand, probably about 15-20 pounds. If it is a plastic light & hood they don't weigh more than about 10 pounds. Add a couple pounds for the filter & heater.

BTW, your 3 bags of 2.5kg equals 7.5kg.

lisavye · Nov 1, 2008

Tolak said:
Anything you put in the tank displaces water, sand is about 50% heavier than water when dry, rocks are 2-2.5x as heavy as water. I'm guesstimating the tank to be about 20 gallons, I can lift a 20 with one hand, probably about 15-20 pounds. If it is a plastic light & hood they don't weigh more than about 10 pounds. Add a couple pounds for the filter & heater.

BTW, your 3 bags of 2.5kg equals 7.5kg.

Thanks for all the advice.

Sorry I had added the tank 65L with the sand but didn't make it clear.

Thanks all for your help
Lisa